If it seems too good to be true it probably is. The latest scam in work-from-home jobs is the courier or 'money changer' opportunity. I came across this article about how banks make their depositors pay for bogus and scam checks and found that a work-from-home scam uses greed and lax bank information to clean up big time. WashingtonPost
It basically works like this:
You receive a donation in the form of a cashier's check for an 'international charity'. You deposit the check, wait for it to clear, and keep 7 percent and wire the rest to another address. The gals comment?
"I couldn't believe I could make this much from this little bit of work," Gaston said. It was only a few days later that Gatson's euphoria wore off, when she caught a snippet of a TV news story about a person who had been scammed by an identical work-at-home scheme.
I think that pretty much says it all doesn't it?
What do the banks have to say about this?
Wagner and other bank officials around the country all note that both the deposit receipt and the initial agreement customers sign when setting up an account make it clear that if any deposit item is returned, for any reason, the customer is responsible.
Bank of America's deposit receipt, for example, says: "All items are credited subject to verification, collection, and conditions of the Rules and Regulations of this Bank and as otherwise provided by law."
For most consumers, that language is clearly not enough, said Shawn Mosch, who launched a "Scam Victims United" Web site after she and her husband fell victim to a counterfeit check scam when they tried to sell a 1961 Buick online. Begun in 2003, Scam Victims United now has 2,616 members registered to its message board of 4,000 postings.
Small comfort for those that go out of their way to ask specifically if the funds are there and if they can make a withdrawal safely. Read the whole article to learn more about how to avoid these scams.
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