Don't Be Scammed by a Check Fraud Scammer!
Protecting yourself from fraud is often a defensive game with education focused on protecting our personal information and avoiding scammers who ask us to send funds their way. However, classic check fraud is a scheme that has come back into the limelight recently. Know how to recognize it and avoid becoming a willing or unwitting accomplice to a serious crime that is punishable by fines and jail time at both the state and federal levels.
What is Check Fraud?
Typically, it takes several days for a check you deposit to fully "clear" - meaning that the funds have been verified and transferred successfully to your account.
In the meantime, however, some or even all of those funds may appear as part of your total account balance, even if they are not yet fully verified. Access to such funds may be a convenience your financial institution provides for you.
Cashing a check that can't clear, whether you write it to yourself or someone else gives it to you, and withdrawing all or a part of those funds, is check fraud.
Here are some common examples:
- Someone gives you a check and asks you to deposit it in your account and then give them their cash - minus a cut for you.
- You write yourself a check for a large amount, which you don't have, and then withdraw whatever funds you can immediately. Make sure you have funds in your account before writing any checks, if not, it's fraud.
- You're short on cash and write a check to someone else - even though you don't have enough money in your checking account to cover it.
All of the above are situations in which classic check fraud is being committed. If a "get rich quick" scheme or any other "hack" involving money seems like it's too good to be true, it probably is.
We're Here to Help
If someone asks you to deposit a check for them, or you're sent a check for a job you found online, and you have questions about it, feel free to stop by any of our branches with the check. We'll help you determine if it's a valid check before you deposit it.
Don't become a check fraud scammer! It's a serious crime with serious consequences.