News

Authorities warn of fake-check Internet schemes

Posted October 03, 2007 11:00 pm

Adriana Colindres

Jennifer Wallace of Litchfield unwittingly got ensnared in a financial scam when she pursued an online romance last year with a man who said he lived in North Carolina.

He and his purported business associates sent Wallace thousands of dollars worth of electronic equipment, which she later learned had been purchased with stolen credit cards. They also sent her thousands of dollars in counterfeit checks, she said.

When police turned up at Wallace's home, suspecting her of wrongdoing, she luckily was able to retrieve her e-mail exchanges with the man - proving that she was a victim, not a culprit.

Now, she is working with authorities to stop the scam and to prevent others from finding themselves in a similar predicament.

A coalition of groups, including the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service and law enforcement agencies, on Thursday announced the start of a campaign to educate consumers about counterfeit-check schemes.

The multimillion-dollar public education campaign, an initiative of the Alliance for Consumer Fraud Awareness, will involve national television, print and online ads.

The alliance also has set up a Web site so consumers can learn more and report fraudulent activity. The Web site is www.FakeChecks.org.

Fake-check scams often utilize the Internet and originate in other countries, said Dave Colen, assistant inspector in charge of the Chicago division of the Postal Inspection Service.

Consumers who get victimized lose an average of $3,000 to $4,000, he said, adding that it isn't just a big-city problem.

"This is stuff that happens in Chicago, New York, L.A., Peoria, Decatur, Springfield, Jacksonville, Beason," Colen said at a state Capitol news conference.

"It doesn't make a difference how big or small the town. If you're on the Internet, if you get U.S. mail, it's something that can happen to you."

The scams take a variety of forms, he said, citing some examples:

-- An individual gets overpaid for an item that he or she sold online, then is asked to wire-transfer back the "extra" money.

-- An individual gets a check and is notified about winning some kind of lottery, then receives directions to deposit the check and wire-transfer back part of the money to "cover the taxes."

-- Someone online asks an unsuspecting victim to do them a favor by cashing a check and sending the money by wire transfer.

In every instance, the check or money order that is sent to the victim turns out to be counterfeit, and the victim can wind up having money deducted from his or her own bank account.

Part of the reason the scams work is that U.S. law requires banks to make deposited funds available within five business days, but it generally takes longer than that to determine if a check or money order is counterfeit, Colen said.

Another factor is people's desire to pocket some easy money.

"The only reason that any of these schemes ever work is that people are hoping to get something for nothing or virtually nothing," said Rodger Heaton, U.S. attorney for the Central District of Illinois. "The best thing the public can do is to simply recognize that there is no free lunch."

Catching the bad guys is difficult, but not impossible, officials said.

Since the start of 2007, the Postal Inspection Service and law enforcement agencies involved in the "Global Counterfeit Initiative" have seized more than 540,000 fake checks worth more than $2.1 billion.

Adriana Colindres can be reached at (217) 782-6292 or adriana.colindres@sj-r.com.

Article Categories
News