Mail and Internet scams seem too good to be true, and they usually are.

Now, there has been a 23 percent increase over the last six months, according to the Attorney General's Officer.

The increase could be a direct result of the country's economic crisis.

“People are looking for money, people are looking to doing it criminally,” Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said. “You know we have an economic downturn in Florida, now we have an economic downturn around the world.”

Some people have received checks in the mail, saying that they were winners of a lottery. When they call to redeem the prize, they are told to sign the check, bring it to the bank and make a deposit. It's that easy, and anyone can be a victim of a scam.

Bank officials said when they notice checks that don't seem right, they offer to hold them for a few days, which gives them a chance to spot bad checks.