The City of Homestead would like to alert its residents about a scam that has been reported by individuals across the United States. Several people have received checks purported to be refunds from Homestead Public Services (HPS). If you are not a customer of HPS or have not received a notice that you will be receiving a refund, do not attempt to cash such a check.
Like most check scams, the perpetrators of this scam are usually asking for a small fee in return for you to cash a check that you will get to keep. Once the forgery is discovered, your money and the person you “helped” is long gone. It may also be the case that scammers are able to retrieve personal information from you when attempting to cash these fraudulent checks.
If you believe you may be a victim of this scam, please contact the Mail Police at 1 (877) 876-2455 or 1 (800) 275-8777 and Homestead Customer Service at (305) 224-4800. We urge all our customers to never provide their personal information to strangers.
You may also contact the authorities listed below:
• Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs: 1-800-HELP-FLA
• Financial Crimes Enforcement Network: 1-800-767-2825
• Federal Trade Commission: 1-877-FTC-HELP
