Mystery Check

[RidgeRunner]

Honey, Break out the best plasticware and put that Boonesfarm on ice, it is time to celebrate.
Got a check in the mail for the Whaler today, for thousands more than I was ever asking. Sweet, my ship has come in, overdue on some good luck, lady karma has finally started to see things my way.
Ummmm, wait a minute, I have never heard of the person making the check. She is from Ft. Lauderdale. It doesn't look like a real signature, in fact the name on the signature line doesn't match the spelling of the first name of the maker printed on the top.
ALSO
Got the e-mail from Smurff Gary today saying I will be getting a check any day but the amount he is allegedly paying doesn't coincide with this check. AND Mr. Smurff is from Indiana not Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Looks like the scammers are hard at it. I will have to delay the celebration until another day.

[spareparts]

funny you should metion this, a freind of mine has recently recieved two USPS money orders and one check delivered by fed ex for no apparent reason. The checks are made out to her maiden name(she hasn't used it in 25 years), the address is correct. The money orders and checks look real. Can't figure how any one is gong to scam here when she doesn't have anything for sale. I told her to carry them to the bank to verify if they are real. Then contact the local police. Anyone heard of a scam like this, I can't figure out how it would work

[Bygracealone]

Yeah, not sure about these scams. Perhaps they're like those checks you get from companies where if you cash them you're automatically committed/enrolled into some program which will cost all kinds of money.... ???

[randlemanboater]

The way they usually work is that they send you a check for more than you were asking, and they have you wire them the change. Then in a few weeks the bank figures out that the check or money order was bad, and they want all the money from you.

IF YOU GET A CHECK OR MONEY ORDER IN THE MAIL YOU WERE NOT EXPECTING.....DO NOT CASH OR DEPOSIT IT!!!!!!!!!

You can learn all about the different scams at Clark Howard's website.

http://www.clarkhoward.com/

[randlemanboater]

Originally Posted by spareparts

funny you should metion this, a freind of mine has recently recieved two USPS money orders and one check delivered by fed ex for no apparent reason. The checks are made out to her maiden name(she hasn't used it in 25 years), the address is correct. The money orders and checks look real. Can't figure how any one is gong to scam here when she doesn't have anything for sale. I told her to carry them to the bank to verify if they are real. Then contact the local police. Anyone heard of a scam like this, I can't figure out how it would work

Not sure about that one, but the bank will say they are good when she asks......somehow the badguys know how to make them look like they are good at first, it takes a few weeks for them to turn up no good.

Please tell her not to cash them......if anything, deposit them but dont spend the money for a couple months.

But best to throw them in the trash.

[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by randlemanboater

Not sure about that one, but the bank will say they are good when she asks......somehow the badguys know how to make them look like they are good at first, it takes a few weeks for them to turn up no good.

Please tell her not to cash them......if anything, deposit them but dont spend the money for a couple months.

But best to throw them in the trash.

I pretty much agree with Randlemanboater. My advice would be to go to your bank, explain to them what happened, and then open a NEW checking account and deposit the checks into them... then let them sit and see what happens. In time the bank will either say they are good or will say they are bad, but in all cases you haven't risked any of your own money since it's a seperate account.

[Road King Cole]

I don't know, if its too good to be true it usually isn't.

when something smells fishy, there's usually fish.

poop don't stink unless you poke it.

I guess a separate account might be safe and sit on it for a year and watch for suspicious activity in that account. I would even go to a different bank than what you normally use.

rkc

[reelapeelin]

Just before going to Charleston, a guy I know there told me his mother was contacted by a lawyer in England...that her uncle had died(she new this true) and left her >$200,00, that she needed to send $10,000 to prepay tax, that there was a DEADLINE for her to act and a couple of other red flags...he named over several things made it sound legit...I told him there was probably only about a 1% chance it was for real...I saw him when I was in
C'town...turned out it WAS legit...go figure...

Vic, I sorry your check turned out bad...Bumma....

[RidgeRunner]

I have had about four of these offers. Just opened a fresh checking account to see if the check(s) ever clear. We shall see. I posted this on Scream and Fly, another guy over there is trying to sell a go-fast with the same type of responses. I am not quite desperate to sell the boat but it would be nice. The legit guys have a hard time getting financing or are too far away. One guy had 10% down, good debt to income ratio and a 680 credit score only to be turned down by the bank. Another had cash but the freight to get the boat to his house was $1700, haven't heard back from him.

With the internet it isn't hard to see if the buyer is real. Smurff Gary, yeah I know I should know better just by looking at the name, gave me an adress in PA. Turned out to be the residence of a Pentacostal Reverend. Then the check comes from Ft. Lauderdale, FL. and the shipper is from Indiana. The person from Ft. Lauderdale turns out to be a 67 yr old retired CPA. They have started to use real people but I still fail to understand how they plan on getting one over on me. Maybe if I sent them the cash. That isn't gonna happen.

[RidgeRunner]

It would seem to me that I could present the check to the makers bank and find out real fast what the status of the check is.