A new day means a new scam, or at least it sure feels that way. Sweetwater County Sheriff Mike Lowell has issued a warning of a new “Fake Check” scam now circulating. “This is a mail scam that is something more elaborate than others,” shares Sheriff Lowell. “It’s set up in such a way that cursory Internet searches can make it look legitimate.” The scam starts with a USPS package that arrives from a legitimate consulting firm that can be verified by a simple internet search. “The consulting firm, however, did not send the package, nor is it involved in the scam,” explains Lowell. “The fact that it does exist is just window dressing used by the swindlers to overcome skepticism.” Inside the package is a “check” for $2,900 dollars. The counterfeit check appears to be real. The specific instructions include cashing the check and then purchasing three $800 USPS money orders, to be left blank, and mailed back to an address supplied. The leftover $500 dollars is to be kept as a “Commission.” The problem comes when the bank returns the bogus check and the victim is on the hook for the $2,400 dollars withdrawn from their account. To learn more about this scam and other fraud schemes, visit
www.fbi.gov/scams-safety/fraud
.
