Fraud Alert

We've been contacted by Law Enforcement that fraud perpetrators are committing check fraud by offering jobs in the classified ads. Thus far most of these ads were placed in small town newspapers. Basically this is how the fraud works:

1. The victim responds to a job advertised in the newspaper. The ad lists an 800 number for persons interested in the position. The perpetrators tell the caller that, not only are they being hired, but they will receive a bonus of several hundred dollars as some sort of incentive or up-front expenses. The fraud perpetrators request the victim's bank account information so they can receive the bonus by direct deposit.
2. The perpetrators then deposit an out-of-state counterfeit official (cashier's or teller's) check for some thousands of dollars into the victim's account. Then they contact the victim to explain that an error was made and request that the victim write a check for a refund for the excess funds. They have a runner pick up the check.
3. The perpetrators then negotiate the victim's check before the bank discovers that the original deposited check is bogus.

This seems to be the latest twist in getting a counterfeit check past the bank.

Copyright © 2001 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 11, No. 10, 10/01