A Craigslist Scammer Wants Me To Cash This Fake Check, What Should I Do?
Reader Sean got a package with a (presumably fake) check for $4,500. Someone from Craigslist wants him to cash the check and for his trouble, he gets to keep 10%!
I just received a strange UPS package this morning, a check for $4,500
It's obviously a scam but I was wondering if I could get some expert advice on how to handle the situation in the best and most entertaining way possible.
I believe this got started when I posted a "roommate needed" ad on Craigslist. One girl replied right away, saying that she was coming here from another country. She also mentioned that she was having many things shipped to her here... like a BWM?!?!?
I had already given here the address and she said that her Dad was sending a money order. I had nothing bad bad feelings about the whole thing so I told her the place was already taken. A couple of days ago she emailed saying that she needed my help. She needed me to cash the check that her Dad had already sent and that I could keep 10% of it as a transaction fee.
So I'm guessing that the Craigslist ad is how these people got my address.
Should I just not respond? String them along?
Thanks in advance,
Sean
There's really no point in stringing them along -- unless you're secretly Batman or something. You're not, right? Anyway, one option is to collect all the information you can about these folks -- emails they've sent, the package, all that stuff, and file a police report. It may sound pointless, but Reader Chris managed to get his Craigslist scammer arrested by filing a police report. For all you know, these people have been trying this all over town and you may have the missing puzzle piece. Or they could be in Nigeria.
You can also contact your local FBI field office and ask them if they're interested in seeing the check. If you'd fallen for the scam, we'd advise that you report it to the FBI's internet crime complaint center. Thankfully, you didn't!
Sean sends an update:
The scammer contacted me again and asked if I got the check. She wants me to cash it and send the money to a person in Oklahoma who she says is a car dealer at a place where she wants to buy a car. Also that I need to send the money through Western Union. For clarification, the check was sent from a Florida address and has contact name, address and phone number.
I called the JP Morgan Chase Bank to tell them that I have a lot of contact information from someone who made an obvious forgery of their check. Chase basically said "yes, we're aware of the problem". I asked if they wanted any of the information, like the name and address in Florida that it was sent from. The name & address of who it's supposed to go to? They said, not really.
I called the local FBI and they said they get lots of this and had me go to IC3.gov to report the information. I filed the report but I'm not counting on getting any response.
Well, Sean, you did everything that you could do.
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Comments:
I've heard of this scam before. The bank will put it through before they realize it's a fake. They'll have their money and you'll be left owing the bank.
As stated, police...
A BWM? Is that a knock-off BMW you can buy on the street corners in NYC?
email her back and tell her your bank wont cash it b/c you need atleast %10 of the funds in your account. tell her to send you a money order or cash to get your account ready for the check. then give it to the feds.
I would contact the authorities and see if they are interested. I would NOT contact them again though. Hey, they know your address and might send you "something else" or worst, might pay you a personal visit. But that's just me.
Cashing a check you think to be fake (or doing pretty much anything else with it) is not an opportunity for entertainment. If you want entertainment, go see a movie. The OP needs to wash his hands of this and contact the FBI. Else, throw the check away (maybe make a photocopy just in case) and ignore all correspondence with the other side.
Just turn it all over to the local detectives... they'll take it from there.
Actually, you're supposed to send copies of the check to five of your friends, or else someone you love will die in a week.
I strung along a craigslist scammer once. they were trying to rent a room also. They gave me the usual BS and I emailed a few times without giving personal information. They said they wanted to pay a month in advance because they will be in France for a month. I made up that I would be in France for business also and that we could meet. I never heard from him again.
Use that check to pay your cell phone, internet, cable and Best Buy bills... and/or buy Munsoned a sense of humor with it
I think that he might want to contact the Secret Service, instead of the FBI. Secret Service is part of the Treasury Dept and they handle bank fraud
Wasn't someone arrested for merely asking a bank if a check was fake? Might want to be careful how you handle it..
Postal Inspectors can't do anything unless it's sent USPS.
I like how it's only made out to "Sean" first name only
Police could hold you for up to 48 hours for questioning. I would call UPS and tell them you want to refuse the package and for them to send it back. You're allowed ot refuse shipments and have them sent back at no cost to you.
Send them a picture of your penis. It's Craigslist, right?
Um, why did you put your full address in the ad? You could have put what block, for authentic potential roommies to know what area you're in.
I saw a case like this once on Judge Judy... except the girl cashed the check for her mother and then had to sue to try and get the money back. Lol.
@fostina1:
Money Order ?
Not to be disrespectful,but money orders are easier to fake than many kinds of checks.They are sort of like 1840's money in that there are thousands of entities that issue them . Do you know what an Ingles Supermarkets money order looks like ?
What about Global Express ? Do you know how to authenticate one before depositing it ? Didn't think so.Money orders can be OK, (Postal M.O.'s are probably safest because few small time crooks want to risk committing a federal crime over a few bucks),but even they are not foolproof. Nigerians ,for instance,don't care if they commit a U.S> federal crime.
The bottom line is- treat anything like this as radioactive. Never underestimate these crooks.
@Black Bellamy: LOL
I will chime in with the others, there is no safe and valid opportunity for entertainment here; the scammers have your address and if they are violent (many scammers are) your life could be in jeopardy once they realize that you're playing them.
Report it to the FBI, and ask them if they want the check or should you just throw it away. Keep a copy, just in case.
I'd pass on the string-along option. Not really worth the time/effort. Just report it to the appropriate authorities.
Use it to open a CD at your bank...when it all hits the fan, enjoy the show. When they start asking questions, keep insisting that you won a Nigerian lottery pool. The more they try to explain that you were duped...the more furious you should become that they don't believe you.
Scambaiters protect their identity when baiting scams for a reason. Now that they have your real identity, I would not try to do anything funny.
The cops/feds won't do anything with it, because they can't. It's untraceable and even if it wasn't, it's up to the cops in Nigeria (probably where these people are from) who won't do anything either.
You need to get rid of the check ASAP. In the U.S., having it in your possession is a crime. DO NOT DEPOSIT!!!!
Also, someone here posted a link to 419eater.com. You could give someone there the info and see if they can collect more. You're too involved to do any more on this one.
Don't cash it. They can use the info on the cancelled check to hack into your bank account - not speculation, but straight from the book the catch-me-if-you-can guy wrote. Which is an excellent read btw.
P-P-P-POWERBOOK!!
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I'd ask the OP to ask the scammer to send another cheque (add a fake last name, previous cheque went thru the wash, etc.). At least fleece the scammer the cost of issuing a cheque and sending it from Nigeria.
@kallawm: "In the U.S., having it in your possession is a crime. "
Awesome, I'm going to send fake checks to all my enemies. Mwaahahahahah!
I am assuming they meant BMW. My fiance got one of those things. They asked her to cash it, then send them the rest of the money. She's not stupid, so she told the people who sent it she will wait till the check is cleared. It didn't clear, so no harm done.
DO NOT PLAY GAMES WITH THAT CHECK!!! I work as a criminal defense attorney in NY. You are opening yourself up to unnecesary criminal liabilty. Here in NY the DA's would happily prosecute you for possesion of a forged instrument, even though you are the potential victim of fraud. I would destroy the check or report it to the postal police.
I oversee management of several apartment complexes, and three weeks ago someone photoshopped one of our business checks and mass mailed them to people. A five thousand dollar check, they were told to cash it and then send two money orders to two separate locations. They got to keep the remaining grand.
SO what happened is this: the person takes it to the bank, the bank advances the money to them, they think everythings okay and witre the money out. My bank catches it as a fraudulent check, and their bank demands the money back from the guy that cashed it.
The result is I was forced to close our bank account and set up a new one. That photoshopped check has been cashed by at least eight different people, and they're either out the 4 grand or (in one instance) facing criminal prosecution for passing a bad check.
Bottom line, this is mail fraud. Take it to your local post office or report it to www.fakechecks.org. Not a funny situation at all, I was shocked at how many people went ahead and tried to cash that check.
@kallawm: @testsicles:
Seriously? I kind of doubt possessing a fake check is a crime. Strict liability on check possession seems outrageous.
@Islandkiwi: Bottom line, this is mail fraud.
That may be why it was sent to the OP by UPS; if it doesn't go through the mail, it may be a lot of things but I suspect that it's not prosecutable as mail fraud. Scammers may want to minimize the number of charges they could theoretically face if ever caught, and avoiding the Postal Service would keep this one off the list.
I get a few of these emails a week. I usually tell em off, althought its the same person most likely.
NYC and NY itself is so sue-happy it ain't even funny. Just ask Spitzer.
Tell them in order to cash a check that big your bank requires money that you dont have. Then tell them to wire like $1000 to you and then ignore them. You just made $1000 free and clear.
I wouldn't be too worried about them being violent, but why chance it? Ignore the situation but keep the documentation that pertains to it.
@That-Dude: That's kind of what I was getting at with my response. You'd have to have a pretty rotten day to get charged with check fraud just because someone sent it to you. It'd be pretty easy to show the email, letter, UPS package that came to your house and explain yourself. However, imagine you haven't had time to read the letter and fake check and you take the check with you on your way to the bank and are pulled over. You mention you're on your way to the bank, somehow the cops sees the check cause you left it on the seat. Oh yeah, and you're not white. Suddenly things get a little dicey.
Send them monopoly money.
As a former fed, I can tell you that your best bet it to call your local police. $4500 falls well below the threshold for fed involvement. The locals will eyeball it and feed it up, if necessary. Don't call the postal inspectors - it wasn't sent through the mail. The FBI isn't interested unless it's tied to terrorism. USSS is the agency if they need to get involved.
If you just WANT to call them, find your local field office here: [www.ustreas.gov] Someone that answers the phone will be able to tell you if they're interested. If they are, expect a personal visit - not adversarial - but they'll want to collect the check and the packaging and interview you.
As Meg put it, turn it over to the Fed and let them deal with the clown.