Online Counterfeit Scam

The Federal Trade Commission wants you to know that counterfeit cheque scams are on the rise. Some fake cheques look so real that bank tellers are reporting being fooled. The scammers use high quality printers and scanners to make the cheque look real. Some of the cheques contain authentic-looking watermarks; are printed with the names and addresses of legitimate financial institutions. And even though the bank and account and routing numbers listed on a counterfeit cheque may be real, the cheque still can be a fake. These fakes come in many forms, from cashier’s cheques and money orders to corporate and personal cheques. Counterfeit are being used in a growing number of fraudulent schemes, including foreign lottery scam, check overpayment scam, Internet auction scam, secret shopper scam and help wanted scam.

Check overpayment scams target consumers selling cars or other valuable items through classified ads or online auction sites. Unsuspecting sellers get stuck when scammers pass off bogus cashier’s, corporate or personal cheques.

A scam artist replies to a classified ad or auction posting, offers to pay for the item with a cheque, and then comes up with a reason for writing the cheque for more than the purchase price. The scammer asks the seller to wire back the difference after depositing it. The seller does, and later, when the scammer’s cheque bounces, the seller is left liable for the entire amount.

Secret shopper scams, the consumer, hired to be a secret shopper, is asked to evaluate the effectiveness of a money transfer service. The consumer is given a cheque, told to deposit it in their bank account, and withdraw the amount in cash. Then, the consumer is told to take the cash to the money transfer service specified, and typically, send the transfer to a person in Canada or United Kingdom. Then, the consumer is supposed to evaluate their experience — but no one collects the evaluation.

Help wanted scam normally take the form of email solicitation through bulk mail delivery to your in box asking you to be the company foreign account receivable agent or representative, once you agree to accept the offer, the counterfeit gang will instruct his associates in USA to pose as a customer by sending several thousand worth of high quality fake cheques or USPS money orders together with instruction of how to wire transfer the balance of the negotiable instrument to the company's owner oversea through western union or money gram after deducting your commission of between 5% -10 %.

Con artists who use these schemes can easily avoid detection. When funds are sent through wire transfer services, the recipients can pick up the money at any locations within foreign country where it is nearly impossible for the sender or wire transfer agent to identify or locate the recipient.

Under federal law, banks must make funds available to you from U.S. Treasury's cheques, official bank (cashier’s, certified or teller’s cheques),and checks paid by government agencies and USPS money order at the opening of business the day after you deposit the cheque. For other cheques, banks must similarly make the first $100 available the day after you deposit the cheque. Remaining funds must be made available on the second day after the deposit if payable by a local bank, and within five days if drawn on distant banks.

However, just because funds are available on a cheque you’ve deposited doesn’t mean the it is good even though the bank confirms that the cheque has cleared, unless you know and trust the person you’re dealing with . Forgeries can take several months to be discovered and untangled, saying the cheque is cleared by bank teller only literally means fund is available in your account, it is not equivalent as it is a genuine cheque. Depending on the type of negotiable instrument, bank (your bank or payer bank) has the right to declare your cheque or money order as counterfeits within a SIX months to THREE years period from the date the deposit is made. If that happen, the only recourse for a depositor is from the person who pay you. Once you endorsed the M.O or cheque you deposited, you are guaranteeing to the bank it is genuine and is legally liable for the face amount written regardless what your bank is telling you.

Example of a help wanted scam email:


Greetings,

I am Dan Halamandris ,Manager bond trust House Plc.We need a
representative who
can be working for us as a Payment Officer.we receive Payments from clients in
form of Money Orders or Cashiers Check for which its always too expensive and
stressful for me to come down and receive such payment so,We decided to
contact
you.We are willing to pay you 10% of every payment received by you.

Email back with the Info below

NAME
FULL ADDRESS(not p.o. box)
CITY
STATE
ZIP CODE
PHONE NUMBER

REPLY TO:Bondtrusthouseplc@hotmail.com

Dan Halamandris.
BOND TRUST HOUSE PLC.

Because of existing loopholes in bank's clearing and verification system, one should never deposit cheque or money order for a stranger or foreign corporation with the exception of wanting to get scam. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop, and avoid them. visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357).