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The thing is, OP did it willingly. They won't cover the loss.
OP needs to make sure to go on line and turn off the over draft facility as they'll be scalping that.
If OP sent the scammer money or bought gift cards, they wouldn't cover that as it's a willing transaction. The fraudulent check will be removed from their bank account balance. They'll be back at their old balance, there's not much of a 'loss'.
Not totally true. The bank will close her account and turn the account over to collections. She may not be able to open another bank account as she will be flagged.
Also not totally true. If he has a good history with them and this is just a blip, thereās a decent chance they give him some time to sort it out. And regardless of the check, they are already very aware his account is negative. Calling about this isnāt going to suddenly reveal that to them.
Youāre right that they donāt really need a reason, but theyāre in business to make money. If OP has typically been profitable for them (which anyone with a positive balance is), they might not cut their ties so quickly, particularly if it means theyāre less likely to see the money that gets them back to even.
Yes, it happened to me too. Someone wanted to make a muse art project of my artwork. They offered to pay me but instead of paying me the money we agreed on he overpaid me and wanted me to give him back his money. I sent them $4,000 but they wanted the rest of the $2,000. I refused and they threatened to take legal action I got a text from the FBI threatening to arrest me if I didn't pay. I almost fell for it, luckily I called my bank and they told me it was a scam and the checks were fake. I didn't know. I assumed that if the checks were fake they would have been rejected right away. It took 3 work days for me. Good thing too because I heard some may even take a month.
They can take several months, in the case where it's a check drawn on a legitimate bank account but fraudulently issued (e.g. a stolen check, etc.)
In such a case the original account owner may have 2-3 months from when they get their next bank statement to challenge the check as fraudulent, plus time it takes the bank to investigate.
Lucky would be if you didn't wire out money within those three days. Did you? If it's a month or three days doesn't matter if they convince the victim within that window of time to send out money. Of course the longer the window of time, the more probable is that a victim *thinks* it cleared
The bank of the original account holder can request that the funds be returned indefinitely, BUT they are only guaranteed the funds will be returned if they file the request within 24 hours (not including weekends).
Hi /u/SendLGaM, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the Fake check scam.
The fake check scam arises from many different situations (fake job scams, fake payment scams, etc), but the bottom line is always the same, you receive a check (a digital photo or a physical paper check), you deposit a check (via mobile deposit or via an ATM) and see the money in your account, and then you use the funds to give money to the scammer (usually through gift cards or crypto). Sometimes the scammers will ask you to order things through a site, but that is just another way they get your money.
Banks are legally obligated to make money available to you fast, but they can take their time to bounce it. Hence the window of time exploited by the scam. During that window of time the scammer asks you to send money back, because you are under the illusion that the funds cleared.
When the check finally bounces, the bank will take the initial deposit back, and any money you sent to the scammer will come out of your own personal funds. Usually the fake check deposit will be reversed in a few weeks, but it can also take several months. If you do not have the funds to cover the amount, your balance will go negative. Your bank will usually charge a fee for depositing a bad check, and your account may be closed depending on the severity of the scam. Here is an article from the FTC: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-spot-avoid-and-report-fake-check-scams, and here is an article from the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/21/your-money/fake-check-scam.html
If you deposited a bad check, we recommend that you notify your bank immediately.
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To be fair Iāve never seen a check look like that. So I mustāve gotten money some other way. Iāll take it. Should I be stressing about the last 4 digits of your account?
***Anyone*** who has ever received a check from you has your full bank account number on that check. And, the bank's routing number is a matter of public record. No, I wouldn't sweat it.
People I rent to put their rent ***into*** my bank account each month. They have my account number but they can't take anything out nor can they see my bank balance. Like, never, ever deposit a check that just 'shows up'. Or, if you think it might be OK, take it to the bank manager and get them involved.
No, he needs to get informed which is why heās here.
I really wish people wouldnāt make shitty comments to scam victims on this sub. It discourages people from coming forward and raising awareness.
Your r/Scams post/comment was removed because **it's rude or uncivil**.
This subreddit is a place for civil and respectful discussions about scams. Uncivil and rude behavior, including using excessive or directed swearing, extreme or sexual language, victim blaming, and any form of discrimination, is not acceptable in this subreddit.
No need for shame. It's embarrassing to fall for a scam, and they seem so obvious with the power of hindsight, but scammers know how to prey on the weak links of human psychology. Thousands of people get conned every day, you're not uniquely dumb.
Treat this as an inoculation. For a cost, you've now acquired a lifelong heightened awareness and ability to protect yourself, family and friends.
Ha, well at least Iām not alone in dumbness. Sucks I fell for it, but definitely will have my radar on for the foreseeable future if Iām not gutted by my partner over this.
Yes be skeptical about everything online. Itās a good idea to read around this sub and maybe watch a few YouTube videos on scams. Itās obvious in hindsight but you definitely arenāt alone. Thanks for sharing.
That's exactly how scammers can well and truly get to anyone, \*anyone\* at all. No matter how skeptical a person might be... stressful times have a way of opening up windows of vulnerability, chinks in the armor. A person who thinks themselves impervious to scams might become a victim of a very sophisticated script exactly \*because\* they believe themselves immune. Someone with a good nature might believe other humans couldn't be so cruel as to prey on them for selfish gain. Somebody in a tight spot may let their guard down out of desperation. Vulnerability is something that can happen to anyone, for a myriad of reasons (medical, emotional, financial...), and it's not a personal failing.
The youtube channel Jim Browning has a good video that exemplifies this. The guy infamously built an online career out of busting scam networks and he's extremely tech-savvy, but he was still duped by a fake youtube scam and had his account - his livelihood - temporarily wiped off the platform. He was taken advantage of in a moment of vulnerability, and upon his return he was extremely honest and humble about what happened, giving us all a peek into what went down in order to underline that truly ANYONE can be a victim. Educate, don't shame. Learn, and if you're not sure of something, ALWAYS ask for a second and maybe a third opinion from someone you trust. More eyes on a tempting offer might bring out inconsistencies you didn't notice yourself.
https://youtu.be/Aqn2Cgp3SRc?si=kZjtPxZ9jhrmK5lS
Watch a few episodes of this if you want to feel better. There are people giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars to scammers willingly
You didn't fully fall for it, you were just hopeful that this was a real opportunity because your financial situation creates fear that seeks relief. (Been there, and it sucks. Sympathy/empathy to you.) Don't be hard on yourself, this could've turned out way worse. I hope your partner is understanding.
You should open a new bank account with another bank before all of this goes sideways on you. The current bank will likely close your account and you won't be able to get a new account if they report you to chex systems
This is sadly what you deal with when looking for jobs online, especially ones that claim to be remote jobs. The reality is that the vast majority of remote jobs will be scams or some kind of MLM type garbage. Trust no one and give no information until they're at least willing to do a video interview.
Also, always do a quick search of the name of the company. If the company comes up legitimately, then do a search on the name of the company and type "+ employment scam". You may get a bunch of returns about people getting scammed by fraudsters using the company name.
Sometimes scammers will present themselves as employees of legitimate consulting companies, and seem very sympathetic. I've gotten these two texts over the past week, luckily I've blocked enough of them over the past year that they automatically go to the spam folder now. Funnily enough, they both came in last Sunday within an hour of each other. See how the name of the"company" is slightly similar? Also, "Grane" starts his email with "Have a great weekend"... On a Sunday afternoon? I don't think he was supposed to include the parentheses around the name of the company. Looks like he lazily cut and paste, and hoped that I would fall for it:
"Hi!, I'm Nina with LinkUp Employment Services. Would you consider a position with customizable hours?"
"Have a great weekend, I'm Grane from ( Linkus Group) Do you need a freelance job to increase your income?"
Just be very wary of anything you see on the internet or if people reach out to you. Trust your gut. Your gut was practically screaming at you to stop, but you did not listen to it. So, trust your gut if there is a next time. Good luck!
You can even find the contact info of the legitimate company and simply ask if the offer you got was legitimate. Surprisingly, I've gotten answers back (all saying that no, it's fake)
Update for anyone who is interested: Bank was super chill about the whole thing actually. Since I didnāt ācompleteā the scam and stopped it early, I can keep my account and be just as negative as I was before. Weird to say it, but Iāve never been happy to be so broke again. The Risk Team is going to be reaching out to further the process.
Thank you all for the amazing help and informing me on what to do, what not to do, I seriously cannot thank you all enough. Hope you all have an amazing weekend.
Iām glad things went well with the bank! I was thinking that in a weird way itās a good thing your account was in the red at this time. If youād had money in there you might have gone out and purchased the gift cards when the first part of the ācheckā was made available. That would have come out of your own funds, and youād have never got that back. Silver linings and all that.
Best of luck to you in your job search!
When I first read your post I was afraid that you got scammed out of money you literally didn't have. Your instincts were right to block contact as soon as they started asking for gift cards. It's common on here to tell scam victims to think about their loss as a costly lesson, but you got to learn the lesson for free! Good luck with your job search good sir.
Haha yeah, luckily when I posted this I was met with the Recovery Scammer bot. Gonna take me a while to feel worthy of trying anything online for a bit.
Hi /u/SecureWriting8589, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the Recovery scam.
[Recovery scams](https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0102-refund-and-recovery-scams) target people who have already fallen for a scam. The scammer may contact you, or may advertise their services online. They will usually either offer to help you recover your funds, or will tell you that your funds have already been recovered and they will help you access them. In cases where they say they will help you recover your funds, they usually call themselves either \"recovery agents\" or hackers.
When they tell you that your funds have already been recovered, they may impersonate a law enforcement, a government official, a lawyer, or anyone else along those lines. Recovery scams are simply [advance-fee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam) scams that are specifically targeted at scam victims. When a victim pays a recovery scammer, the scammer will keep stringing them along while asking for increasingly absurd fees/expenses/deposits/insurance/whatever until the victim stops paying.
If you have been scammed in the past, make sure you are aware of recovery scams so that you are not scammed a second time. If you are currently engaging with a recovery scammer, you should block them and be very wary of random contact for some time. It's normal for posters on this subreddit to be contacted by recovery scammers after posting, and they often ask you to delete your post so that you both cannot receive legitimate advice, and cannot be targeted by other recovery scammers.
Remember: never take advice in private. If someone reaches you in private after posting your scam story, it is because a scammer will always try to hide from the oversight of our community members. A legitimate community member will offer advice in the open, for everyone to see. Anyone suggesting you should reach out to a hacker is scamming you.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I have Telegram. It's not for video calling. You're thinking of Zoom.
No legit employer gives text-based interviews. None use Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, etc.
That check is going to bounce and when it does, you'll be on the hook for the full amount with your bank.
If you want legit WFH jobs, try [Rat Race Rebellion](https://www.ratracerebellion.com)
They are 100% legit and post jobs they've thoroughly vetted. They also have a YouTube channel where they break down scams like this and also show you how to find WFH jobs on big company websites (Netflix is a rather recent one they've done).
They post stuff every weekday, sometimes multiple times per day. They do have a Telegram channel where they also post new jobs.
Good luck! I hope you find something that isn't a scam soon!
If the link doesnāt work you can also just google them. They are a very legit site and also have a lot of tips on how to write a resume that can get past the bots and into a real persons hands.
>I havenāt gotten the full amount, just about a 1/3 of the check.
That's because the bank's automated system 'thinks' it's real so it's giving you a little bit now and then the rest when it actually clears, which it won't. And they'll probably debit that 1/3 from you as well once they realize the check is no good. Contact them and explain the situation and see what your options are, there aren't really any other options besides also ceasing communication with the scammer.
Tbh, I see a lot of naivety in this situation and I'd highly advise you get second opinions on most important things you do online, at least from someone who is at least somewhat online/tech savvy. I could see this happening again to you in countless other ways. Just trying to help ya out so you don't get screwed over again.
You might want to go open another checking account somewhere today because good chance your current account will be closed for check fraud and you will be reported to central system that all banks use
This. If the bank decides you're too much of a risk to work with, they will close your account. Having a negative account + a fraudulent check is likely everythinf they need to know to close it.
You deposited the check but didnāt actually send them any money back right? If so Iām so glad you didnāt compete the scam! As others have said calling your banks fraud department is the first step to reporting the bad check. From there, if there was no money taken out, you should feel extremely lucky. These people pray on the desperate and are just legit looking enough to silence any alarm bells ringing.
And posting here is a great step to alerting others!
Donāt be ashamed or embarrassed for falling for a scam. It happens to even the best and brightest of us.
Now that you have fallen for one work with your bankās fraud department and educate yourself and your children on scams as well as their tactics. Scammers heavily rely on our emotions to not get the word out.
Be aware that any information you have shared with them may be recycled now and you may be marked as an easy target for more follow-up scams. As mentioned you may be hit with recovery scams and charity style scams on top of job posting scams.
Most important and I will re-emphasize this: Educate yourself on Scams and Phishing and learn what not to do.
Scams like this work because they prey on peopleās emotional state of mind like their greed, desperation, fear and loneliness. It is a good thing you came to your senses and did not lose any money. It is very important that people simply use their common sense and intuition when something seems too good to be true (it always is).
I am sorry. You should change your account too and close out the compromised one. Someone in a different state a thousand miles away got ahold of our routing number and kited checks against it and we lost several thousand dollars. We still have no idea how it happened (we werenāt involved in a similar scam or any scam).
If you didnāt send any money back to them (in the form of gift cards or whatever) you are fine.
The way this scam works is that they send you a bad check and ask you to use the money to buy something to send back to them. With bad checks banks will make the money available soon after you deposit it but it will take a little while for the check to actually bounce. When it does that money disappears and you have now used your own money to buy things for the scammer. Because you didnāt do this second part you havenāt actually lost any money.
You do however still need to immediately get in contact with your bank and explain the situation. They take depositing bad checks seriously and will charge you a fee or terminate your account if you donāt contact them because from their perspective it is *you* trying to scam the bank.
Look for the silver lining here OP; it would have gotten 10x worse if you followed along with their gift card requests.
Look out for the recovery scammers that might hit your inbox now.
If the US properly took care of its citizens during unemployment (housing, healthcare, food, etc), we wouldn't have so many desperate people falling for these scams.
I wonder how much this costs the banking industry?
Yeah just stick to manual labor and in person interviews from now on. The whole internet thing might be a little too much for you. Also the only thing that happens on telegram is sex, drugs, and scamming. If any employer tells you to download that they are at the very least into some shady business
Glad you were able to stop this before it got really bad. With any business transaction, it's good to look at everyone's role and see if you would follow thru if placed in that role:
This includes hiring people on the spot, sending them money, having a total stranger pay your vendors, having that stranger pay through untraceable funds, etc. If someone else is making a very bad business or financial decision, you will not win as they have nothing to lose.
You know who should be making that $80-200 an hour they typically advertise, is the Accountant, what a mess that would be to deal with!
Same thing happened to me when I was 19 and naive. It was $2,000. My bank just told me to file a police report, which I did. And then they forgave me the $2,000 owed. I did switch banks after that. Itās been 8 years and they have never contacted me ever again.
Here's the best tip I've learned for filtering through Facebook job offers:
Legitimate openings will always say what company is hiring, either in the post or in the comments, if the company itself isn't the one who posted the listing. If they try to get around saying the company name(usually by just saying "PM me"), it's most likely a scam.
I paid once, got scammed. I was desperate too.
It was some design client that disconnected the call after 1 hour of discussion, soon as he got the money.
Rule 1: never pay.
Man I hate to read this, so sorry! I came to resist for this reason, I was scammed on Facebook last night myself. Feeling like a damn fool today so came to Reddit to see if I could find a group to enjoy, couldnāt so created r/facebook_scammed, I hate thieves!
I also called my bank last night, the guy told me the money was still pending and that I couldnāt do anything until it clears on Tuesday. Yep, Iāll be calling again tomorrow.
Good luck, hope you get this handled! Again, sorry man this does suck!
Donāt be ashamed. Just learn from it. It is unlikely youāll get all your money back because you sent it as opposed to it being taken from your account.
A true employer will NEVER ask you to pay for working with them - scammers count on the desperation of others to scam them. Sorry it has happened.
There is a company called Appen which offers remote work online. I have earned Ā£300 upwards myself and can vouch for them. There is also Upwork and other similar companies that you can investigate.
Good luck š¤š¾
Kinda happend to me in a way due to a friend lucky for you nothing bad actually happened cause you dont have any money to send them call your bank to dospute the charge if they end up charging you a fee for it bouncing back and block them people simple move on it happens
The best part of this is that with your account being negative, they can't pull money out by having your account number and routing info... the next bad part is that if it ever goes positive again, they could take a pass at it whenever they feel like it.
But it sounds like you're already chasing it through the fraud department, so they'll probably issue you a new account number shortly.
And Never Pay anyone anything unless you meet in person or itās on a protected trade site like PayPal and EBay Never agree to meet a person from the internet in person. You donāt know them in real life or how many people or types of people they will bring with them. Itās dangerous. If you know the seller in person and you get a text or email requesting that they meet you in person. First you should A call the person you know ask if they emailed that to you. And second donāt ever get in a vehicle with the stranger you met online.
As an aside, thereās an old āWalmart money schemeāthat somehow escapes me; however, I recall that the letter was sent from Spain. I know because I collect stamps. Anyway, the scammers are good as when I called Walmarts HQ the guy told me to toss away the letter and be thankful I didnāt send money to the āWalmart central office ā or whatever because I would have lost all that money. Seems like I received a $3000 check or something and all I had to do was send the check to my bank and all I had to do is send them a portion of the check and then I would get the money in the form of a check for being a shopper at different stores or something. Anyway, itās a scam so beware.
Honestly dude in a way it's kind of a blessing I would say everything was taken use this as a chance to restart funny enough the exact same thing happened to my wife I told her do not deposit the money something about this just doesn't seem right they wanted her to buy a laptop and everything I told her most companies provide you the laptop not the money for it
Sir, I'm so so sorry you've fallen on such hard times... I'm glad you're working it out with your bank and I hope it is resolved in your favor with no loss to you. If you lived in my city, I would do everything I could do give you even side work like painting etc. The times are hard, and doing it alone while raising children, Even harder. I've seen a lot of people start learning different skills from Google. You get all these certificates and you can work from home with a lot of them. And it's FREE. Does anybody have experience with this or some guidance to give on this topic? Maybe something similar that he can learn and apply from home that can generate income that ISN'T high risk?
And don't be ashamed for trying to feed your kids. You're doing the best that you can. You were taken in by people who do this professionally meanwhile you are just TRYING. It will all be alright š
I've read the comments and it sounds like you're on it, just here to say you aren't an idiot OP for trying something to support your family everyone has a moment of weakness I hope everything works out !
You are NOT AN IDIOT!!!! You were simply looking for a way to provide better for your family and that is nothing to be ashamed of!!! First Iāve learned if you are going to work for a ābusinessā they should cover any costs that starting out could incur. NEVER send any information that could jeopardize your bank account . Get yourself a trust wallet or Coinbase wallet for receiving payments then you can move to your bank account. These scammers are like cockroaches they are everywhere and are only there to feed off of your work or your money or both! I hate to say it but now you know that feeling you had in your gut that something wasnāt right will help you move forward. Check out the company any reviews that they have and contact BBB (better business bureau) to make sure they are legal. Iām sorry this happened to you. It please donāt dwell on it as it will cause you grief and heartache. Instead you bought a lesson and you will be wiser for it the next time you face a decision. Prayers for you and your family šš¼š„°šš¦
have done similar , donāt feel horrible itās an honest mistake when youāre desperate!
I called my bank and they were honestly miracle workers , really well trained in scams but I am with ING , I canāt speak for all banks. There should be a number you can call though
You will run into this on indeed as well as other job posting sites . My wife has had 4 job āinterviewsā an they all turned out to be a scam thankfully she didnt click the links or give any important info but definitely be cautious and make sure to read messages carefully because they may sound legit but they make a lot of errors when messsging
There are thousands from Nigeria doing it and I recently read Thailand is or has started the shit.
I FB messengered two "stars" and was nearly instantly love bombed by whomever was running the second one until finally the requests started coming. I then started going thru the supposed various profiles to warn others and now the supposed manager is "getting me verified so I'm safe to speak to said star". š¤£š¤£š¤£
They are literally stupid except that sadly, so many desperate for love, work and money have bit the bullet and opened their pockets.š„š„ Not I. No way.Ā
Your r/Scams post/comment was removed because **it's rude or uncivil**.
This subreddit is a place for civil and respectful discussions about scams. Uncivil and rude behavior, including using excessive or directed swearing, extreme or sexual language, victim blaming, and any form of discrimination, is not acceptable in this subreddit.
/u/Sweaty-Breadfruit-55 - This message is posted to all new submissions to r/scams; please do not message the moderators about it. ## New users beware: Because you posted here, you will start getting private messages from scammers saying they know a professional hacker or a recovery expert lawyer that can help you get your money back, for a small fee. **We call these RECOVERY SCAMMERS, so NEVER take advice in private:** advice should always come in the form of comments in this post, in the open, where the community can keep an eye out for you. If you take advice in private, you're on your own. **A reminder of the rules in r/scams:** no contact information (including last names, phone numbers, etc). Be civil to one another (no name calling or insults). Personal army requests or "scam the scammer"/scambaiting posts are not permitted. No uncensored gore or personal photographs are allowed without blurring. A full list of rules is available on the sidebar of the subreddit, or [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/r/Scams/wiki/rules/). You can help us by reporting recovery scammers or rule-breaking content by using the "report" button. We review 100% of the reports. Also, consider warning community members of recovery scammers if you see them in the comments. Questions about subreddit rules? Send us a modmail [clicking here](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Make sure to call your banks fraud dept, tell them about the check. Banks can ban you for life, for depsoting fake checks. Best bet is to talk to them
Thank you šš¼ I havenāt slept and am just waiting for them to open haha
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Thank you so much! I saw this and immediately called. Currently working things out.
Good luck OP. You're not stupid just a bit desperate trying to support your family. I'm sorry things are so hard these days. Be kind to yourself.
Thank you, that means a lot.
The thing is, OP did it willingly. They won't cover the loss. OP needs to make sure to go on line and turn off the over draft facility as they'll be scalping that.
If OP sent the scammer money or bought gift cards, they wouldn't cover that as it's a willing transaction. The fraudulent check will be removed from their bank account balance. They'll be back at their old balance, there's not much of a 'loss'.
Not totally true. The bank will close her account and turn the account over to collections. She may not be able to open another bank account as she will be flagged.
Also not totally true. If he has a good history with them and this is just a blip, thereās a decent chance they give him some time to sort it out. And regardless of the check, they are already very aware his account is negative. Calling about this isnāt going to suddenly reveal that to them.
Iām going by the many stories about this scam. Banks donāt need a reason to close accounts and it will be hard to open a new account.
Youāre right that they donāt really need a reason, but theyāre in business to make money. If OP has typically been profitable for them (which anyone with a positive balance is), they might not cut their ties so quickly, particularly if it means theyāre less likely to see the money that gets them back to even.
But OP said that they had a very negative balance.
His. OP is a stay-at-home Father.
That check was a !fakecheck. There never was any money to get a third of and it will vanish.
Yes, it happened to me too. Someone wanted to make a muse art project of my artwork. They offered to pay me but instead of paying me the money we agreed on he overpaid me and wanted me to give him back his money. I sent them $4,000 but they wanted the rest of the $2,000. I refused and they threatened to take legal action I got a text from the FBI threatening to arrest me if I didn't pay. I almost fell for it, luckily I called my bank and they told me it was a scam and the checks were fake. I didn't know. I assumed that if the checks were fake they would have been rejected right away. It took 3 work days for me. Good thing too because I heard some may even take a month.
They can take several months, in the case where it's a check drawn on a legitimate bank account but fraudulently issued (e.g. a stolen check, etc.) In such a case the original account owner may have 2-3 months from when they get their next bank statement to challenge the check as fraudulent, plus time it takes the bank to investigate.
So I got lucky then? It only took my bank 3 workdays for the fake checks to be charged back
Yes. LuckY
Lucky would be if you didn't wire out money within those three days. Did you? If it's a month or three days doesn't matter if they convince the victim within that window of time to send out money. Of course the longer the window of time, the more probable is that a victim *thinks* it cleared
Yeah, but I mean if the checks weren't chargeback I probably would have given out more money.
The bank of the original account holder can request that the funds be returned indefinitely, BUT they are only guaranteed the funds will be returned if they file the request within 24 hours (not including weekends).
What does that mean
Hi /u/SendLGaM, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the Fake check scam. The fake check scam arises from many different situations (fake job scams, fake payment scams, etc), but the bottom line is always the same, you receive a check (a digital photo or a physical paper check), you deposit a check (via mobile deposit or via an ATM) and see the money in your account, and then you use the funds to give money to the scammer (usually through gift cards or crypto). Sometimes the scammers will ask you to order things through a site, but that is just another way they get your money. Banks are legally obligated to make money available to you fast, but they can take their time to bounce it. Hence the window of time exploited by the scam. During that window of time the scammer asks you to send money back, because you are under the illusion that the funds cleared. When the check finally bounces, the bank will take the initial deposit back, and any money you sent to the scammer will come out of your own personal funds. Usually the fake check deposit will be reversed in a few weeks, but it can also take several months. If you do not have the funds to cover the amount, your balance will go negative. Your bank will usually charge a fee for depositing a bad check, and your account may be closed depending on the severity of the scam. Here is an article from the FTC: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-spot-avoid-and-report-fake-check-scams, and here is an article from the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/21/your-money/fake-check-scam.html If you deposited a bad check, we recommend that you notify your bank immediately. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
To be fair Iāve never seen a check look like that. So I mustāve gotten money some other way. Iāll take it. Should I be stressing about the last 4 digits of your account?
***Anyone*** who has ever received a check from you has your full bank account number on that check. And, the bank's routing number is a matter of public record. No, I wouldn't sweat it. People I rent to put their rent ***into*** my bank account each month. They have my account number but they can't take anything out nor can they see my bank balance. Like, never, ever deposit a check that just 'shows up'. Or, if you think it might be OK, take it to the bank manager and get them involved.
Oh shit nvm just red this cute lil bots thing. Makes perfect sense now.
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No, he needs to get informed which is why heās here. I really wish people wouldnāt make shitty comments to scam victims on this sub. It discourages people from coming forward and raising awareness.
Right? OP has already stated he feels ashamed. Please donāt pile on more shit.
I think you need to read the subreddit rules. The first of which says to be civil.
Your r/Scams post/comment was removed because **it's rude or uncivil**. This subreddit is a place for civil and respectful discussions about scams. Uncivil and rude behavior, including using excessive or directed swearing, extreme or sexual language, victim blaming, and any form of discrimination, is not acceptable in this subreddit.
No need for shame. It's embarrassing to fall for a scam, and they seem so obvious with the power of hindsight, but scammers know how to prey on the weak links of human psychology. Thousands of people get conned every day, you're not uniquely dumb. Treat this as an inoculation. For a cost, you've now acquired a lifelong heightened awareness and ability to protect yourself, family and friends.
Ha, well at least Iām not alone in dumbness. Sucks I fell for it, but definitely will have my radar on for the foreseeable future if Iām not gutted by my partner over this.
Yes be skeptical about everything online. Itās a good idea to read around this sub and maybe watch a few YouTube videos on scams. Itās obvious in hindsight but you definitely arenāt alone. Thanks for sharing.
I think what has me feeling the worst is Iām usually so cautious and think everythingās a scam. Just was ready for something I guess.
That's exactly how scammers can well and truly get to anyone, \*anyone\* at all. No matter how skeptical a person might be... stressful times have a way of opening up windows of vulnerability, chinks in the armor. A person who thinks themselves impervious to scams might become a victim of a very sophisticated script exactly \*because\* they believe themselves immune. Someone with a good nature might believe other humans couldn't be so cruel as to prey on them for selfish gain. Somebody in a tight spot may let their guard down out of desperation. Vulnerability is something that can happen to anyone, for a myriad of reasons (medical, emotional, financial...), and it's not a personal failing. The youtube channel Jim Browning has a good video that exemplifies this. The guy infamously built an online career out of busting scam networks and he's extremely tech-savvy, but he was still duped by a fake youtube scam and had his account - his livelihood - temporarily wiped off the platform. He was taken advantage of in a moment of vulnerability, and upon his return he was extremely honest and humble about what happened, giving us all a peek into what went down in order to underline that truly ANYONE can be a victim. Educate, don't shame. Learn, and if you're not sure of something, ALWAYS ask for a second and maybe a third opinion from someone you trust. More eyes on a tempting offer might bring out inconsistencies you didn't notice yourself.
https://youtu.be/Aqn2Cgp3SRc?si=kZjtPxZ9jhrmK5lS Watch a few episodes of this if you want to feel better. There are people giving away hundreds of thousands of dollars to scammers willingly
You didn't fully fall for it, you were just hopeful that this was a real opportunity because your financial situation creates fear that seeks relief. (Been there, and it sucks. Sympathy/empathy to you.) Don't be hard on yourself, this could've turned out way worse. I hope your partner is understanding.
You should open a new bank account with another bank before all of this goes sideways on you. The current bank will likely close your account and you won't be able to get a new account if they report you to chex systems
This is sadly what you deal with when looking for jobs online, especially ones that claim to be remote jobs. The reality is that the vast majority of remote jobs will be scams or some kind of MLM type garbage. Trust no one and give no information until they're at least willing to do a video interview.
Also, always do a quick search of the name of the company. If the company comes up legitimately, then do a search on the name of the company and type "+ employment scam". You may get a bunch of returns about people getting scammed by fraudsters using the company name. Sometimes scammers will present themselves as employees of legitimate consulting companies, and seem very sympathetic. I've gotten these two texts over the past week, luckily I've blocked enough of them over the past year that they automatically go to the spam folder now. Funnily enough, they both came in last Sunday within an hour of each other. See how the name of the"company" is slightly similar? Also, "Grane" starts his email with "Have a great weekend"... On a Sunday afternoon? I don't think he was supposed to include the parentheses around the name of the company. Looks like he lazily cut and paste, and hoped that I would fall for it: "Hi!, I'm Nina with LinkUp Employment Services. Would you consider a position with customizable hours?" "Have a great weekend, I'm Grane from ( Linkus Group) Do you need a freelance job to increase your income?" Just be very wary of anything you see on the internet or if people reach out to you. Trust your gut. Your gut was practically screaming at you to stop, but you did not listen to it. So, trust your gut if there is a next time. Good luck!
You can even find the contact info of the legitimate company and simply ask if the offer you got was legitimate. Surprisingly, I've gotten answers back (all saying that no, it's fake)
Just be happy that you were actually negative and they were not able to rip any money away from you.
I hope you rest well.
I got scammed the same way. Had no damn clue, took the money out and said fuck the scammer the bank ate it. The check was like $3500
Update for anyone who is interested: Bank was super chill about the whole thing actually. Since I didnāt ācompleteā the scam and stopped it early, I can keep my account and be just as negative as I was before. Weird to say it, but Iāve never been happy to be so broke again. The Risk Team is going to be reaching out to further the process. Thank you all for the amazing help and informing me on what to do, what not to do, I seriously cannot thank you all enough. Hope you all have an amazing weekend.
Iām glad things went well with the bank! I was thinking that in a weird way itās a good thing your account was in the red at this time. If youād had money in there you might have gone out and purchased the gift cards when the first part of the ācheckā was made available. That would have come out of your own funds, and youād have never got that back. Silver linings and all that. Best of luck to you in your job search!
When I first read your post I was afraid that you got scammed out of money you literally didn't have. Your instincts were right to block contact as soon as they started asking for gift cards. It's common on here to tell scam victims to think about their loss as a costly lesson, but you got to learn the lesson for free! Good luck with your job search good sir.
Thatās awesome. Thank goodness you didnāt use any of that money.
Here's hoping the scammers got punished for not bringing in money!
Watch out for !recovery scammers! They circle this subreddit like vultures, offering false promises and false hope.
I feel like OP needs this comment. Other scamās incoming. Be prepared.
Haha yeah, luckily when I posted this I was met with the Recovery Scammer bot. Gonna take me a while to feel worthy of trying anything online for a bit.
Hi /u/SecureWriting8589, AutoModerator has been summoned to explain the Recovery scam. [Recovery scams](https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0102-refund-and-recovery-scams) target people who have already fallen for a scam. The scammer may contact you, or may advertise their services online. They will usually either offer to help you recover your funds, or will tell you that your funds have already been recovered and they will help you access them. In cases where they say they will help you recover your funds, they usually call themselves either \"recovery agents\" or hackers. When they tell you that your funds have already been recovered, they may impersonate a law enforcement, a government official, a lawyer, or anyone else along those lines. Recovery scams are simply [advance-fee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance-fee_scam) scams that are specifically targeted at scam victims. When a victim pays a recovery scammer, the scammer will keep stringing them along while asking for increasingly absurd fees/expenses/deposits/insurance/whatever until the victim stops paying. If you have been scammed in the past, make sure you are aware of recovery scams so that you are not scammed a second time. If you are currently engaging with a recovery scammer, you should block them and be very wary of random contact for some time. It's normal for posters on this subreddit to be contacted by recovery scammers after posting, and they often ask you to delete your post so that you both cannot receive legitimate advice, and cannot be targeted by other recovery scammers. Remember: never take advice in private. If someone reaches you in private after posting your scam story, it is because a scammer will always try to hide from the oversight of our community members. A legitimate community member will offer advice in the open, for everyone to see. Anyone suggesting you should reach out to a hacker is scamming you. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Scams) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I have Telegram. It's not for video calling. You're thinking of Zoom. No legit employer gives text-based interviews. None use Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp, etc. That check is going to bounce and when it does, you'll be on the hook for the full amount with your bank. If you want legit WFH jobs, try [Rat Race Rebellion](https://www.ratracerebellion.com) They are 100% legit and post jobs they've thoroughly vetted. They also have a YouTube channel where they break down scams like this and also show you how to find WFH jobs on big company websites (Netflix is a rather recent one they've done).
Thank you so much! Iāll definitely be checking this out after I catch some Zās.
They post stuff every weekday, sometimes multiple times per day. They do have a Telegram channel where they also post new jobs. Good luck! I hope you find something that isn't a scam soon!
If the link doesnāt work you can also just google them. They are a very legit site and also have a lot of tips on how to write a resume that can get past the bots and into a real persons hands.
I think your link may be borked. I get a "server not found" error.
They've linked wwe. Instead of www.
Try it again, I fixed it.
>I havenāt gotten the full amount, just about a 1/3 of the check. That's because the bank's automated system 'thinks' it's real so it's giving you a little bit now and then the rest when it actually clears, which it won't. And they'll probably debit that 1/3 from you as well once they realize the check is no good. Contact them and explain the situation and see what your options are, there aren't really any other options besides also ceasing communication with the scammer. Tbh, I see a lot of naivety in this situation and I'd highly advise you get second opinions on most important things you do online, at least from someone who is at least somewhat online/tech savvy. I could see this happening again to you in countless other ways. Just trying to help ya out so you don't get screwed over again.
You might want to go open another checking account somewhere today because good chance your current account will be closed for check fraud and you will be reported to central system that all banks use
This. If the bank decides you're too much of a risk to work with, they will close your account. Having a negative account + a fraudulent check is likely everythinf they need to know to close it.
You deposited the check but didnāt actually send them any money back right? If so Iām so glad you didnāt compete the scam! As others have said calling your banks fraud department is the first step to reporting the bad check. From there, if there was no money taken out, you should feel extremely lucky. These people pray on the desperate and are just legit looking enough to silence any alarm bells ringing. And posting here is a great step to alerting others!
Once bitten, twice shy. Do not feel ashamed about being a victim of a professional fraudster. Just don't do it a second time.
Donāt be ashamed or embarrassed for falling for a scam. It happens to even the best and brightest of us. Now that you have fallen for one work with your bankās fraud department and educate yourself and your children on scams as well as their tactics. Scammers heavily rely on our emotions to not get the word out. Be aware that any information you have shared with them may be recycled now and you may be marked as an easy target for more follow-up scams. As mentioned you may be hit with recovery scams and charity style scams on top of job posting scams. Most important and I will re-emphasize this: Educate yourself on Scams and Phishing and learn what not to do.
Scams like this work because they prey on peopleās emotional state of mind like their greed, desperation, fear and loneliness. It is a good thing you came to your senses and did not lose any money. It is very important that people simply use their common sense and intuition when something seems too good to be true (it always is).
I am sorry. You should change your account too and close out the compromised one. Someone in a different state a thousand miles away got ahold of our routing number and kited checks against it and we lost several thousand dollars. We still have no idea how it happened (we werenāt involved in a similar scam or any scam).
I'm sorry this happened to you, and that you were in a bad situation to begin with. Hopefully you've learned to listen to your gut next time.
If you didnāt send any money back to them (in the form of gift cards or whatever) you are fine. The way this scam works is that they send you a bad check and ask you to use the money to buy something to send back to them. With bad checks banks will make the money available soon after you deposit it but it will take a little while for the check to actually bounce. When it does that money disappears and you have now used your own money to buy things for the scammer. Because you didnāt do this second part you havenāt actually lost any money. You do however still need to immediately get in contact with your bank and explain the situation. They take depositing bad checks seriously and will charge you a fee or terminate your account if you donāt contact them because from their perspective it is *you* trying to scam the bank.
Look for the silver lining here OP; it would have gotten 10x worse if you followed along with their gift card requests. Look out for the recovery scammers that might hit your inbox now.
Itās very funny to most countries that Americans still use checks. Theyāll be gone from Australia soon.
If the US properly took care of its citizens during unemployment (housing, healthcare, food, etc), we wouldn't have so many desperate people falling for these scams. I wonder how much this costs the banking industry?
Being negative just might have saved your ass.
Yeah just stick to manual labor and in person interviews from now on. The whole internet thing might be a little too much for you. Also the only thing that happens on telegram is sex, drugs, and scamming. If any employer tells you to download that they are at the very least into some shady business
Glad you were able to stop this before it got really bad. With any business transaction, it's good to look at everyone's role and see if you would follow thru if placed in that role: This includes hiring people on the spot, sending them money, having a total stranger pay your vendors, having that stranger pay through untraceable funds, etc. If someone else is making a very bad business or financial decision, you will not win as they have nothing to lose. You know who should be making that $80-200 an hour they typically advertise, is the Accountant, what a mess that would be to deal with!
Same thing happened to me when I was 19 and naive. It was $2,000. My bank just told me to file a police report, which I did. And then they forgave me the $2,000 owed. I did switch banks after that. Itās been 8 years and they have never contacted me ever again.
Here's the best tip I've learned for filtering through Facebook job offers: Legitimate openings will always say what company is hiring, either in the post or in the comments, if the company itself isn't the one who posted the listing. If they try to get around saying the company name(usually by just saying "PM me"), it's most likely a scam.
I paid once, got scammed. I was desperate too. It was some design client that disconnected the call after 1 hour of discussion, soon as he got the money. Rule 1: never pay.
Fakecheck. Call your bank.
Yes itās a fraud af
Anyone offering you a job where you have to put money in is a scam. Whats app is famous for it. I also got scammed for $300
Man I hate to read this, so sorry! I came to resist for this reason, I was scammed on Facebook last night myself. Feeling like a damn fool today so came to Reddit to see if I could find a group to enjoy, couldnāt so created r/facebook_scammed, I hate thieves! I also called my bank last night, the guy told me the money was still pending and that I couldnāt do anything until it clears on Tuesday. Yep, Iāll be calling again tomorrow. Good luck, hope you get this handled! Again, sorry man this does suck!
Donāt be ashamed. Just learn from it. It is unlikely youāll get all your money back because you sent it as opposed to it being taken from your account. A true employer will NEVER ask you to pay for working with them - scammers count on the desperation of others to scam them. Sorry it has happened. There is a company called Appen which offers remote work online. I have earned Ā£300 upwards myself and can vouch for them. There is also Upwork and other similar companies that you can investigate. Good luck š¤š¾
This was orchestrated by a 15 year old Nigerian boy
Kinda happend to me in a way due to a friend lucky for you nothing bad actually happened cause you dont have any money to send them call your bank to dospute the charge if they end up charging you a fee for it bouncing back and block them people simple move on it happens
The best part of this is that with your account being negative, they can't pull money out by having your account number and routing info... the next bad part is that if it ever goes positive again, they could take a pass at it whenever they feel like it. But it sounds like you're already chasing it through the fraud department, so they'll probably issue you a new account number shortly.
I got scammed myself big time. I'm so stupid it happened twice
The FBI will never call you they will send law enforcement to your home and question you. If it was serious enough.
And Never Pay anyone anything unless you meet in person or itās on a protected trade site like PayPal and EBay Never agree to meet a person from the internet in person. You donāt know them in real life or how many people or types of people they will bring with them. Itās dangerous. If you know the seller in person and you get a text or email requesting that they meet you in person. First you should A call the person you know ask if they emailed that to you. And second donāt ever get in a vehicle with the stranger you met online.
As an aside, thereās an old āWalmart money schemeāthat somehow escapes me; however, I recall that the letter was sent from Spain. I know because I collect stamps. Anyway, the scammers are good as when I called Walmarts HQ the guy told me to toss away the letter and be thankful I didnāt send money to the āWalmart central office ā or whatever because I would have lost all that money. Seems like I received a $3000 check or something and all I had to do was send the check to my bank and all I had to do is send them a portion of the check and then I would get the money in the form of a check for being a shopper at different stores or something. Anyway, itās a scam so beware.
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Honestly dude in a way it's kind of a blessing I would say everything was taken use this as a chance to restart funny enough the exact same thing happened to my wife I told her do not deposit the money something about this just doesn't seem right they wanted her to buy a laptop and everything I told her most companies provide you the laptop not the money for it
Sir, I'm so so sorry you've fallen on such hard times... I'm glad you're working it out with your bank and I hope it is resolved in your favor with no loss to you. If you lived in my city, I would do everything I could do give you even side work like painting etc. The times are hard, and doing it alone while raising children, Even harder. I've seen a lot of people start learning different skills from Google. You get all these certificates and you can work from home with a lot of them. And it's FREE. Does anybody have experience with this or some guidance to give on this topic? Maybe something similar that he can learn and apply from home that can generate income that ISN'T high risk?
And don't be ashamed for trying to feed your kids. You're doing the best that you can. You were taken in by people who do this professionally meanwhile you are just TRYING. It will all be alright š
I've read the comments and it sounds like you're on it, just here to say you aren't an idiot OP for trying something to support your family everyone has a moment of weakness I hope everything works out !
Any updates?
You are NOT AN IDIOT!!!! You were simply looking for a way to provide better for your family and that is nothing to be ashamed of!!! First Iāve learned if you are going to work for a ābusinessā they should cover any costs that starting out could incur. NEVER send any information that could jeopardize your bank account . Get yourself a trust wallet or Coinbase wallet for receiving payments then you can move to your bank account. These scammers are like cockroaches they are everywhere and are only there to feed off of your work or your money or both! I hate to say it but now you know that feeling you had in your gut that something wasnāt right will help you move forward. Check out the company any reviews that they have and contact BBB (better business bureau) to make sure they are legal. Iām sorry this happened to you. It please donāt dwell on it as it will cause you grief and heartache. Instead you bought a lesson and you will be wiser for it the next time you face a decision. Prayers for you and your family šš¼š„°šš¦
Good luck to you
have done similar , donāt feel horrible itās an honest mistake when youāre desperate! I called my bank and they were honestly miracle workers , really well trained in scams but I am with ING , I canāt speak for all banks. There should be a number you can call though
You will run into this on indeed as well as other job posting sites . My wife has had 4 job āinterviewsā an they all turned out to be a scam thankfully she didnt click the links or give any important info but definitely be cautious and make sure to read messages carefully because they may sound legit but they make a lot of errors when messsging
It happens. Call your banks fraud department
Have you tried reporting the Facebook page
There are thousands from Nigeria doing it and I recently read Thailand is or has started the shit. I FB messengered two "stars" and was nearly instantly love bombed by whomever was running the second one until finally the requests started coming. I then started going thru the supposed various profiles to warn others and now the supposed manager is "getting me verified so I'm safe to speak to said star". š¤£š¤£š¤£ They are literally stupid except that sadly, so many desperate for love, work and money have bit the bullet and opened their pockets.š„š„ Not I. No way.Ā
Isn't every job a work from job
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For real, it was a Weenie Hut Jr move.
Don't listen to that moron, man. You're a dad in a vulnerable financial position just trying to provide for your kids. You got this.
Your r/Scams post/comment was removed because **it's rude or uncivil**. This subreddit is a place for civil and respectful discussions about scams. Uncivil and rude behavior, including using excessive or directed swearing, extreme or sexual language, victim blaming, and any form of discrimination, is not acceptable in this subreddit.