A Bismarck bank says a customer fell victim to a fake check scam that appears to prey on people who have declared bankruptcy.

Sarah Getzlaff, an assistant vice president at Security First Bank of North Dakota, said a customer who had recently declared bankruptcy received a check for $4,920 from "G & R Mining Company." An accompanying letter said the check was a grant to help the customer, Getzlaff said.

The letter said a second check of equal value would follow after the recipient mailed 10 percent of the total back to the company, Getzlaff said.

After checking a Web site listed in the letter and communicating with someone who supposedly worked for "G & R Mining Company," the bank customer sent nearly $1,000 back to the company, Getzlaff said. She did not know what Web site the customer visited.

The customer, who Getzlaff did not identify, thought the check seemed legitimate, but it was counterfeit, she said.

"The customer had very good intentions,"she said.

Earlier this month, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem's office warned of similar counterfeit check scams. People received counterfeit checks as contest prizes or money for something being sold. They were told to keep a certain amount of the money but return a portion to the sender.

The attorney general's office explains that people are responsible for deposited checks - if a check turns out not to be legitimate, the person has to return the money to the bank.

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@;bismarcktribune.com.)