i almost got scammed...

[redline3104]

..by my college email. email was seeking mystery shoppers so i applied. was sent a check to cash, take part of the money for myself, then send the rest to a western union. i then write an evaluation and send it back to the company.

when i went to cash the check at my bank they were giving me a hard time. i talked to the manager and the check was a fake. i felt like an idiot but it was a good thing it didnt get cashed cuz when the check would bounce, it would come back to me and i would then get F'd in the A.

[Watts-Up]

That's one of the oldest tricks, there are tons of scammers trying to do this, especially from other countries. If it sounds too good to be true....

[Ahriman]

ya man, thats one of the most common scams on the internet... no offense but you would have to be an idiot to fall for it.

it sounds like you didnt do it right though... usually they want you to deposit the check in your account, then western union part of it. when depositing the check it doesnt come back as fake, but when your bank finally tries to process it and collect on it, it comes back as fake, and by that time you have already transfered the money out of your account so you get fucked. when you "cash" a check they run it through the system right then and there... trying to cash it is what saved you.

[breeg117]

How do the "scammers" benefit from this though?

[invisible]

Originally Posted by breeg117

How do the "scammers" benefit from this though?

They give you a fake check and you send them money but you don't find out the check is fake until you have already sent them what they want.

[Ahriman]

Originally Posted by breeg117

How do the "scammers" benefit from this though?

you deposit the bunk check, then wire them the requested amount... they get the cash, your bank rapes you when the check bounces(after you already wired the money).

[Ahriman]

the more complex schemes actually get you to scam other people at the same time.

they send you check, along with 4 other checks they want you to mail out for them that are fake... they already have the other 4 people set up for the scam and are just awaiting the fake check... there are some out there that are actually really fucking complex.

[breeg117]

oh... i got a check for 2,000,000 bucks the other day... looks real. it says its for a free cruise or something. See ya'll in hatiti

[benjah]

just as a rule, you should never use WU to wire money to anybody who contacts you online
you'll never see that cash again

if you want to see some peoples anti-scammer "scams" they are pretty funny
419eater.com

[redline3104]

Originally Posted by Ahriman

ya man, thats one of the most common scams on the internet... no offense but you would have to be an idiot to fall for it.

it sounds like you didnt do it right though... usually they want you to deposit the check in your account, then western union part of it. when depositing the check it doesnt come back as fake, but when your bank finally tries to process it and collect on it, it comes back as fake, and by that time you have already transfered the money out of your account so you get fucked. when you "cash" a check they run it through the system right then and there... trying to cash it is what saved you.

they didnt ask for it to be deposited, they wanted me to cash it. plus i didnt know how much the check was for. for all i know the check was for 500 bucks. i thought it was legit since i got it through my college email. ive never received spam mail or anything before

plus im really low on cash, i needed the money