Fake Check Scams
How the 'fake check' scam works
Summary
One increasingly common kind of spam offers 'vacancies' or 'work-from-home opportunities'. Some of these are conventional 'work from home' scams, but many are an even more unpleasant scam known as the 'fake check' scam.
In the 'fake check' scam (also known as a 'money transfer' scam or a 'mule job'), a scammer tries to recruit people to work as 'remote managers' or 'payment processors'. The scammer claims to be a foreign company that needs help transferring money earned abroad to their own bank. The deal is that you will receive payments for them and send them the money by Western Union or bank transfer. For your trouble, you get a 5% or 10% commission on each transfer. Money for nothing, right?
The reason that it's called the 'fake check' scam is because the 'payments' that the scammer sends you will typically be forged checks or other financial instruments. The forgeries are often very good and your bank may not detect them immediately. The check will clear and the money will be deposited in your account. You then send the scammer his money, keeping your 10%. But a few days later your bank detects the forgery and cancels the deposit. Suddenly, instead of earning a 10% commission, you've lost hundreds or thousands of dollars of your money.
It gets worse. First of all, the bank is legally within its rights to cancel the credit to your account. As the submitter of the check, you take responsibility for it. Moreover, by submitting a forged check, you've actually committed a crime. If the authorities think that you knew the check was forged, you can go to jail.
Variants
In another variant of the scam, no checks are involved. Instead, money is transferred directly from another account to your bank account. The other account is often the account of someone who fell for another scam, such as a phishing scam. Once again, when the scam is discovered your bank will cancel the deposit. You will lose your money and you could be charged with the crime of money-laundering.
How to detect this scam
You should be suspicious of any job that you see advertised by spam - legitimate companies don't send spam. If the 'job' offered involves handling money - receiving or transferring funds or payments - the odds are good that it's a 'fake check' scam. If the message explains that you earn your income by keeping a percentage of the money you transfer, it's definitely a scam.
The job title is another possible giveaway: 'fake check' scammers often advertise jobs with titles like 'sales support', 'remote manager', 'receivables clerk' or 'payment processor'. They also talk about 'commission-based' income, and explain that the job will only take a few hours of your time.
They usually have a list of requirements. If they require you to have a bank account (sometimes they say "you must have a bank account so we can pay you"), it's probably a fake check scam. Other requirements often include familiarity with Word and Excel, being an adult, or being available on the phone at certain times of day.
Don't be fooled into thinking that the company is real or legitimate just because their website looks good. Some of the sites run by these scammers look extremely professional.
What to do if you get a 'fake check' spam
Don't reply. If you want to report it, go to the website of the National Fraud Information Center or the equivalent in your country.
What to do if you've been scammed
Call your bank and your local consumer information service for advice. In the US, you can contact the National Fraud Information Center as well.