Overview of Check Cashing Fraud
Check cashing fraud is rampant and has been very difficult for authorities to curtail. Now that copy machines are more available and print at a higher quality than ever, scam artists have no problem with creating a phony check and copy it. The use of counterfeit checks are seen most often in at-home businesses, on ad sites, and elsewhere through international contact made on the Internet.
When a vendor, or other unsuspecting individual, is given a check that exceeds the amount of a purchase, and they are asked to return the excess amount in cash, through a money wiring service such as Western Union, that is a clear indication that this is a circumstance of check cashing fraud. The scammer may use the sale of an item or service, work at home employment, or rental as their ploy.
For the most part, you can’t really tell it’s a fake check until the bank can verify it to be counterfeit, which doesn’t happen until it’s deposited, and you can’t contact the other person. Since international funds often get held for a long while, you can deposit a number of checks and withdraw cash without anyone being the wiser until the week or so it takes to verify the check.
Those who defraud others using bank accounts are very creative when it comes to accessing information. Once money is sent through a money transfer site, much personal information is shared which can be utilized to create counterfeit forms of identification as well as banking information which can be used to clean out an account.
As mentioned one of the most common bilks today is for the working at home ads. Many times people are asked to deposit company checks for companies working internationally, take out 10% for their share, and return the rest. There are even those that label themselves after reputable businesses, such as WalMart, INC., which isn’t the proper name of that company. A few other popular channels for contact include Careerbuilder.com, Gadgets Ltd., as well as Craiglist so trust nothing unless it has been checked out thoroughly.
Check fraud is the basis of a large number of scams that are now being conducted. There are many instances of people being contacted with the promise of money that they’ve either won or inherited, which is part of the scam. They then receive a cashier’s check or money order that’s supposed to be more than their allotted amount of money. The scammer asks them to deposit the check, take their share, and use wire transfer to return the rest.
In check cashing scams what is happening is the scam artists are attempting to get the needed information from a bank in order to clean out the account and, in the meantime, talk the mark into providing cash in exchange for counterfeit checks. You can protect yourself from check cashing fraud by being able to identify people calling you through the use of telephone look up services such as http://instant-phone-information.com/518/869/, so that you can know who is behind that call or check.
There is an agency known as World Law Direct, who handle cases of international check cashing fraud, so if you fear that you may be a victim of this crime, you may contact this unit, but their response time may be up to several years. And, after waiting for justice, you will likely find that none of your money will be returned.
