|
Check Cashing Scam |
|
Check cashing fraud essentially refers to act of cashing fake checks into a bank and withdrawing the money out before the check inevitably bounces. Check cashing fraud has become increasingly sophisticated over the years and for the most part has managed to keep one step ahead of fraud prevention practice set out to thwart it.
Initially check cashing fraud consisted of the criminal creating the bogus check, going into a bank and cashing it for money on the spot, and leaving before the bank realises the check is fake. This particular crime was made famous by real life fraudster Frank Abagnale Jr. and Hollywood movie “Catch Me If You Can” which detailed the story of a young criminal who travelled America cashing fake checks. Of course, the problem with this crime was that the scammer was forced to travel as upon realising the check cashed was a fake, the authorities and bank officials would be alerted and the scammer would then likely be caught trying to cash fake checks at the same bank as before. This leads to what we know as cash checking fraud today – where scammers employ innocent yet naïve victims to cash their fake checks for them, withdraw the money, and then transfer that money back to the scammer using untraceable money wire services like Western Union or Moneygram – services that are extensively utilised by scammers in other types of scams, especially Advanced Fee Fraud. The template of the scam is always the same – send the victim a check, ask them to withdraw all or some of the money, and transfer it through an online money wire service. The only thing that changes is the reasons and excuses the scammers use to get their victims to do what they say, to which we have outlined some popular examples below. The Payment Process Agent / Regional Manager Job - also see fake jobs offers Jobs that advertise a work-from-home job which involves the victim receiving cashier checks and forwarding a percentage on to someone else using an online wire service. The Au Pair Job - also see fake jobs offers Scammers will advertise fake jobs for au pairs and nannies. Upon baiting a victim, they will send a check with instructions for the au pair to cash. Then the scammer will tell the au pair that they have to cancel the deal and request the au pair send the money from the check back through an online wire service. The Accidentally Overpaid Excuse This excuse is often used by scammers when buying items from online sellers through services like Gumtree or CraigsList. The scammer will send a fake check which is purposely made out for more than the seller requested. The scammer will claim it is either a mistake or they need the victim to forward the difference onto someone else. Either way the scammer will request the victim use a money wiring service like Western Union. The Auction Site Scam Simple method where the scammer sends a fake check and the seller then sends the item to the scammer. The check then bounces and the seller loses the item. This variant by itself doesn’t require the victim to transfer money to the scammer, but it can be used in conjunction with the variant above, the overpaid excuse variant. The Internet Wedding Scam A popular variant is where the scammer employs contracted wedding workers like singers, bands, florists or caterers through the Internet. The scammer pays by check, but then cancels the wedding and requests the money be refunded by Western Union. This can also be used in conjunction with the overpaid excuse as well. Mystery/Secret Shopper Scam - also see fake jobs offers Another fake job variant, where job hunters are recruited online, and told they are qualified to become a mystery shopper. They are then sent a check and told to cash it, withdraw a percentage of the money (the remainder is their salary) and wire it through a service like Western Union. When the check bounces, the victim is left without the money they wired. The Shipping Variant This variant is directed at people selling products online. The scammer will request a typically high amount of product and will instruct the victim to charge them for shipping as well as the product. The scammer sends a fake check to the victim, who is then instructed by the “shipping company” – which is in reality still the scammer – to wire the money for shipping through a money wire service like Western Union. The victim loses the money they transfer through Western Union and also the product they send. The use of the check is slowly being fazed out with more and more transactions now being performed electronically, so this scam is one that is slowly becoming less prolific and the use of checks becomes less popular and eventually more suspicious. However, it is still a popular scam today, so always be wary of receiving checks from people you do not know. If you ever receive a check from someone you do not personally know, and are then requested to cash that check and forward on a percentage (or all of it) through a money service like Western Union or Moneygram, you should immediately contact the bank and inform then you think you have unwittingly cashed a fake check. |
|
Related Articles:Why SPAM?Scambaiting Surf the Web Safely Top Ten Signs to look out for in Email Scams Fake Job Offers Fake Job Offer Examples CraigsList Scams The Truth About Western Union Reshipping/Shipping Scams |
Recent Article Additions:infotech-groupinc.com added on 06/04/10Abby Keys added on 04/27/10 LMCA CONSULTING & ACCOUNTING INC added on 04/16/10 intelful.com, Intellectual Fulfillment, Inc. added on 03/01/10 Render Group Inc added on 01/18/10 |
|
||||||||||||||
