NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Oprah Winfrey is known for her generous giveaways on her popular talk show, so when Mable Bailey received "The Oprah Show" summer sweepstakes letter in the mail, she believed it.

"When I first got it, I just knew I was a winner," Bailey said.

The blue letter with Winfrey's face in the upper left-hand corner claimed Bailey had won $81,000 as part of the sweepstakes. Included in the letter was an advance check in the amount of $2,800.50.

"I took the check to the bank and they told me the check was good," Bailey said.

But Bailey said her instincts kept her from cashing the check, and when she called the Canadian telephone number listed on the sweepstakes letter, it wasn't in service.

Bailey then looked at the winners on "The Oprah Show" summer sweepstakes Web site and couldn't find her name. But it was Walgreens, which sponsored the sweepstakes, which confirmed there was a sweepstakes in 2006 and that the prize had already been claimed.

A statement from Winfrey's production team acknowledged it was aware of the fraudulent letters being distributed and said "all official Harpo-related sweepstakes notifications will contain contact information through which its validity can be confirmed."

The Broward Sheriff's Office said Bailey did the smart thing by not cashing in the check, which might have given scammers information to her account.

"People should do what this woman did and be suspicious, because no one's looking to give away money," BSO spokeswoman Jim Leljedal said.

Bailey said she hopes she strikes it rich in the future. For now, though, she is happy she took the right steps to avoid becoming a victim and hopes whoever is responsible for the bogus letters is caught.