The Internet Wedding Check Scam

The Internet wedding scam is a variant of check cashing fraud where the scammer employs a wedding band/singer/florist (or similar) over the Internet and pays them with a check. The scammer then quickly makes up a reason why the people they have just employed need to send back the money (all or percentage) through Western Union or MoneyGram.

The reasons may vary, but are usually that the wedding has been called off and the scammer wants a refund, or the check was accidentally made out for more than what was asked for and the scammer requests the difference be wired back.

Of course the check will turn out to be fake and bounces after about a week, and the band/singer/florist find themselves without whatever money they wired to the scammer.

If you have accepted and cashed a cheque from someone you do not know, and they go on to request you wire then money using either Western Union or Moneygram, do not wire any money and let your bank know that the cheque you cashed it likely faked. This way you have only wasted a little time, not lots of money.

Go Back