Cash a Check, Go to Jail

With unemployment at an all-time high, people are searching for work in the most remote places. One them being, online. According to MSN Money, fake-check scams have become one of the number one fraud reported to the National Consumers League.


Because U.S. law requires the dispensation of funds from a check within five business days, banks are losing out on more and more money. Five days is usually not enough time to determine whether or not a check is fraudalent. However, the bank can not legally hold the funds until they determine the legality of the check. Rather, they must cash the check. Then, request compensation later. These scammers draw up real checks from actual accounts, but the printing is homemade. The scam artist then instructs their victim to go the bank and cash the check, keep a portion of the proceeds, then wire the remaining balance to a designated account.

This particular form of fraud strikes me as odd that some people could actually fall for this. First of all, why is someone sending you a check endorsed to someone else. Second, why would someone have you wire them a portion of the check when they could have cashed the check themselves and kept the entire amount. The reasons underlying this scam is because the scammers choose to keep their names away from government scrutiny. Because their victim actually cashed the check, even though they did wire a portion of the check to the scammer, they are the ones at fault.

My advice is never to cash a check that is not endorsed to you. Second, most get-rich schemes are what they are: schemes. So stay away. Third, have common sense.


http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Banking/FinancialPrivacy/cash-a-check-maybe-go-to-jail.aspx