I found this to be interesting. Although, many of as all know about what to look for in a scam. But did you know that if you cash a check that you to could be charged with a felony? I'm sure there are some that don't pay much attention or aren't sure what to look for. This story was on the news this morning. I just copied and pasted from their website there is also a video.
http://www.wsbt.com/news/local/33740599.html?video=YHI&t=a
My advice to you if you aren't sure whether a check is for real I would contact the bank that the check is drawn from.
Story Created: Nov 3, 2008 at 5:42 AM EST
(Story Updated: Nov 3, 2008 at 7:53 AM EST)
SOUTH BEND — Mail fraud is a big problem and if you're not careful it will cost you. That's the warning after a series of fraudulent checks have shown up throughout Northwest Indiana.
Police say in addition to the money you could owe, cashing a fraudulent check could land you in jail.
"Once you've given it to them to start the process, you have negotiated it and you are the one who has committed a class C felony," said Sgt. Dominic Zultanski of the South Bend Police Department.
Zultanksi specializes in fraud.
"If it's too good to be true, then it probably is," he said.
That was exactly how a woman named Rebecca felt when she received a $4,855 check from Shadow Shopper, a company that claims to be based in Canada.
"I thought it was real, it looks real," she said.
Rebecca said her family is like everyone else, going through some tough economic times.
"I thought it was the answer to my prayers," she said.
Rebecca says she signed up to be a secret shopper, but was hesitant to cash such a large amount of money when she hadn't actually started work.
"I called Chase Bank in Nappanee and asked them to scan the numbers and they told me it was bad," she said.
Sgt. Zultanski says that was the right move. He urges consumers to be very cautious of wiring money to anyone you don't know.
"Anytime you have a situation where anyone who you have never met wants you to wire money to them ... it's fraudulent," he said.
Zultanski says the people behind the checks are most likely part of large organized crime rings. He says many of the checks look legitimate and banks won't know they are fake until they try to process them.
