Don't Trust a Bank to Tell You Whether a Check is Good, or Not

Just because someone at the bank tells you a check is good, it might not be the case. Here is a story written by Caroline Mayer of the Washington Post -- where someone selling a car on a auction site received a check for more than the amount of the purchase -- and was asked to wire the extra money back to the buyer.

The seller was suspicious and asked a teller at his bank (twice) to verify the check and was told it was good. Here is what happened next as Caroline Mayer reports:

"Four days later, as he reviewed his account online, he discovered the check was not good. Even worse, the bank was demanding that he repay the $5,000."

"Had I made the deposit and not tried to make sure it was legitimate, I should have full obligation to make good on it," said Schaefer, 34, a facilities manager in Brattleboro, Vt. "But I checked with the bank twice, and now I find out they have no accountability."

"Schaefer is one of thousands of consumers who have been victimized by an increasingly common check scam that relies on the vagaries of the banking system to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers."

"Federal rules require banks to release funds from a consumer's deposit quickly, usually within one to five business days, depending on the kind of check. However, it can take weeks before a bank discovers a check is fraudulent."

Full story, link here.

This is a typical advance fee scam, where counterfeit checks, or money orders are used to dupe a seller.

So far, as the bank involved, I would recommend that they do a little "fraud awareness training" with their tellers to protect their customers from getting ripped off. Counterfeit checks often use good account numbers, which can be deceptive.

In my experience, the best way to verify a check is to contact the issuer of the item. If the check is counterfeit, or a forgery, laws in most areas allow it to be charged back for a year, or more.

And that is a long time to wait!

Cyber Gangs Luring Children to Launder Money

In Australia, a Triad (Chinese Organized Crime Gang) with ties to Malaysia and Russia recruited children to launder money, stolen as a result of "phishing" schemes. Teenagers and a few "20 something" types were recruited to receive the stolen funds in their own bank accounts. They would then turn over the money (minus a commission) to low level members of the gang, who would wire the money overseas.

Unfortunately, it appears from the article I read in the Sydney Herald by Frank Walker that no one at the higher echelons of the gang was apprehended.

For the full story from the Sydney Herald, link here.

Please note that the Australian authorities are prosecuting the individuals involved.

Criminal gangs involved in cyber-crime recruit people to launder the money from financial crimes all the time, and it doesn't only happen in Australia. In fact, evidence shows it is a worldwide issue that is getting worse all the time.

I recently wrote a post about a BBB (Better Business Bureau) employee, who was recruited to do pretty much the same thing:

BBB Worker Takes Job Processing Fraudulent eBay Transactions

Cyber crooks recruit people in chat rooms and even surf jobs sites like Monster.com looking for what they consider "dupes" to take all the "risks" for them. It appears (from this story) that they aren't above using our children to commit their "foul deeds."

Before accepting any job offers from an unknown source on the Internet, it's smart to do your homework. This is especially true, if you are asked to use your own financial resources to negotiate any financial transaction. Furthermore, if any of the above factors "ring true" and you are asked to "wire" money run away from the deal as fast as you can.

Here is a pretty good resource to educate yourself (and others) on Job Scams:

World Privacy Forum

Phishermen are Trolling MySpace for Victims

If your children use MySpace - or you use it yourself - here is a warning from Websense:

"Websense® Security Labs™ has discovered a phishing attack that attempts to steal the account information of MySpace.com users. A hyperlink is first delivered to victims via AOL Instant Messenger. Users who follow this link are taken to a fraudulent website that spoofs the MySpace.com login page. This page captures their MySpace account information and then forwards the user to the actual MySpace.com website."

"The fraudulent site also sets a cookie on the victim's computer, which prevents the phishing attack from being displayed on any subsequent visits."

The phishing site is located in California and was up at the time of this alert.

For the full alert, along with a screen shot of the phishing site, link here.

MySpace is a hugely popular site (and when anything becomes popular) it attracts what I refer to as the cyber-scum element.

Here is an interesting article from MSNBC and Rob Stafford. If you are a user of MySpace, or care about someone who is a user, this is a great resource with information on how to navigate the waters of MySpace safely.

Why parents must mind MySpace - Dateline NBC - MSNBC.com

While I'm not sure what the intention is in "phishing" the waters at MySpace, a smart person is extremely careful before giving out any personal information on the Internet!

Here is a recent post, I wrote about how these "Internet Child Abusers" are going to be targeted through their financial transactions:

Catching Child Predators by following the Money Trail

In case anyone is unfamiliar with Phishing, here is a place to start learning:

Internet Crimes are On the Rise and Deadlier than Ever