Now, for some reason, many of us think someone would actually send us money for nothing. Blame it on Ed McMahon; maybe we've seen too many sweepstakes commercials where some unsuspecting person is surprised by a camera crew and a check for million dollars. Well, chances are, Ed's not stopping by your house, and neither is the money fairy. That Canadian lottery check you got in the mail for $68,000? Toss it. The Nigerian "love letter" that popped up in your e-mail in-box, asking you to cash a check for $40,000 so you could receive $8,000? Delete it. Here's an e-mail Two on Your Side received today that's typical of questions I get every week:

I have received a letter informing me that I have won 50,000 that I have not claimed? I checked with BBB, the company came up but no more info on the company. The company is: International Lottery,Inc. out of Miami, FL. We have been receiving many call also from several "customer response" via caller id. I have not answered any of the incoming calls and wanted to see if it was a fraud? I would appereciate any info you may have.

Yes, it's a fraud. Here's a good website explaining how lottery scams work:
http://www.fraudaid.com/ScamSpam/Lottery/index.htm

We just did a story about a teen who got taken by strangers who asked him to cash a check for them in exchange for $5. You guessed it...the check was bad, and now the teen's on the hook for $275.
Something for nothing? Not until Ed McMahon's camera crew shows up at your house.