The free programs on "fake check scams" that will be held today, tomorrow and Friday are designated for senior citizens, but the advice holds true for anyone who opens an envelope and pulls out what appears to be a legitimate check.

Today's program will be held at 10:30 a.m. at the Penn Hills Senior Center at 147 Jefferson Road in Penn Hills. Postal inspector Don Rood and officers from the Penn Hills police department will explain how the scams work and how to avoid them.

The program at 11 a.m. tomorrow will be held at the Circle of Friends meeting site at 3908 Sixth Ave., Beaver Falls. Postal inspector Randy Hayden will be the host and tell the audience how some victims were taken in by depositing "free money."

And the Friday program will begin at 10 a.m. in the clubhouse of the Masonic Village of Sewickley, 2000 Masonic Driver, Sewickley. Postal inspector Ken Wiloch will host.

The programs are being presented as part of National Consumer Protection Week.

Here's how a typical fake check scam works: Victims receive checks in the mail that appear to be authentic. A letter with the checks says the recipients have won a six- or seven-figure prize. All the victims have to do to receive that prize is to deposit the check they received, which may be for $10,000 or more, in their accounts and mail the sender a check for several thousand dollars for fees.

Because the checks look like the real thing, it may take weeks before they are found to be counterfeit. Victims then are notified by their banks about the bogus checks. Besides the money they sent the scammers, which usually isn't recovered, victims may be in trouble with their banks for depositing phony checks.

"The common theme in all these scams is that the victims always receive checks that they are told to deposit quickly and then return some of the money to the sender to pay for various fees," said postal inspector Ken Gournic.

He said a variation on the scam occurs when victims advertise something for sale. A con artist offers to buy the object, usually sight unseen, and sends a check for more than the sale price. The victim calls the scammer who "apologizes" for sending too much money. The scammer then asks the victim to send a check for the balance of the "overpayment."

Mr. Gournic said those who respond to work-at-home schemes also can become victims. And the counterfeit checks look so real that veteran bank employees have been fooled into thinking they are authentic.

How big is this problem?

Huge.

Mr. Gournic said Canadian postal inspectors, in cooperation with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and American postal inspectors and law enforcement agencies, have had success in seizing fake checks.

"Canadian officials in December seized 50,000 checks with a face value of $195 million that were to be sent to victims in the United States," he said. And thanks to the efforts of postal inspectors and officials in the United States, Canada, Europe and Africa, more than 600,000 checks with a face value of $2.5 billion have been confiscated.

The National Consumers League said the amount of losses has quadrupled since 2004. It said victims lose an average of between $3,000 to $4,000.

For more information, call toll-free 1-877-876-2455 or go to www.FakeChecks.org.

"We've had about 900,000 hits on that site," Mr. Gournic said.