SCARSSCARS SCARS - Society of Citizens Against Relationship Scams Inc. A government registered crime victims' assistance & crime prevention nonprofit organization based in Miami, Florida, U.S.A. SCARS supports the victims of scams worldwide and through its partners in more than 60 countries around the world. Incorporated in 2015, its team has 30 years of continuous experience educating and supporting scam victims. Visit www.AgainstScams.org to learn more about SCARS.™ Special Report: Fake Check ScamsScams A Scam is a confidence trick - a crime - is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust through deception. Scams or confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, irresponsibility, or greed and exploiting that. Researchers have defined confidence tricks as "a distinctive species of fraudulent conduct ... intending to further voluntary exchanges that are not mutually beneficial", as they "benefit con operators ('con men' - criminals) at the expense of their victims (the 'marks')". A scam is a crime even if no money was lost. Bait Consumers [PDF REPORT]
Don’t Cash That Check: BBB Study Shows How Fake Check Scams Bait Consumers
If someone calls and asks for money, you might be skeptical. But what if the person sends you a check in advance, you cash the check, and your bank tells you that money is in your account?
Sounds Like A Safe Deal, Especially If It Is A Cashier’s Check, Which Is As Good As Gold. Right? Wrong.
Here’s what crooks know, but you may not: even when a check is credited to your account, it does not mean the check is good. A week or so later, if the check bounces, the bank will want the money back. And you, not the fraudsters, will be on the hook for the funds.
It happens to tens of thousands of people every year. “Buyers” send a check for more than the full price to sellers of cars or other items on Craigslist and other online classifieds sites. “Employers” send a check to “new hires” to buy supplies needed to do the job from home. Sweepstakes or lottery “winners” are given a check to pay taxes so the award can be delivered.
All of these are scams involving counterfeit checks which are often altered versions of business checks from real companies.
Fake check fraudFraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain (money or other assets), or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensation) or criminal law (e.g., a fraud perpetrator may be prosecuted and imprisoned by governmental authorities), or it may cause no loss of money, property, or legal right but still be an element of another civil or criminal wrong. The purpose of fraud may be monetary gain or other benefits, for example by obtaining a passport, travel document, or driver's license, or mortgage fraud, where the perpetrator may attempt to qualify for a mortgage by way of false statements. A fraud can also be a hoax, which is a distinct concept that involves deliberate deception without the intention of gain or of materially damaging or depriving a victim. is a huge problem, with complaints to government agencies and consumer advocacy groups doubling over the last three years. Millions of fake checks worth billions of dollars circulate every year.
“Fake check fraud is an exploding epidemic,” says Elaine Dodd, Executive Vice President of the Oklahoma Bankers Association. “More education and enforcement to stem this problem are clearly needed.”
This Study By Better Business Bureau (BBB) Details The Wide Variety Of Frauds That Employ Fake Checks
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Study courtesy of the Better Business Bureau.
SCARS™ Team