16 upvotes, 1 direct replies (showing 1)
View submission: RECENT SCAMS TARGETING THE SUB-- PLEASE READ
Years ago, my mother took a fishy check to the bank, told them it was suspicious and asked them if it was fraudulent. They said they didn't know. She asked how would we know if it was or not? They said they would have to try to deposit or cash it. She asked if it would affect her? They said no. So, she said go ahead, then. It bounced. They locked her out of her account and she couldn't open a new one for years.
Need a way to find out if suspicious checks are legit or not without harming the people who ask for help.
Comment by Last-Alternative-594 at 29/08/2021 at 01:21 UTC
16 upvotes, 1 direct replies
Sounds like a shitty bank. Where I work, if the tellers don’t know, they call me. I work at a credit union, not technically a bank. Credit unions are a bit different. They are owned by the account holders, not stockholders. Typically, if someone explains why they got the check and what they are supposed to do with the money I can tell it’s fake without looking at it.
One thing that many people are not aware of is that just because the hold comes off the check and the funds are available does not mean the check is good. I cannot speak of other places in the world, but in the US, financial institutions must make funds available by a certain number of days, regardless if the other bank paid it yet. The scammers know this. They will have you do something with the funds before the checks are returned. If someone wants you to buy gift cards, Bitcoin, send a money order, or send funds via a person to person service such as Cash App it is a scam. If you already deposited the item and they are harassing you for the funds, ignore them or block them. Even if the funds are made available by the bank, do not withdraw them.
To avoid the situation when you first get a check, you can call the maker of the check or the bank that it is drawn on. Look up the numbers yourself, don’t use any provided to you.
Don’t trust the security features on the check. Businesses often print their own checks so you can easily buy check stock.
FTC.gov is one of my favorite sites I recommend to people. You can report fraud and identity theft. There are a lot of good articles about different scams. You can also take any of the information on the site and share on social media platforms which is a great way to help your friends.