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SCARS|RSN™ Special Report: Fake Check Scams 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 fraud 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
Hover Over The PDF To View Controls – Use Up/Down Arrows To View Pages
Study courtesy of the Better Business Bureau.
SCARS|RSN™ Team
A SCARS Division
Miami Florida U.S.A.
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