如何识别和避免假支票骗局

Whether it’s a credit card breach or a check cashing scam, fraud happens every day. 不幸的是, Patelco的成员也可能成为受害者, 即使你精通数字和财务. Here, we break down common check cashing 诈骗 and how to spot them.

如何 假支票诈骗 工作?

A fake check scam is when a fraudster asks you to help them cash a check. 这种骗局有几种变体, but they all involve legitimate-looking checks — certified and cashier checks too — and a story about why the fraudster needs you to cash the check.

一旦他们说服你去帮助他们, they might ask you to meet them at a cash checking location or they may simply mail you the check to deposit at your credit union. (Note that many check cashing businesses require your personal information and/or financial account details.)

几天或几周内, the check will bounce (either because it’s fake or because there’s no funds in the account the check came from) – leaving you on the hook for the amount with your credit union or with the check cashing business.

常见的类型是什么 假支票诈骗?

Fake check 诈骗 take many forms – here’s a few common fake check scam examples according to the Federal Trade Commission:

1. 悲伤的故事 — The fraudster desperately needs cash to pay for a medical operation, 一个葬礼, 或者去看望生病的亲戚的机票. They may approach you outside a check cashing location or financial institution.
    
   
2. 多付的钱 – A person buys something from you online and then “accidentally” pays you too much. They then ask you to refund the balance, perhaps with a 移动支付应用、电汇或礼品卡.
    
   
3. 汽车贴花 – Fraudsters place an ad online or in a classified newspaper about getting paid to wrap your car in an advertising decal. When you contact them, they send you a check that is supposed to pay for the decal installer. You cash the check and mail the money to the installer – who isn’t an installer but is just the fraudsters.
    
   
4. 神秘购物 – Fraudsters put ads out pretending to hire people as “mystery shoppers.” Your first job: go evaluate a retailer that sells gift cards, 钱的订单, or does money transfers like Western Union or MoneyGram. 你会收到一张支票，用来买礼品卡, 汇款或电汇, and will be instructed to deposit it to your checking account and then use the money to buy the gift cards or 钱的订单. After the fraudster has received the gift cards or 钱的订单, 他们的支票将被拒付, 让你为所花的钱承担责任.
    
   
5. 个人助理 – An online ad offers employment as a personal assistant. 当你被录用时, your new “boss” sends you a check and asks you to buy gift cards or equipment with the money. Once you give them the goods, your “boss” disappears – and the 支票是假的.
    
   
6. 抽奖奖品 — Fraudsters contact you to let you know you’ve won a “prize”, and then they send you a check to cover the taxes or shipping charges associated with that prize. The fraudsters then ask you to cash that check and send money to cover the “shipping” or the “tax.“合法的彩票不是这样运作的.
    
   
7. 意想不到的检查  -如果你意外收到一张支票, especially from someone you do not know or were not expecting payment from, 小心谨慎.

银行本票 诈骗

银行本票s — checks that are issued by a bank and sold to a customer — are considered relatively risk free and are often used as a trusted form of payment. However, they’ve become an attractive way for scammers to target victims.

These 诈骗 are often set up just like the scenarios outlined above. 例如, you might sell goods online and 买方 sends you a “cashier’s check” for the price you agreed on, 然后你把货物运送给买家. By the time you and your bank discover that the cashier’s check was fraudulent, 买方, 你的钱和货早就没了. (Another variation of this is the overpayment scam above.)

如何判断是a 支票是假的

除了上述情况, you can also examine the check for telltale signs that it’s fake.

1. 检查安全特性. Legitimate checks often have security features to prevent counterfeiting, 包括水印, 线程安全, 全息图, 微印和变色油墨.
    
   
2. 检查纸张质量. If the paper feels unusually thin or lacks the usual texture, it could be a red flag. Legitimate checks are usually printed on high-quality paper with a distinct texture.
    
   
3. 检查布局. Look for any irregularities in the layout of the check, 比如logo的位置, 银行名称和地址. Counterfeit checks might have crooked printing or alignment issues.
    
   
4. 检查信息. 开证行名称不符, the account number and the routing number can be a sign of a counterfeit check. You can easily search for a routing number to find out what financial institution it’s from.
    
   
5. 查找拼写错误和错误. Try to spot any spelling mistakes, grammatical errors or improper fonts.
    
   
6. 检查签名. If the check includes a signature, compare it to the genuine signature of an individual organization.
    
   

如果你是，该怎么办 被骗或成为目标

当有疑问的时候，不要兑现那张支票! Remember that there’s no such thing as free money – and no such thing as easy money either. If you think you’ve been a target or victim of a fake check scam, 我们是您值得信赖的资源, 太阳集团平台，我们在 你当地的分支机构 而在 800.358.8228.

Additionally, report any fake check scam to the Federal Trade Commission ReportFraud.联邦贸易委员会.政府. And if the scam involved the mail (such as a fake check mailed to you), 向美国邮政检查局报告 uspis.政府 /报告.