Since September, I've been writing about counterfeit American Express Gift Cheques showing up in a variety of Internet fraud schemes.
Readers have reported receiving these items primarily as a result of work-at-home scams, but they can show up in a variety of Internet fraud come-ons. They might also show up in secret shopper, romance, lottery and auction scams.
The fraudsters want you to cash these counterfeit gift cheques and send (normally wire) the money back to them. When they are discovered to be fraudulent - you end up taking the "rap" and they disappear in an "electronic mist."
Several readers reported being asked to wire the money to Nigeria and the United Kingdom. I recently wrote a post based on large amounts of counterfeit financial instruments being found at airports in the United Kingdom (allegedly from Nigeria), here.
Most of the counterfeit gift cheques, seen thus far, have been in the $500.00, or $1000.00 denominations. Note American Express doesn't issue gift cheques for more than $100.00.
American Express states in their bulletin that gift cheques are safe when verified prior to negotiating them. Anyone can call them and verify an item at 1-800-525-7641.
Unfortunately, a lot of people don't verify these items. Many people have also deposited them, initially received credit, and then had their accounts garnished when the items returned.
I've also had a couple of people write me and say they were arrested for trying to cash them. Presenting counterfeit financial instruments is considered a crime in most places. It will be up to the person arrested to prove they were a victim of a scam and not involved, intentionally.
American Express gift cheque bulletin, here.
Listed below are the posts, I've written since September, along with some scary comments from readers:
Counterfeit American Express Gift Cheques
Counterfeit American Express Gift Cheques (Update)
American Express Gift Cheques Being Circulated in Internet Scams
American Express gift cheques aren't the only items that have been counterfeited and passed via Internet scams. In the past we've seen a lot of Postal Money Orders and Travelers Express (MoneyGram) money orders being counterfeited, also.
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query american express cheque. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query american express cheque. Sort by date Show all posts
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Will counterfeit Visa Traveler Cheques be the latest bogus financial instrument spread in Internet Scams?
(Photo courtesy of Flickr)Counterfeit Visa Travelers Cheques -- so far seen in $500.00 denominations -- are starting to appear in different parts of the United States.
In the past few years, counterfeit U.S. Postal Money Orders, MoneyGram Money Orders, and American Express Gift Cheques have all been circulated by Internet fraud activity.
If history repeats itself, we will see counterfeit Visa Travelers Cheques show up outside the United States, also.
These instruments have been passed in a lot of work-at-home (job) scams. They are also passed in secret shopper, romance, lottery and auction scams.
These advance fee (419) type scams all have a common theme. A lure (scam) -- which plays on greed is offered to entice someone into cashing these items -- and wiring the money back to the fraudster behind the scheme.
The lure (scam) is always too good to be true and makes no sense.
Since it is against the law to pass a counterfeit financial instrument, people are sometimes arrested when they present these items. Even if they aren't arrested, they are held liable, when the fraud is discovered.
Unfortunately, banks often give credit to their customers on these items. Tellers have even told their customers the items are legitimate, which doesn't make any difference (for the customer) when they return. Of course, the bank isn't liable for any of this.
These items are also being presented to merchants. Retail criminals use them to purchase items, get the balance in cash, then refund the merchandise. Of course, if they are unable to refund the items, they will probably try to get gift cards or fence the merchandise. There is a lot of stolen merchandise being fenced (pretty easily) on Internet auction sites.
Intelligence indicates these many of these items are being printed overseas, then distributed in bulk, worldwide. Once received in bulk, they are broken down and distributed to the criminals, who then use them in the manners listed above.
Visa recommends that you do the following to verify if one of the Travelers Cheques are real:
In the past few years, counterfeit U.S. Postal Money Orders, MoneyGram Money Orders, and American Express Gift Cheques have all been circulated by Internet fraud activity.
If history repeats itself, we will see counterfeit Visa Travelers Cheques show up outside the United States, also.
These instruments have been passed in a lot of work-at-home (job) scams. They are also passed in secret shopper, romance, lottery and auction scams.
These advance fee (419) type scams all have a common theme. A lure (scam) -- which plays on greed is offered to entice someone into cashing these items -- and wiring the money back to the fraudster behind the scheme.
The lure (scam) is always too good to be true and makes no sense.
Since it is against the law to pass a counterfeit financial instrument, people are sometimes arrested when they present these items. Even if they aren't arrested, they are held liable, when the fraud is discovered.
Unfortunately, banks often give credit to their customers on these items. Tellers have even told their customers the items are legitimate, which doesn't make any difference (for the customer) when they return. Of course, the bank isn't liable for any of this.
These items are also being presented to merchants. Retail criminals use them to purchase items, get the balance in cash, then refund the merchandise. Of course, if they are unable to refund the items, they will probably try to get gift cards or fence the merchandise. There is a lot of stolen merchandise being fenced (pretty easily) on Internet auction sites.
Intelligence indicates these many of these items are being printed overseas, then distributed in bulk, worldwide. Once received in bulk, they are broken down and distributed to the criminals, who then use them in the manners listed above.
Visa recommends that you do the following to verify if one of the Travelers Cheques are real:
Can you see a watermark in the cheque?
Can you see the holographic thread embedded in the cheque?
Is the customer present?
Have the cheques been countersigned in your presence?
Does the original signature match the countersignature?
Has valid identification been presented and the details recorded along with the customer name on the back of the cheques?
If you are suspicious, you can call them at 1-800-227-6811 to verify an item. This can also be done on-line, here.Visa also has a good interactive tool to identify the security features of the Visa Travelers Cheque, here.
Here are some of my previous posts on counterfeit instruments circulating via the Internet:
Counterfeit MoneyGram Money Orders being passed via Internet Scams
Counterfeit Cashier's Checks Fuel Internet Crime
American Express Gift Cheques Being Circulated in Internet Scams
Counterfeit Postal Money Orders Showing Up in IScams Again
Here are some of my previous posts on counterfeit instruments circulating via the Internet:
Counterfeit MoneyGram Money Orders being passed via Internet Scams
Counterfeit Cashier's Checks Fuel Internet Crime
American Express Gift Cheques Being Circulated in Internet Scams
Counterfeit Postal Money Orders Showing Up in IScams Again
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Tools to verify those too good to be true financial instruments you got in the mail
(Counterfeit check picture courtesy of cknlomein at Flickr)
There are a record amount of counterfeit cashier's checks, official checks, money orders, travelers and gift cheques in circulation. This is an attempt to pass on information that the average person can use to tell IF the item is real or a counterfeit (fake).
As a disclaimer -- this is only a guide and if you deposit or cash items from people you don't know -- you do so at your own risk. The quality of these items is getting better all the time.
I’ve put together a list of the known counterfeit items in circulation, along with the current telephone numbers to verify them. You will probably receive these items after being lured with a (too good to be true) get rich quick scheme that doesn't make very much sense.
The best method to verify an item is to go to the maker, or issuer of the check (cheque). They probably will know if they issued it. The key here is to make sure you are speaking with the real issuer (maker) of the item.
Never trust a number provided on the instrument, fake telephone numbers are sometimes set up that will even verify in 411 (information).
Simply stated, as long as the communication companies think they are being paid, setting up a fake number is no problem. We are seeing fake numbers set up by scammers pretty frequently.
Since these numbers are often set up in 411 (information) rather easily, I recommend using Phonevalidator.com. This site provides a service that shows if a number belongs to a cell, or a land line. It also provides telephone directory and Google results for the number queried.
Quite often, fake numbers set-up to verify checks are cell phones.
The Internet is a good way to find the true issuer (maker) of an item. The key is to make sure you are visiting a legitimate site.
Fake websites (especially those pretending to be financial institutions) are a growing problem, also. An easy way to check if a site is legitimate is by using TrustWatch, which verifies whether a site is known (trusted) or not.
If you are interested in taking a look at some fake sites, claiming to be financial institutions the Artists Against 419 has some great examples of them on their site.
A common denominator in most of the scams is that there will be a request to send the proceeds, minus your paltry cut (normally via wire transfer) back to the person sending you the instruments. That is (unless) they are buying goods from you. In this case, your property is what they want you to send to them.
Some of these lures include, but aren't limited to (new lures surface frequently), secret shopper, romance, lottery, work-at-home and auction scams.
The National Consumers League recently set up a site (fakechecks.org), which is a great reference on Internet scams involving checks (complete with visual presentations), here.
So far as auction scams, eBay will no longer offer any protection for paper financial instruments on their site.
Here are some of the known items being counterfeited in large quantities and literally circulating worldwide:
Visa Travelers Cheques: 1-800-227-6811.
MoneyGram Money Orders (counterfeits may still use the old Travelers Express logo): 1-800-542-3590.
US Postal Money Orders: 1-877-876-2455 (mail fraud) option 4, then go to option 2.
American Express Gift and Travelers Cheques: 1-800-221-7282.
FDIC Alerts on the counterfeit cashier's and official checks in circulation, here. There is a feature that allows you to search them. I would try it by using the name of the institution.
Counterfeit cashier's and official checks change almost daily. The counterfeiters use legitimate account numbers and convincing looking check stock that will verify in most automated telephone verification systems.
It's probably good advice to never trust an automated system. In the case of a counterfeit, real ABA/account numbers are used by the counterfeiters. Because the information is real, they get past an automated verification system fairly easily. If you really want to know and believe an item is a counterfeit, ask to speak to a live person, preferably in the fraud department.
If you are dealing with a suspected counterfeit cashier's, or official check, I highly recommend reading a post I collaborated on with Tom Fragala (CEO of Truston Identity Theft Protection Services):
Counterfeit Cashier's Checks Fuel Internet Crime
Bank employees sometimes verify counterfeit instruments as legitimate. In some instances, especially at a teller window, they have been mistaken. If this occurs, you will be notified days later and the bank will take no responsibility.
Even more alarming, I have talked to and get comments/e-mails from people all the time who are getting arrested after trying to negotiate these items.
Here is what I wrote about this growing phenomenon in a previous post, along with my personal speculation as to why this is happening more frequently:
When the check is discovered to be fraudulent, anywhere from right on the spot to about ten days later the person passing the item is left holding the bag. This can translate into a loss of their freedom (getting arrested), being held financially liable, or a combination of both these consequences.
The real victims can probably blame this new phenomenon on all the criminals, who are pretending to be victims and then cashing the items themselves. Here is how I described this in a recent post, where an International task force discovered millions of dollars (face value) of these items destined to be shipped, worldwide:
A new trend has been noted called reverse-scamming, also. This occurs when scammers have the bogus instruments sent to them, cash them and then never follow the instructions to wire the money.
If confronted, these reverse scammers will normally claim to be victims. A key way to pick out a reverse scammer is that, in most instances they forget to wire the money back to the scammer that sent them the counterfeit instrument.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Counterfeit Check (Cheque) Scams are all over the Internet
The amount of counterfeit checks (cheques) being circulated via various Internet scams, and even the classifieds (paper media) is on the rise.
A new trend is also being seen, where people are getting these counterfeits items in the mail (unsolicited). Some of us, who watch this closely, suspect they are data mining information off job sites, like Monster.com and Craigs List.
Last April, I did a post about a Better Business Bureau (BBB) employee, who got a lot of negative attention after she accepted a job to cash bogus intruments and send the money overseas.
Common scams in which these checks are sent for someone to cash and wire the money back to fraudsters are the check cashing (job), lottery, auction, secret shopper, romance and Nigerian letter varieties.
According to the National Consumers League, counterfeit checks schemes rank near the top of the scams reported to them by victims.
High quality counterfeit money orders and travelers/gift cheques are making the Internet fraud scene, also. In the recent past, these have included Postal Money Orders, Travelers Express (MoneyGram) Money Orders and most recently, American Express Gift Cheques.
The NCL has an interesting page on their site about the most prevalent scams reported to them in 2007, here.
And don't expect the bank to tell you (whether or not) a check is good. Since they have no liability in the matter, they will often say the item is good, give you provisional (temporary) credit, then take the money away from you when it is determined to be a fraud.
Here is a previous post about how this occurs:
Don't Trust a Bank to Tell You Whether a Check is Good, or Not
Some of these scams direct you to places like Walmart to cash the item, and wire the money back to them, also. I've had readers leave comments and send me e-mails about getting arrested after attempting to pass one of these items at Walmart.
Before we smear Walmart, consider that with the amount of these items in circulation, its getting harder and harder to determine, who is and who is not, really a victim.
Check fraudsters are now posing as victims, and are scamming the scammers by cashing the items. If they are caught, they claim to be innocent victims.
I've personally spoken to a few of these alleged victims, and for some reason; they never seem to have wired (or sent) any of the money back?
Interestingly enough, the scammers love to direct people to Walmart (probably because they cash checks and wire money), but they could care less if you get arrested.
The bottom line is that even if the check is initially considered good, it can easily return, and the person passing it is held responsible.
Deb Radcliff (cybercrime author) did an interesting blog post about how law enforcement, and the companies having their brands used on these checks aren't going after the cuplrits, here.
Unfortunately, they normally don't have much to go on, and the crime is normally initiated from a foreign country.
A new trend is also being seen, where people are getting these counterfeits items in the mail (unsolicited). Some of us, who watch this closely, suspect they are data mining information off job sites, like Monster.com and Craigs List.
Last April, I did a post about a Better Business Bureau (BBB) employee, who got a lot of negative attention after she accepted a job to cash bogus intruments and send the money overseas.
Common scams in which these checks are sent for someone to cash and wire the money back to fraudsters are the check cashing (job), lottery, auction, secret shopper, romance and Nigerian letter varieties.
According to the National Consumers League, counterfeit checks schemes rank near the top of the scams reported to them by victims.
High quality counterfeit money orders and travelers/gift cheques are making the Internet fraud scene, also. In the recent past, these have included Postal Money Orders, Travelers Express (MoneyGram) Money Orders and most recently, American Express Gift Cheques.
The NCL has an interesting page on their site about the most prevalent scams reported to them in 2007, here.
And don't expect the bank to tell you (whether or not) a check is good. Since they have no liability in the matter, they will often say the item is good, give you provisional (temporary) credit, then take the money away from you when it is determined to be a fraud.
Here is a previous post about how this occurs:
Don't Trust a Bank to Tell You Whether a Check is Good, or Not
Some of these scams direct you to places like Walmart to cash the item, and wire the money back to them, also. I've had readers leave comments and send me e-mails about getting arrested after attempting to pass one of these items at Walmart.
Before we smear Walmart, consider that with the amount of these items in circulation, its getting harder and harder to determine, who is and who is not, really a victim.
Check fraudsters are now posing as victims, and are scamming the scammers by cashing the items. If they are caught, they claim to be innocent victims.
I've personally spoken to a few of these alleged victims, and for some reason; they never seem to have wired (or sent) any of the money back?
Interestingly enough, the scammers love to direct people to Walmart (probably because they cash checks and wire money), but they could care less if you get arrested.
The bottom line is that even if the check is initially considered good, it can easily return, and the person passing it is held responsible.
Deb Radcliff (cybercrime author) did an interesting blog post about how law enforcement, and the companies having their brands used on these checks aren't going after the cuplrits, here.
Unfortunately, they normally don't have much to go on, and the crime is normally initiated from a foreign country.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Counterfeit Visa Travelers Cheques in circulation!
Counterfeit financial instruments are circulated in a variety of Internet scams. The ploy is always to get someone to cash them and then wire the money back to the person behind the scam.
In the past couple of weeks, readers and other sources have brought to my attention that counterfeit Visa Travelers Cheques are in circulation.
Visa has provided resources to identify these instruments.
You can call them at 1-800-227-6811 to verify an item. This can also be done on-line, here.Visa also has a good interactive tool to identify the security features of the Visa Travelers Cheque, here.
The trick is to ALWAYS verify them before you negotiate them using your good name!
Some of the scams being used to trick people into cashing these items are known as work-at-home (job) scams, secret shopper, romance, lottery and auction scams.
A collective name for all of these scams that ask you to cash an item and send the money back to the scammer is called the advance fee (419) scam.
A lot of the sites dedicated to fighting scams are also seeing an alarming trend, which is that people are getting arrested for attempting to cash these items.
I recently had a conversation with the fine folks over at FraudAid about this trend.
A great (new) resource about all the counterfeit paper being circulated is FakeChecks.org.
People, who fall for these scams do so because they are lured with something that is too good to be true. The old saying is that if it is "too good to be true, it is NOT!"
Here are some other counterfeit instruments, I written about that are still in circulation:
Counterfeit MoneyGram Money Orders being passed via Internet Scams
Counterfeit Cashier's Checks Fuel Internet Crime
American Express Gift Cheques Being Circulated in Internet Scams
Counterfeit Postal Money Orders Showing Up in IScams Again
Here is a picture of counterfeit Visa Travelers Cheques that were sent to someone about a week ago. They were sent from the United Kingdom, however the scammer wanted the money wired to Nigeria.
(Photograph courtesy of Raleigh)
In the past couple of weeks, readers and other sources have brought to my attention that counterfeit Visa Travelers Cheques are in circulation.
Visa has provided resources to identify these instruments.
You can call them at 1-800-227-6811 to verify an item. This can also be done on-line, here.Visa also has a good interactive tool to identify the security features of the Visa Travelers Cheque, here.
The trick is to ALWAYS verify them before you negotiate them using your good name!
Some of the scams being used to trick people into cashing these items are known as work-at-home (job) scams, secret shopper, romance, lottery and auction scams.
A collective name for all of these scams that ask you to cash an item and send the money back to the scammer is called the advance fee (419) scam.
A lot of the sites dedicated to fighting scams are also seeing an alarming trend, which is that people are getting arrested for attempting to cash these items.
I recently had a conversation with the fine folks over at FraudAid about this trend.
A great (new) resource about all the counterfeit paper being circulated is FakeChecks.org.
People, who fall for these scams do so because they are lured with something that is too good to be true. The old saying is that if it is "too good to be true, it is NOT!"
Here are some other counterfeit instruments, I written about that are still in circulation:
Counterfeit MoneyGram Money Orders being passed via Internet Scams
Counterfeit Cashier's Checks Fuel Internet Crime
American Express Gift Cheques Being Circulated in Internet Scams
Counterfeit Postal Money Orders Showing Up in IScams Again
Here is a picture of counterfeit Visa Travelers Cheques that were sent to someone about a week ago. They were sent from the United Kingdom, however the scammer wanted the money wired to Nigeria.
(Photograph courtesy of Raleigh)
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