CONTACT

Amy Nofziger
Telephone: (720) 947-5306
Email: ANofziger@aarp.org

New Twist to Check Scam

A couple of new twists to fake check scams have been recently reported to our National Fraud Information Center/Internet Fraud Watch program (you will find tips about fake check scams among the telemarketing and Internet fraud tips on www.fraud.org -- we will probably revise them in light of these new problems).

Some crooks are now using phony postal money orders instead of cashiers checks or checks that look like they're drawn on business accounts. Since consumers consider postal money orders as good as cash, they deposit them and wire the money to the crooks immediately.

In a more elaborate twist, some crooks are telling consumers that they will transfer the promised payment to their bank accounts via an electronic fund transfer. They ask for the consumers' bank account numbers for this purpose. Then, instead of an EFT, the crooks send fake checks to the consumers' banks with instructions to deposit them in the consumers' accounts. When consumers check to see if the money is there, they do not think to question whether it was an EFT. They wire the money, and you know the rest...

If you have anything new to report about fake check scams or other telemarketing or Internet frauds, please let me know.