I, too, received a hand-addressed envelope from Canada, - just today - with a check for exactly $4, 880.00! A rather LOUD alarm went off in my head when I saw the envelope addressed from CANADA, alone - forget about when I saw the check and it's accompanying letter. I knew right off the bat that this was a scam; however, I was thinking along the lines of, "oh, it's one of those 'we're-sending-you-cash-to-try-us' things, or perhaps one of those things where you choose a product and use the check toward it but you still end up paying an outrageous sum and receive junk, yadda-yadda, etc." I continued to read the letter, only for my amusement.
Upon reading the letter, the gears in my mind continued churning and I thought, "Let's just pretend this IS a legitimate company and that this is a REAL check. It would be awfully TRUSTING of them (especially in this day and age) to send me - a total stranger - such a large sum of money, naively assuming that I will carry out my end of the deal. Now, who on earth would trust a total stranger with that much money? Exactly. According to the letter, I'm supposed to cash the check, and perform the following tasks with the newly deposited 'funds':
Make a Wal-Mart purchase for $50, make a GAP purchase for $40, make a Western Union Transfer for $2, 700, which would then incur a service charge of $140, make a Money Gram transfer for $1, 400, which would also incur a service charge of $50. Supposedly, another $500 goes toward evaluation training pay plus expenses. All this for a total of $4, 880.00!!! *rolling my eyes and gagging at the stupidity*
Do they think that people are really THAT stupid??
*reality check* Common sense would tell someone what these scammers are trying to do. This IS NOT a legitimate company, and that is NOT a real check in your hands! DO NOT CASH THE CHECK! If you cash the check, and do what the letter says, all you will get is overdrawn in your bank account by $4, 880.00! Even if you only cash it - you are asking for trouble! Your bank will hold YOU responsible for replacing the funds because you:
1. Cashed a bogus check
2. Withdrew the funds YOURSELF from your bank account
DO NOT BE FOOLED! I would say rip up the check, but I have a better idea. If you REALLY care about not letting other people get scammed, then take that bogus check you received to your bank, and notify the manager. Show the bank manager the letter that goes with the check. Tell them that if a customer passes one of these checks, NOT to apply it to that customer's account, and to politely notify the customer that they have turned in a counterfeit check and are unable to process it. It will save the customer AND the bank. Even better? Get your local news to do a story/segment about it. That way, "little old ladies with no internet access" to research this, WON'T be taken by these scammers! Also, post this on your MySpace or Facebook page to warn others on your buddy list.
DOWN WITH SCAMMERS!
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