Nigerian 419 scam been around for a long time.

For many of us, even a check from a family member would be too good to be true :O)

it is rough times these days for everyone and i know a check for a few thousand would be some nice help but i also know getting a check for a couple thousand out of the blue is really to good to be true unless it was a family member giving it to me.

One more thing, and I've said this before but it bears repeating. If anyone ***that you do not know personally*** asks you to "wire" money to them FOR ANY REASON, don't do it! (Even if they sent you an official looking check or money order that your bank accepted for deposit!) This would apply to Western Union and any other wire services that might be out there, but also Paypal and other online payment processors.
The obvious exception would be situations such as eBay that normally use Paypal and the like - see eBay documentation for their recommended safeguards.

Let's try that last paragraph again, the wine must be kicking in....corrections in CAPS...
Best bet: if at all possible, go to the bank the check is drawn on. If they cash it, it's good! And neither the bank nor the person that wrote you the check has ANY recourse once you have the cash in hand. You have done nothing wrong, you simply made sure the money was there! Obviously, this is why fraudulent checks are almost ALWAYS drawn on out-of-town banks.

spbrat14: You said "the check was deposited & cleared after 7 days" only later "to find out from the bank it was a fraud". No, the check NEVER "cleared". This is a common misconception.
I once worked for a bank so I know a little bit more than the average bear about bank procedures. When you make a deposit, the bank places a "hold" on that deposit. The hold reduces your usable balance (the amount you could get in cash from the teller) by the amount of the hold. The amount of the hold, and the duration of the hold, are determined solely by BANK POLICY. (The bank's policies may be determined by the bank or by law). For example, you deposit an out-of-town personal check for $1000. Your bank credits the $1000 to your account, but places a hold (by their bank policy) of all but $100, for a period of three days. So you have a $900 hold for three days.
The $900 hold is released automatically after three days. But suppose the check you deposited bounces after one week. Guess what? You now have a $1000 debit on your account.
In other words, there is NO RELATIONSHIP between the temporary hold on your account, and the event of the check actually clearing (or bouncing). The hold is processed as a matter of policy, the deposit is otherwise assumed to be good until if and when it ultimately bounces.
I was suspicious of a check one time, and I pressed the bank manager with the following question. How long must I wait before I can absolutely rely on a check that I deposit having cleared? To put it another way, how long does the bank have to tell me a check bounced? The answer: FOREVER. It takes as long as it takes. There is nothing in the banks systems (relating to your personal account) that indicates that a deposit ultimately cleared. The only way it wouldn't be your problem - if you really wanted to put the onus on the bank - would be to open a new account, make the deposit, wait for the hold to clear, withdraw all the funds, and close the account. Of course, you couldn't do this if you knew that the deposit was fraudulent, that would be illegal.
Disclaimer: this is my understanding only, it could be a little off or could have changed. Any bankers out there that want to correct me or add more info, please feel free!
Best bet: if at all possible, go to the bank the check is drawn on. If they cash it, it's good! And neither the bank nor the person that wrote you the check has no recourse once you have the cash in hand. You have done nothing wrong, you simply made sure the money was there! Obviously, this is why fraudulent checks are almost drawn on out-of-town banks.

I've done mystery shopping in Janesville, Madison and Rockford. Hotels, motels and diners. It's fun, but you do pay for your meals first and many times the tip isn't included. You also are sometimes required to order something from the bar, eat certain things from the menu etc.
I enjoyed it, and still do on occassion.

BLUEBIRD, I would rather say desperate people fall for these things, or naive, not greedy. If they were greedy, I would assume the radar would be a bit higher as to not wanting to lose what they have. JMO.
*
And no, these people don't deserve, per Se' what they get from falling for these scams, but should be more protective of their assets.

I participate in mystery shops, and first of all, YOU have to seek them, and IF you get accepted, you have to follow such precise steps to get paid, that many times you are denied payment if you aren't thorough. Also, 400.00 is WAY huge for a mystery shop. I wish people wouldn't fall for these things....I know, when you are desperate common sense can go out the window, but seriously, if it seems to good to be true.....you know the ole saying...it probably is.

i had some person fed ex a check for 2500.00 to my house and there was no note in the envelope just a check so i called the bank and they said that account had been closed and i looked up the company it was written from and they said they had been having problems and that the fbi had been looking into which i think was a line of bull and i turned the check over to the police. People are ruthless and don't care who they take advantage of, and i say if you are not expecting a check to come in the mail never cash it

bluebirds--I agree, but, that's the mentality of mainstream America that's put this country on it's heel's like it is. Everybody's entitled and nobody is accountable anymore.

In today's world you never know if you may be a victim of identity fraud. If your homeowners, or renters insurance policy does not cover your losses for identity fraud. You should contact Farmers insurance. Identity fraud coverage is available on their Home, and renter’s insurance policies. I have it added to my home owner’s insurance policy for only $35.00 per year.

check out snopes.com when you see something weird. They are a great source, and have all different kinds of "scams" on there, even the seemingly harmless ones like chain email letters that don't ask for money.

The thing about it is, sometimes these checks do 'clear'. But then weeks or months later the bank will let the account owner know it has come back as fraud. I am not certain as to why sometimes it takes a while, and why it originally clears. Just know if its to good to be true, it is.

The greed of people thinking they can get something for nothing gets them into this trouble. First of all you should wait until the bank tells you that the check is real.

Another scam is the one where they say they will give you a 500.00 walmart card, catch is you have to buy products first and follow all their rules. People that is not mystery shopping.

As I have heard stories over the last few months of people falling for the to good to be true check scam, I have wondered what kind of ding bat must they be. There is so much information out there about how ALL of these are fraud why would you not throw them away. I received one once, called the bank it was drawn on, it was good. Called the company at the top of the check, they thieves actually put the company name, I looked up the phone no. The lady at the the LAW FIRM told me it was fraud, and was surprised to hear this fraud had made it as far north as Wis. As they were based out of Florida. I knew the check was fraud, but it was out of curiosity that I called, I just wondered how they managed to get as much personal info about another company as they did.

Sometimes I think people know darn well they are bad checks but they don't care. As long as they get the money. That don't worry at the time about how they would pay it back, if they would. To good to be true checks, and wiring money is ALWAYS fraud.

People that fall for this kind of stuff deserve it. It is financial Darwinism!

I have gotten as paranoid as to when I purchase something on line, I will go and buy a 'gift card' to pay for my online item. I am extremely paranoid about anyone getting a hold of my bank no.

A scam I'm dealing with right now is still a bit fuzzy to me, as to how this all came about.

December 11th, Hubby and I were in Madison for a concert, it was a Thursday. Friday, we went to our "regular haunt" for fish fry. So you all know, we've gone to this particular restaurant for more than 15 years, on Fridays. Its our "date night". We pulled out our debit card but it was "inactivated". How EMBARRASSING!
We had to use a credit card for a $50 dinner! I called the bank Saturday morning... they said there were "issues"... I was told though, they had taken care of it.

The next Tuesday, Pig Wig in Milton here, couldn't accept my card either. After calling the bank they said they were notified by VISA that there had been fraudulent overseas activity on my card, which they froze. No big deal, even though it was just weeks before Christmas. We didn't get new debit cards with new numbers until after Christmas, but I still had a checkbook with no problems. Just an inconvenience...

Here's the ZINGER! I opened my local Centurytel land line/phone bill and noticed a charge for around $30 for a long distance call. It supposedly occurred just before midnight on December 11th. We weren't even home! We have NO children at home any more. And it was all too ironic to have occurred at the same time our debit card took a "dump".

Sooo, after calling Centurytel, they routed me to the long distance carrier company who initiated the charge... Only to be told it originated from a company called Enhanced Long Distance. This drippy kid tried to tell me we were charged for the service due to an on line shopper's questionnaire where we wanted to try their long distance service. I told him this NEVER happened. He said we have your email address, and "yes you did"!

I'm turning this in to the Better Business Bureau and told him so... then the little twerp tried to talk me into KEEPING the service they just scammed me with!!! I asked him why he thought I would even consider it... all he said was, "We're a great service". Sick! He said the company would "credit" my account within 90 days... NOT! I'm not paying the overcharge when I didn't authorize it in the first place!!! Chances of this shady company kicking ANYTHING back is NEVER going to happen.

Be careful!!! I didn't even do anything for this to have occurred... I have been targeted and am the victim of the scams out there.... Follow through and be diligent!

I recieved an e-mail today saying the same thing, so beware of e-mails as well

I see that number 8 on the list is a phishing scam. here's my story. I have sold a few things on ebay and used paypal. I got an email from "paypal" saying they need to verify or update (i forget which) my account. The logo before the URL address looked just like paypals and everything. So, I start filling out the form online until I get to the part about "account number" and "PIN". Well, I remembered that legit companies won't ever ask for your numbers bc they already know your account number. So, I deleted the info from the boxes and forwarded the email to the REAL paypal. They sent me an email back and said it was a phishing scam. It was scary thinking they had fooled me with their logo, and other official looking things. But the account number/pin saved me. You always have to look out for numeral uno.

if you wanted them to know etown , email them.

etown just had to get your two cents in on a subject that does not belong here. get a life.

if it smells like do do, then don't step in it, eat it or pay for it in advance, because it is do do no matter how it is packaged.

Unfortunately myself & husband was a victim of that scam. Our check was for almost $5,000. The letter was legit spelling was perfect & the return address was from NY. I researched online & I even checked on snopes. We even called the "business number" in the letter. A "very nice business sounding" man answered the phone & gave me the run down. As I am the only one employed my husband was layed off from his job so this seemed to be right on time. After a few days of searching & finding nothing wrong the check was deposited & cleared after 7 days. After paying a couple very important bills, etc. to find out from the bank it was a fraud. Needless to say I will be paying the bank back for the next year & a half. I do feel though the bank should be at fault for clearing that check & to take some responsibility for their part but in the real world that just does not happen. After speaking several times with the bank manager I told her I wanted to make a police report & also warn area citizens. I was told "no" that would not a be a good idea & it would not look good on us because we had thoughts from the get go it was fraudulent. But after the check cleared we thought it was really legit. So what do you do? I did call that same number back weeks later & the same "business man" answered. I asked once again what kind of business this is? He replied a research company, I replied if this is a reasearch company why are you sending out fraudulent checks? He hung up & the conversation was ended.

prevention, if the article on Wikipedia is inaccurate, I suggest you fix it yourself. That's the whole point.

BRAVO TO THE GAZETTE FOR REMOVING THE BLOG ON THE MAN KILLED IN FULTON LAST NIGHT, WHEN BLOGS TURN TO GOSSIP THEY NEED TO BE SHUT DOWN IMMEDIATELY

momof5, I quit doing fast food restaurants as they don't pay well enough and are very time consuming. People should know mystery shopping , especially in this area, you will not make a living. The most I ever made in one month was 1200.00 , but I was constantly scanning the different companies and I landed a couple pretty good paying jobs. I will still do jobs for Texas Roadhouse in Janesville but I do have to pay for our meal up front, get the report in on time and then wait about six weeks to be reimbursed for the meal.. YOU do not get paid extra for this type of shop, only paid back for the meal. Which I am o.k. with this for T.R. because its good food, and eventually I ate for free.

ALSO alot of them are going to using paypal to pay people through and I hate.. paypal. I look for the ones that go directly into my bank account.

You're welcome. My advice to anyone that replies to any type of "employment" ad, if they ask for money, don't do it. If it's a job, they should pay you!

hayburnr: Thank you for your response. I appreciate both it and that the Gazette screens for the scams.

curtaincall: Yep. And don't forget that you have to pay for your "secret shop" and wait for that money too. If you miss a deadline by 2 hours, they are calling you asking where your report is. But, don't call them before 90 days without payment!

I still can't go to McDonald's without counting the napkins per sandwich and looking for any condiments outside of the burger.

You got to be skeptical to believe Wikipedia. It is a highly unreliable source as anyone can post anything on it. If you do find something on it, double check the information on another reliable search.

SarahB, we here at the Gazette do not allow these types of ads. We have a set of guidelines that we follow to protect our readers. There are very savy scammers out there, and we do everything in our power to prevent scam ads from printing.

Do newspapers, magazines, etc., check out help wanted ads before placing them for publication? I know the job search area in the online classified ads is filled with these "mystery shopper" ads.

The key part of the scam here is that YOU are paying THEM something. This is an "advance fee" scam, only slightly different from the Nigerian letters and e-mails promising you a finder's fee for processing supposed millions through your bank account. You get cleaned out, they get away.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_fee...
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People think that cashier's checks and money orders can't be forged. They can. Also beware of overseas buyers if you are selling anything online, and supposed "payment processor" jobs.

I have done some mystery shops for extra money before and they NEVER pay in advance. NEVER..
IN fact you normally wait any where from 30 days to 8 weeks to get paid.