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Fraudulent Cashiers Checks: Sometimes, a cashier’s check is not genuine, and, if you unknowingly accept a fraudulent cashier’s check in exchange for goods or services, you will likely be the one who suffers the financial loss.
Common Scams – Each scam involving a fraudulent cashier’s check may be different, but some of the more common scenarios are:
- Selling goods – You sell goods in the marketplace – for example, over the Internet. A buyer sends you a cashier’s check for the price that you have agreed on, and you ship the goods to the buyer.
- Excess of purchase price – This scenario is similar to the one described above. However, the buyer sends you a cashier’s check for more than the purchase price and asks you to wire some or all of the excess to a third party, often in a foreign country. The buyer may explain that this procedure allows the buyer to satisfy its obligations to you and the third party with a single check. The cashier’s check turns out to be fraudulent.
- Unexpected windfall – You receive a letter informing you that you have the right to receive a substantial sum of money. For example, the letter may state that you have won a foreign lottery or are the beneficiary of someone’s estate. The letter will state that you have to pay a processing/transfer tax or fee before you receive the money, but a cashier’s check will be enclosed to cover that fee. The letter will ask you to deposit the cashier’s check into your account and wire the fee to a third party, often in a foreign country. The cashier’s check turns out to be fraudulent.
- Mystery shopping – You receive a letter informing you that you have been chosen to act as a mystery shopper. The letter includes a cashier’s check, and you are told to deposit the check into your account. You are told to use a portion of the funds to purchase merchandise at designated stores, transfer a portion of the funds to a third party using a designated wire service company, and keep the remainder. The cashier’s check turns out to be fraudulent.
Scams also may involve other types of checks. For example, the fraudulent check may appear to be written on the account of a real person or company or be written on an account that contains insufficient funds to cover the check. Other scams involve fraudulent postal service money orders or fraudulent money orders that appear to have been issued by a bank.
The result of these scams is that the fraudulent check will be returned unpaid. The bank will then deduct the amount of the check from your account or otherwise seek repayment from you, and you will lose either the goods that you sold, the money that you sent to the third party, or both.