Oregon Department of Justice

Attorney General John Kroger is warning Oregon consumers about a bogus postal scam that offers free jewelry for the cost of shipping and handling.

The offer arrives in the mail box on what looks like a green U.S. Postal Service tracking notice. It says $50 worth of jewelry has been sent to you, but you must pay a processing fee of $6.95. The card gives a toll free number.

Consumers from across Oregon have reported the scam. Jewelers have valued the so-called pearl-and-diamond, "gold-toned" necklace as worth about $1. It costs another $1 to ship the junk so the company is making approximately $4.95 per hit.

Although the card carries a disclaimer that the promotion is not affiliated with USPS, it is barely visible and is clearly designed to look like postcards used by the US Postal Service and parcel-delivery services.

The company, Consumer Clearinghouse Distributors owned by Emerson Direct Inc. of Naples, Florida, has been investigated in the past.