How does the fake check / cheque scam work?
The check is no good, even though it appears to be a legitimate cashiers check. The lottery or Ebay seller or “payment transfer” job angle is a trick to get you to wire (Western Union or MoneyGram) money to someone you dont know. If you deposit the check and wire the money, your bank would soon (several days to as long as 6 weeks) learn that the check was a fake. And when the check finally clears the system and bounces, youre out the money because • the money you wired cant be retrieved, and • youre responsible for any check you deposit even though you cant know whether they’re fake or genuine. These are very important points. The checks may look real and even have real account numbers on them. Your bank may be able to confirm that the bank it is drawn against is real and the account is also real. But that does not mean that the check itself is genuine. For example, it could be a simple forgery. • Someone stole the blank checkbook and write forged checks. • Or a criminal stole checks t
