Check scam

Wow. That's nasty!
Google returns this:

crimes-of-persuasion.com/Nigerian/counterfeit_cashiers_check_scams.htm

Looks like a subtle takeoff of a 419 scam.

Oh my. I had nearly the same thing happen, but it was with an Ebay auction I had listed. Someone claiming to be from the Philipines e-mailed me just after the auction ended, saying they were acting as the "agent" for the prospective buyer of my item. (They never bid on it and offers to transact business outside of Ebay for an Ebay listing is against Ebay's policies.) They went on to say their "client" could only raise the money for one money order, so they were sending me one money order containing the purchase price of the item, plus their "commission" as the agent, and that I should Western Union the commission of $75 back to them. The purchase price of the item was $350. I e-mailed them back and told them NOT to send me the money order, that I was not a bank or a broker, and would not be handling their commission. If I received the money order, I told them I would send it back, uncashed. They sent several e-mails saying "ok, I understand, I'll send the money!"

I finally gave them my address, they sent a money order for $3,500 (remember the price was $350) - and I promptly checked with the money order company, confirmed it was a fake (like I knew it would be), and forwarded it all to the FBI.

What an elaborate scheme just to get $75, which they never got.

Debtcruncher--That sucks about your co-worker...She should report this to your local news/newspaper...There are probably many others in the area getting that same check.

Sue--If they got $75 from just 10 people, that's $750...With the millions that use Ebay, sadly there's got to be at least 10 that would fall for it. Probably hundreds, or even thousands..It sucks. :(

Hey, all. I work at a bank, and i can tell you that this is not new. Everyone in banking knows about this. It comes in waves, and it's that time of year for scams. THere are a few out there that are pretty sneaky. One is the phishing email that looks like it's from your bank asking for you to email back and verify your online banking information. A bank would NEVER email you to ask you for your information. Another one is that cashier's check scam with online auctions or Craig's List. THere's a big one on Craig's list right now with the roomate finder. Someone posts on craig's list that they are looking for a roomate, and they get a "deposit" check from someone that needs to be cashed and a difference in the amount sent back to the sender. Yeah....right. One of the main things people need to understand is that once you endorse the back of a check, you are accepting ownership of the item. When a bank deposits a check into your account that you endorse, and they make any funds available, they are basically giving you a loan on the face value of that check until it clears the bank it's drawn on. So, when a bank puts a hold on the funds of a check, they are trying to give themselves enough time to have that item clear before making all of the funds available to you. Sometimes, it takes longer than expected. It sounds like this was one of those times. Anyone can call the issuing institution to see if an item is valid or not. I do it with EVERY check I get, even from family. Working at a bank, I've learned to be excessively parinoid and diligent. :?

swedishchick1 - you seem to have quite a bit of information that would be of value to the members here. Why don't you register and join us? We're a very friendly group, and we don't bite...much. :-)

Yeah.


Much. ;)

I replied to htis post earlier, but I'll try again. I work at a bank, and we see this kind of stuff all the time. PLEASE....if it looks too good to be true, it is. If anyone ever writes you a check that you have a "feeling" about, call the issuing bank to make sure it's legit.

swedish - your post showed above, and it was full of very useful information!

I had something like that happen to me I received a check for $6000 for an ebay purchase, but it didn't seem right becuase it was from a mortgage company. After checking with my bank and the bank that is was drawn on, it was someone using a stolen account on a bogus check.

traci - mine was a money order purchased at Wal-Mart...and it looked very real. I called the company to be sure it was fake (I knew it was, but just wanted confirmation) - there was one sure indicator it was fake: it was for $3,500. There are no money orders sold anywhere in the world that can be written for that amount.

well because i deposited mine and after it went to the bank thats when i got worried. So now my bank just closed out my account today and won't let me open a new one with them because someone tried to screw me.

Traci - you actually deposited yours?? Didn't someone at the bank stop you or say they had to put a hold on the check to verify funds?

Wow, same thing happened to me. I answered an ad for mystery shopping and got a Cashier's Check (or so I thought) for $2500 drawn on a bank in Fla. All I had to do was wire the money to them via Walmart. I called the bank to verify funds and found out they don't even do cashier's checks, and the FBI was on it, since it was an outfit in Canada that sent it to me.
The thing is, if was legit, then they would've sent a much smaller amount.

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These international check scams are to be forwarded to the secret service (who generally forward it to interpol) Your best defense is to turn it down, same with debit card offers. My sister was offered a debit card with a 200k/day withdraw limit. That was a scheme to funnel funds outside of a country (hard to tell, possibly just money laundering)