In the past, traditional thieves stole your wallet or purse, used your credit cards until you notified the bank, and spent all the cash you had. Today, just because your wallet is sitting in your pocket or purse, doesn’t mean your money is safe. Today’s fraudster is using sophisticated techniques to pick-pocket your hard earned cash from your accounts, not just your wallet. Be aware of the Check Scam.
There are a couple variations of this scam. If you advertise something for sale, you may get an e-mail from an interested seller who says he does not live nearby and will send a check. When the check arrives, it is for more than the sales price. The buyer makes an excuse and asks you to wire back the difference. Or you may receive a letter stating you won a foreign lottery, and to claim the prize, you should deposit the enclosed check and wire back the money to cover taxes and fees. The check looks real, and you should not have a problem depositing it with a bank teller or ATM. However, once the financial institution processes it (which could take a few days), they discover it is fraudulent. You likely won’t be able to get back the money you wired, and if you have already withdrawn some of the funds from your account, you will have to pay it back. You can avoid this scam by never wiring money to a stranger and requiring buyers to pay you in cash.
After all, who under 40 uses checks anymore?
