The Best-Looking Fake Check We've Seen

With all the bogus-check scams out there, the managing editor of NBCDFW.com is pretty aware of them.

But the $4,500 check Frank Heinz received in the mail was pretty convincing.

"It was a real check," he said. "It had watermarks, it had an account number, and it was from a local company."

The check even had the Plains Capital Bank logo on it.

It arrived with a letter saying Heinz had won $250,000 from Majestic Liquor store's "Compensation Lottery." All he had to do was call the tax agent, deposit the check and pay the tax on the winnings to their tax agent.

"My intial gut was, 'Yeah, it's a scam. It's too good to be true,'" Heinz said.

But he allowed himself to briefly dream about the money.

"Oh, I had already paid off my house," he said. "I was taking trips; I was doing everything."

But before he did anything, Heinz called the bank and confirmed that his "winnings" were bogus.

"Actually, she didn't even ask me what it was," he said. "She just said, 'Let me guess, Majestic Liquors?' And I said, 'Yes.'"

Majestic employees said they heard about the checks, which are also showing up in Austin.

Anyone who receives one of the checks in the mail is urged to not cash it and report it to the police.