PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- A new scam is targeting senior citizens.

Richard Hanson, a senior from Palm Beach Gardens, is no fool.

"These (scammers) figure those old fogies don't know anything," he said.

Hanson almost put his suspicions aside completely when a Bank of America cashier's check arrived in the mail.

"You get greedy. That's why they put the carrot out in front of the donkey's nose -- to see if you'll bite on it," he said.

The check looked awfully tempting, at almost $4,000.

The letter that came with it said Hanson could cash it to pay for the taxes on a $49,000 lottery payout he would eventually receive.

Hanson decided to take it to his son -- a lawyer and former prosecutor.

"Well, I saw the check, and it looked very legitimate," said Mark Hanson. But he could tell from the letters that it must be a scam.

Misspelled words, like "congratulation," didn't look like something a reputable organization would send.

It even said "keep this award from public notice" until the check goes through.

"I think they were relying on the check fooling the bank and then when it gets processed, his bank information would show up on the check," said the younger Hanson.

The Hansons used their own bank to verify what they predicted

Bank of America recognized the check as counterfeit.

Instead of ripping it up and forgetting about it, they decided to tell everyone they could.

"When you get something like this, there's a substantial chance it's a fraud," said Hanson.

The FBI and Bank of America are investigating.

The Hansons are also working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to help track down the true origins of the scam.