Scammers need a good story to get to your wallet. Once they find one that works, they use it again and again. One of their old favorites brings together fake checks and secret shopping, and we’ve been hearing a lot about it lately.
Here’s how it starts. You get a check in the mail with a job offer as a secret shopper. You deposit the check and see the funds in your account a few days later, and the bank even tells you the check has cleared.
Now you’re off to the store you’ve been asked to shop at and report back on, often a Walmart. Your first assignment is to test the in-store money transfer service, like Western Union or MoneyGram, by sending some of the money you deposited. Or you might be told to use the money to buy reloadable cards or gift cards, such as iTunes cards. You’re instructed to send pictures of the cards or to give the numbers on the cards.
Fast forward days or weeks to the unhappy ending. The bank finds out the check you deposited is a fake, which means you’re on the hook for all that money. How does that even happen? Well, banks must make funds from deposited checks available within days, but uncovering a fake check can take weeks. By the time you try to get the money back from the money transfer service, the scammers are long gone, and they’ve taken all the money off the gift cards, too. (By the way, money orders and cashier’s checks can be faked, too.)
The moral of the story? If anyone ever asks you to deposit a check and then wire or send money in any way, you can bet it’s a scam. No matter what they tell you.
Want to avoid the latest rip-offs? Sign up for free scam alerts from the FTC at FTC.gov/Scams.
In reply to I received a check for $2850. by jmorge
In reply to I recently received a check by jkatz5303
In reply to I recently received a check by jkatz5303
In reply to I recently received a check by jkatz5303
In reply to I recently received a check by jkatz5303
In reply to I recently received a check by jkatz5303
In reply to I recently received a check by jkatz5303
In reply to How can we report these by Aj
You can report this at www.FTC.gov/Complaint.
In reply to I recently received a check by jkatz5303
In reply to I recently received a check by jkatz5303
In reply to I recently received a check by jkatz5303
In reply to I recently received a check by jkatz5303
In reply to I was a victim of this scam, by Jade4092
In reply to what are you doing about the by peppino
If you think you’ve been targeted by a counterfeit check scam, report it to the following agencies:
In reply to If you think you’ve been by ctressler
In reply to I was a victim of this scam, by Jade4092
In reply to I was a victim of this scam, by Jade4092
In reply to So was I - happened just a by Summer2018
I have a long list of phone numbers calling for different reasons plus jobs, large amounts of money left to me all I need to do is send money to get it I just write scamer and send back last call I got wants my banking information number is 323-786-7060 no name no information
In reply to Have had a couple phone calls by Eagles
In reply to Have had a couple phone calls by Eagles
In reply to Have had a couple phone calls by Eagles
In reply to The IRS will only send a by Diana
In reply to Have had a couple phone calls by Eagles
In reply to Have had a couple phone calls by Eagles
I put my resume on Career Builder and get an offer from a company asking me to be a Mystery Shopper. I checked to see if it was a real company and it was. So I applied. Then when they sent me the 2nd email I knew that they were a scam. They sent me a check in the amount of $3935 and they wanted me to put this check in my bank. I contacted the Local Police Department but was told this is not a crime and was told to inform these people to just stop communicating with me. They then started to threating me. I still have the check and they have now finally stop texting me.
In reply to I put my resume on Career by patrice
In reply to You can Block that number by colorado
In reply to I put my resume on Career by patrice
In reply to I put my resume on Career by patrice
In reply to Give checks to your bank for by hipthe
In reply to Nov.2010, I was new in the by ARAJCO
Some people destroy the fake checks, some people give them to staff at a bank or a local police office. If you receive a check by postal mail, you can give it to someone at your post office, because they investigate mail fraud.
In reply to Some people destroy the fake by FTC Staff
In reply to Fake checks deserve fake gift by Cappy
I've seen many opportunities to be a Secret Shopper at Walmart. Continous IRS threatning lawsuits,Thanks for the heads also. Keep up the good work.
In reply to I was scammed by this dude by Big Dls
In reply to i just got scammed doing this by Angel
You are responsible for the checks you deposit. If you deposited a fake check and withdrew money, you must repay the bank for the money you withdrew. You could talk to someone at the bank about repayment and report the scam.
In reply to i just got scammed doing this by Angel
Pagination