Common Types of Check Fraud

3 Common Types of Check Fraud

There are many different forms of check scams and one of your best weapons to combat these fraudsters is to stay updated and informed. If you’re not sure about a check’s legitimacy, reach out to your bank or credit union first.

Overpayments

This common type of check fraud occurs when a scammer wants to buy something from you online and “accidentally” sends you more money than your asking price. These scammers will ask you to refund the difference from their overpayment. An example of this could be that you have an item listed on social media or another selling app for sale, someone reaches out and lets you know that they are interested in the item and agrees to purchase it for $500. Then they “accidentally” send you a check for $800 and ask that you send them back $300. Their initial check bounces and now you are out $300 and the item that was up for sale. One easy way to ward off overpayment scams is not to except a check for items you are selling online. If you are willing to accept check payments, make sure the check is for the correct amount, and NEVER agree to send a portion of the payment back to the buyer!

The Mystery Shopper

This type of scam is where scammers pretend to hire people as mystery shoppers and their first task is to evaluate stores that sell gift cards, money orders or retailers that are a money transfer service. As the mystery shopper you’ll receive instructions to deposit a check into your account and wire it to someone else or purchase gift cards and send them to another individual. Once you wire that money or send the gift cards the person on the other end is unreachable. The initial check that you were given to deposit into your account never clears and now you’re out the money you wired or the dollar amount of the gift cards you purchased.

Car Wrap Advertising

Car wrap advertising scams are where people are targeted and told that they’ll be paid a weekly salary by a company to advertise a product or service on their personal vehicle. You are mailed a check and instructed to send money to a decal installer to complete the vehicle wrap. Those wrap vendors don’t exist, or you may be told to wire a portion of the check, now the check the company sent you bounces and the money you were to keep as payment for your participation is suddenly gone. Do your due diligence and be cautious. Research the company prior to depositing anything into your bank account and make sure you are 100% certain that this is not a scam. If the “company” that offered to pay you is urgently requesting that you deposit the check and wire money right away, you can be certain that this is a scam.

These are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to check scams. For information on other types of scams you can check out these FTC resources. Never accept a check for an item you’re selling online for more than your asking price. Slow down and do your research, if you receive a check and your gut is telling you that it’s too good to be true, chances are it is. Never send money back to someone who sent you a check and is asking for a portion back. Remember, you’re liable for fraudulent checks, so stay alert and educated on new scams and how to spot them.