Lwrobel
Millington,#2Consumer Suggestion
Wed, July 01, 2009
I also received an email today as in this report and am not acting on it. I think Stync should report this to the FBI since he/she has so much proof. They do investigate these. I am also unemployed and it's ashame but many people are preying on those in need of employment. Dateline NBC did an entire show on this. Unbelievable.
Prissy
Atlanta,#3Consumer Comment
Sat, June 27, 2009
Who on Earth would send a perfect stranger that much money in the mail ?????? This scam has been going on for a LONG time. I'm surprised that there are still fools falling for it........
Stvnc
San Jose,,#4Author of original report
Sat, June 27, 2009
When I told Anna Lindsay that I could not forward the money from the last check that was sent to me, this person got real angry and started threatening me. This has been going on for over four days, this is the only day this week that this person has not tried to contact me. Checks for $3250 and $4780 which I reported earlier as being forgeries; even though I checked with Bank of America and they told me that the checks were real, they were not. Here is how it could have been done: This person actually owned the account at BofA and had their mail stolen. The people who stole the mail got the checks, which could have been for bills that they were paying, and washed them, then altered the name or payee and the amount of the check. So when I took them to BofA and had them checked for authenticity they looked real to the teller because these checks even had the water mark that they were supposed to have and everything looked good. The teller then enters the account number in their system and it shows that the account is real and that there are funds in the account to cover the account. Considering that the checks in question were for such large amounts, I feel that BofA, should have looked in their records and called the person who wrote the checks and verified them in this manner. I remember one time when someone I knew wrote a check to me and when I went to cash the check at Citi Bank the bank actually called the person and asked them if they had sent me the check. This check was only for $50.00 The people who sent me the checks know that it takes time, about 4 to 5 days before anyone finds out that they are forgeries. The check for $4780 was deposited in my account on Monday, on Wednesday the funds were made available and credited to my account, on Friday the bank reported that a stop payment order had been placed on the check. I got this information from the police and I just thought that people should know so that they do not become victims. The police also told me that legitimate companies never ask people to forward money for them. To Summarize: I took all of the precautions; I went to the bank and had the checks verified before trying to cash them at my bank, but they still fooled me. How could I have avoided this?: Do not trust anyone that you meet over the Internet, not even after talking to them on the telephone. If you have not met someone face to face do not trust them until you do. A very expensive lesson learned.