Scams
I really hope that everyone seeing this post is smarter than this, but sometimes me giving out info is my own way of ranting.
It's really simple when it comes down to it:
If someone, ANYONE, sends you money, especially in the form of a check, then they want you to send back (or spend in a particular manner) all or part of that money, IT IS A SCAM!
See. Not that hard of concept.
A few things to clue you in:
1) Western Union, Moneygram, etc. do NOT use mystery shoppers. They test their process via internal auditors who either use a company credit card or who (more often) cancel the transaction before it is actually sent.
2) Legitimate mystery shopper companies do not send you a check then ask you to take your paycheck out of that check. They pay you in a separate paycheck just like a regular company and they have reimbursement forms that you fill out, attach the receipts to, then send to them in order to get your shopping money back. They will NEVER need you to wire, western union, moneygram, etc. any sum of money.
3) NO legitimate work-from-home business will have their clients send you money just so you can forward most of all of that money elsewhere. How does this even make sense? Seriously folks, why would a company ask a newly-hired employee to put THE COMPANY'S checks into the employee's account (or an account opened by the employee), even if they weren't then asking you to send it on elsewhere? They are also not going to send you a large "payroll deposit" check that they want you to deposit and/or cash via YOUR account in order to have you wire or western union the money out to various people as their pay. THINK ABOUT IT.
4) If you win the lottery or get an inheritance via the mail, that money will come to you by CERTIFIED MAIL. This means you have to sign for it folks. It ain't coming by regular mail, plain and simple.
5) Taxes and/or fees will either be taken out of the winnings/inheritance before you receive the money, or will be handled when you file your income taxes. If you are asked to pay lawyer fees for a lawyer you did not hire yourself, go hire your own lawyer.
6) If someone from out of town is purchasing something from you and they "accidentally" send you too much money, just send them the original check back and ask them to send the correct amount. Please don't send them a refund of part of what could easily be a bad check.
7) Let's say you are renting out property and an out of town person sends you a check/money order for the security deposit and first month's rent. Then they contact you with some sob story where they really need part or all of the money they sent you back, BE WARY! There is an excellent chance that original check they sent is will turn out to be no good.
8) However much in love you are with that guy (or girl) who you met online. However much you would love to meet them. WHY would they need YOU to cash their check and send them back the money for the plane ticket? Have them cash their own check and buy their own ticket. If you intend to pay for the trip out of the stupidity of your heart, make sure it is money you can afford to lose. DON'T trust any check they send you for at least 30 days after deposit.
Now, a few facts about checks and deposits:
1) YOU are responsible for any check you cash or deposit through your account. This means if the check bounces, that money will be taken out of your account (along with a fee) and if it puts the account negative, YOU will be responsible for paying that money back. (And if you use a check cashing place instead of your own account... guess what? They take down your ID info for a reason. You do not avoid responsibility for the check that way either.)
2) A bank/credit union may not receive notice that a check is bad for WEEKS after the deposit/check cashing. Even if they put the check on a hold, the legal hold limits may come up before they actually know the check has cleared, so just because the money is now "available" for you to withdrawal does not mean the check was good. This is especially true of non-local, out-of-state checks.
3) Take a check to the institution it was drawn on if you have ANY concern whatsoever about whether or not it might be good. If you go in person, they can tell you if the check is good. Then, if you want to avoid the non-member check cashing fee, you can still turn around and take the check back to wherever you have your own account, (although that does leave you with some risk that the check will have a stop pay put on it or the person who wrote it will overdraw their account before the check clears--but at least you know the check wasn't a scam). --No local branch for the check? DANGER ZONE!--
4) Just because the paper SAYS "Cashier's Check" "Certified Check" or "Money Order" doesn't mean it is a real one. Think about the type of things that can be photo-shopped and faked now-a-days. Checks are being counterfeited, often, with enough skill that financial institution employees cannot tell for certain if it is real until they get the funds back from it. If you must accept a check from someone you don't know, your best bet is to require a postal money order, and even then ask the teller to verify ALL of the security features before you put it into your account.
Face it folks, the old sayings are repeated for a reason. If it's too good to be true...
It's really simple when it comes down to it:
If someone, ANYONE, sends you money, especially in the form of a check, then they want you to send back (or spend in a particular manner) all or part of that money, IT IS A SCAM!
See. Not that hard of concept.
A few things to clue you in:
1) Western Union, Moneygram, etc. do NOT use mystery shoppers. They test their process via internal auditors who either use a company credit card or who (more often) cancel the transaction before it is actually sent.
2) Legitimate mystery shopper companies do not send you a check then ask you to take your paycheck out of that check. They pay you in a separate paycheck just like a regular company and they have reimbursement forms that you fill out, attach the receipts to, then send to them in order to get your shopping money back. They will NEVER need you to wire, western union, moneygram, etc. any sum of money.
3) NO legitimate work-from-home business will have their clients send you money just so you can forward most of all of that money elsewhere. How does this even make sense? Seriously folks, why would a company ask a newly-hired employee to put THE COMPANY'S checks into the employee's account (or an account opened by the employee), even if they weren't then asking you to send it on elsewhere? They are also not going to send you a large "payroll deposit" check that they want you to deposit and/or cash via YOUR account in order to have you wire or western union the money out to various people as their pay. THINK ABOUT IT.
4) If you win the lottery or get an inheritance via the mail, that money will come to you by CERTIFIED MAIL. This means you have to sign for it folks. It ain't coming by regular mail, plain and simple.
5) Taxes and/or fees will either be taken out of the winnings/inheritance before you receive the money, or will be handled when you file your income taxes. If you are asked to pay lawyer fees for a lawyer you did not hire yourself, go hire your own lawyer.
6) If someone from out of town is purchasing something from you and they "accidentally" send you too much money, just send them the original check back and ask them to send the correct amount. Please don't send them a refund of part of what could easily be a bad check.
7) Let's say you are renting out property and an out of town person sends you a check/money order for the security deposit and first month's rent. Then they contact you with some sob story where they really need part or all of the money they sent you back, BE WARY! There is an excellent chance that original check they sent is will turn out to be no good.
8) However much in love you are with that guy (or girl) who you met online. However much you would love to meet them. WHY would they need YOU to cash their check and send them back the money for the plane ticket? Have them cash their own check and buy their own ticket. If you intend to pay for the trip out of the stupidity of your heart, make sure it is money you can afford to lose. DON'T trust any check they send you for at least 30 days after deposit.
Now, a few facts about checks and deposits:
1) YOU are responsible for any check you cash or deposit through your account. This means if the check bounces, that money will be taken out of your account (along with a fee) and if it puts the account negative, YOU will be responsible for paying that money back. (And if you use a check cashing place instead of your own account... guess what? They take down your ID info for a reason. You do not avoid responsibility for the check that way either.)
2) A bank/credit union may not receive notice that a check is bad for WEEKS after the deposit/check cashing. Even if they put the check on a hold, the legal hold limits may come up before they actually know the check has cleared, so just because the money is now "available" for you to withdrawal does not mean the check was good. This is especially true of non-local, out-of-state checks.
3) Take a check to the institution it was drawn on if you have ANY concern whatsoever about whether or not it might be good. If you go in person, they can tell you if the check is good. Then, if you want to avoid the non-member check cashing fee, you can still turn around and take the check back to wherever you have your own account, (although that does leave you with some risk that the check will have a stop pay put on it or the person who wrote it will overdraw their account before the check clears--but at least you know the check wasn't a scam). --No local branch for the check? DANGER ZONE!--
4) Just because the paper SAYS "Cashier's Check" "Certified Check" or "Money Order" doesn't mean it is a real one. Think about the type of things that can be photo-shopped and faked now-a-days. Checks are being counterfeited, often, with enough skill that financial institution employees cannot tell for certain if it is real until they get the funds back from it. If you must accept a check from someone you don't know, your best bet is to require a postal money order, and even then ask the teller to verify ALL of the security features before you put it into your account.
Face it folks, the old sayings are repeated for a reason. If it's too good to be true...