77 Arrests. $2.1B in Fake Checks
You asked what we could do about fake checks, and we responded. Steve called up the chief of Interpol (the international police force) and told them to crack down on fake check scammers for our readers. So they did. 77 people have been arrested, and 540,000 fake checks have been seized.
Ok, maybe it wasn’t Steve’s phone call that got the ball rolling, but we do what we can here. We warned you about fake checks here, and the champion scambaiter, Snoskred, gave you the full run-down of how these scams work here.
Here are some excerpts from the story. It just makes my heart go all a-flutter when I think about fake check scammers doing hard time:
Did you read this post with the intention of making money online? If so, you'll want to buy our book about working from home. We teach you everything you need to know about working at home. Click here to check out our eBook, The Complete Guide to Telecommuting. If you liked this post and want to receive updates on the latest scams and resourceful information, click here to subscribe to our RSS feed, or click here to receive daily email updates.WASHINGTON (AP) - The e-mails arrive out of the blue, from Nigeria or other exotic countries. They tell of inheritances, political problems, other reasons someone needs to get money out of the country. If you help, they promise to let you share the money.
Unfortunately, thousands of people fall for the scam, losing an average of $3,000 to $4,000 each.
So far this year, an average of more than 800 people a month have filed complaints about such scams.
Hoping to stem the losses, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service announced an international crackdown Wednesday in which more than 540,000 fake checks with a face value of $2.1 billion have been seized.
…….
Many of the cases originate in the Netherlands, where West African con artists operate from Internet cafes, said Johan Van Hartskamp, commissioner of the Amsterdam police.
In what he called “Operation Dutch Treat,” police have arrested 60 people there, with three extradited to the United States and four more facing extradition. The rest are being prosecuted in the Netherlands, he said.
You might also warn people about fraud postal money orders.
We had been sent 3 postal money orders of $850.00 apiece for an order and the scammer asked us to send the rest of the money to “their shipper” (red flag), so instead of depositing the into our business account I went into the bank and asked them to verify them to make sure that they were real, while waiting for about 1 hour while they checked them they came back and told me that they were very good forgerys!
So I suggest that if you are sent a money order have the bank check them out first, thank god I had the forsite to do that.
Mary allard
http://www.nvgardenfurniture.com
Good on you, Mary! So what did you do to prosecute? If it came with an order, I assume you had a way to track the sender?
That’s scary stuff and very real. I’m glad to hear the govt is doing something about it. You too Steve, glad to hear you’re pulling strings at Interpol.
I hear so much negativity. Is there one real legitamate company out there to make money from home. Typing, surveys? Thanks.
We’re working on it, Debbie. Stay tuned.
I am curious if anyone else has recieved checks in the mail for supposed mystery shopping companies? They want you to cash the check in your bank and then wire close to $2000 through money gram and evaluate their services. I have gotten 2 of these so far, one of the checks doesn’t even have a place to endore on the back. Anyhow, any suggestions on what to do with these checks? I mean, besides not cashing them. Thanks!!
Hi! My name is Ashley. I almost fell victim of these scams and I am SO glad I didnt. In the past two months I have recieved THREE of these FAKE checks, I wonder what we can do to stop these people!!! The checks look soo real.