By Valerie S. Johnson
Con artists keep finding new ways to part people from their money. Their latest ploys involve sending counterfeit checks to you for deposit. Here’s how it works:
1. You receive a big check in the mail because you’ve won some contest (which you never even entered). To claim your prize, all you need to do is deposit the check in your bank account, and wire a portion of the funds back to the contest officials to cover your taxes and fees. The cashier’s check looks real – not like one of those old Publisher’s Clearinghouse checks that merely represented a potential prize.
However, it’s a bogus check that looks so real even your bank teller may not realize it’s a fake. You deposit it, wire the fees, and eventually the "prize" check comes bouncing back. Your bank may charge you a fee, and the amount you wired is irrecoverable.
2. You sold an item at an online auction site or via a classified ad. The buyer provides a check that is for an amount greater than the agreed sale price. Giving some excuse for the overpayment, the buyer asks you to deposit the check and wire back the difference.
Sounds reasonable, right? After all, it’s the buyer who is taking the risk that you won’t return the amount of the overpayment. However, you’re an honest person, so you wire the money. But the buyer’s check bounces, and you also lose the amount you wired.
Read the Federal Trade Commission’s brochure
"Giving the Bounce to Counterfeit Check Scams" for more information about these schemes, the law on availability of deposited funds, and how to protect yourself against a bogus check scam.
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