Old Check Cashing Scam Working Its Way Back On The Internet

I just heard about an old check cashing scam that is starting to make its way back on the Internet. This is because of the state of the economy and the high unemployment rate. This is an old scam and has been around since 2005 or sooner but in tough times people get desperate, and dishonest.

The scam basically works like this. The scammer places ads on job boards Monster Craigslist etc. looking for a money transfer agent or something like that. I even heard about an ad on Craigslist that was for a driver. It is usually always a foreign company. After accepting the job you are overpaid. You are then told to wire the difference of what you were expecting and the overpayment back to them. They are also trying to trick people by promising lottery winnings, posing as a foreign business looking for partners or as a work-at-home opportunity. The bottom-line is always the same: They send you a check, you cash it keep a percentage and wire the rest back to them.

I always suggest researching any company you are considering working for. Also if this does happen and you are overpaid, I would advise sending them the check back. The key to knowing if you are a victim of this scam is if you receive a check and are asked to cash it and wire a portion back to someone. That is the red flag.

You have to be very careful now. With the poor economic state, more and more people are running scams online, as they know people are getting desperate. Google everything especially if you are about to spend money or give someone your personal information.

Assume any work-at-home job that involves depositing payments and sending funds is a scam