Greg's Corner

Scam Round Up: Fake check scam targets lower income families and more

By Greg Collier

This week on the round up we’re bringing you two scams that take advantage of the disadvantaged and one that can affect any business and its customers.

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The business email compromise scam is one of the more insidious scams. While it targets businesses, it’s usually the customers who lose the most. This is when scammers hijack a business’ email client and use it to deceive customers into making payments to the scammers. Typically, we’ve seen this when scammers convince homebuyers to send their closing costs to the scammers.

More recently, scammers hijacked the email client of a roofing company in Florida. If you’ll recall, many Florida residents are still recovering from Hurricane Ian. The scammers sent emails to customers asking them to send their payments through the Zelle payment app. One customer lost $1800 to the scammers.

If a business that you’re dealing with that you’re expected to make a large payment to, be wary if you’re suddenly asked to pay in nontraditional means. These can be payment apps like Venmo and Zelle, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency just to name a few. If you receive one of these emails, call the business to verify the payment request.

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Our next scam is one of the oldest scams out there and predates the internet. Residents in Pennsylvania have reported receiving letters in the mail that are promising them an inheritance. This isn’t just a tired plot device from old TV shows, and victims have fallen for this scam.

One of two things typically happen with the inheritance scam. The victim is either asked to make some kind of payment to secure the inheritance, or they’re asked for their banking information. Either way, it can be a devastating financial loss for the victims, especially if they’re in desperate financial need.

If you receive one of these letters, toss it in the trash. The odds that the letter is legitimate are slim. If you still think there’s an outside chance it might be real, check your family lineage first before making any payments.

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Our last scam is quite an insidious one. Scammers are sending fake checks to families in traditionally low-income areas. Victims are being told that they’re receiving a payment from UNICEF because of their income status.

As with any fake check scam, the victims are being instructed to deposit the check and are being asked to send a portion of the payment to a third party. Some of the checks have been as much as $9600.

If you’ve been reading our blog for a while, you’ll know that the banks will allow the victims to access that money as a courtesy before the bank discovers the check is fraudulent. Then the victim is responsible for paying the amount of the check back to the bank. Meanwhile, the scammers make off with the amount that the victim sent to the third party.

If you receive a check in the mail you’re not expecting, dispose of it. Especially if you’re being asked to send a part of it somewhere else. That can only end up as a substantial financial loss.