Fake Checks
Tips for Recognizing
and Avoiding Fake Check Scams
If someone you
don’t know wants to pay you by check but wants you to wire some
of the money back, beware! It’s a scam that could cost you
thousands of dollars.
· There are many variations of the
fake check scam. It could start with someone offering to buy something
you advertised, pay you to do work at home, give you an
“advance” on a sweepstakes you’ve supposedly won, or
pay the first installment on the millions that you’ll receive for
agreeing to have money in a foreign country transferred to your bank
account for safekeeping. Whatever the pitch, the person may sound quite
believable.
· Fake check scammers hunt for
victims. They scan newspaper and online advertisements for people
listing items for sale, and check postings on online job sites from
people seeking employment. They place their own ads with phone numbers
or email addresses for people to contact them. And they call or send
emails or faxes to people randomly, knowing that some will take the
bait.
· They often claim to be in another
country. The scammers say it’s too difficult and complicated to
send you the money directly from their country, so they’ll
arrange for someone in the U.S. to send you a check.
·
They
tell you to wire money to them after you’ve deposited the check.
If you’re selling something, they say they’ll pay you by
having someone in the U.S.
who owes them money send you a check. It will be for more than
the sale price; you deposit the check, keep what you’re owed, and
wire the rest to them. If it’s part of a work-at-home scheme,
they may claim that you’ll be processing checks from their
“clients.” You deposit the checks and then wire them the
money minus your “pay.” Or they may send you a check for
more than your pay “by mistake” and ask you to wire them
the excess. In the sweepstakes and foreign money offer variations of
the scam, they tell you to wire them money for taxes, customs, bonding,
processing, legal fees, or other expenses that must be paid before you
can get the rest of the money.
·
The
checks are fake but they look real. In fact,
they look so real that even bank tellers may be fooled. Some are phony cashiers checks, others look like they’re from
legitimate business accounts. The companies whose names appear may be
real, but someone has dummied up the checks without their knowledge.
·
You
don’t have to wait long to use the money, but that doesn’t
mean the check is good. Under federal law, banks have to make the funds
you deposit available quickly – usually within one to five days,
depending on the type of check. But just because you can withdraw the
money doesn’t mean the check is good, even if it’s a
cashier’s check. It can take weeks for the forgery to be
discovered and the check to bounce.
·
You
are responsible for the checks you deposit. That’s because
you’re in the best position to determine the risk –
you’re the one dealing directly with the person who is arranging
for the check to be sent to you. When a check bounces, the bank deducts
the amount that was originally credited to your account. If there
isn’t enough to cover it, the bank may be able to take money from
other accounts you have at that institution, or sue you to recover the
funds. In some cases, law enforcement authorities could bring charges
against the victims because it may look like they were involved in the
scam and knew the check was counterfeit.
·
There
is no legitimate reason for someone who is giving you money to
ask you to wire money back. If a stranger wants to pay you for
something, insist on a cashiers check for the exact amount,
preferably from a local bank or a bank that has a branch in your area.
·
Don’t
deposit it – report it! Report fake check scams to the National
Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch, a service of the
nonprofit National Consumers League, at www.fraud.org or (800) 876-7060.
That information will be transmitted to the appropriate law enforcement
agencies.
Information on this website is provided by Chris Triolo, additional
information on internet Frauds and Scams can be found at www.FBI.gov or www.nclnet.org
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