Before I deposited the check, however, another email came in, this one from someone living in Africa. The email sounded almost exactly like the first, which made me suspicious since it was another out-of-country respondent.  I decided respond and see what happened and received another email which mirrored the first scenerio.

This made me do some research and I found that this is a typical fake-check scam: A remote buyer feigns interest in buying your goods, sight unseen, and sends you a check or money order for more than the item costs. You are asked to wire the difference. Several days later, the bank discovers that the check is fraudulent and you're responsible for the amount of the wire transfer.

It might seem like an obvious ruse to seasoned online buyers and sellers, but check fraud was the fourth most common scam cited in a joint report by the National White Collar Crime Center and the FBI in 2004. And in terms of monetary damage, check fraud tops the list. In 2004, the median dollar loss reported by victims was $3,600, according to the report, compared with $200 for auction fraud and $240 for credit-card fraud.

The worst part: While federal law protects consumers against credit card fraud, making them liable for no more than $50 of the fraudulent charges, there are no such protections for check fraud.

If the check turns out to be fake, you are responsible to your bank for anything you withdrew against that amount. So what happens is, these crooks have stolen money from your bank and you are left owing the bank. The bank can recoup the funds from any deposits you have, or sue you for the balance.

Fortunately, there are several things you can do to avoid this scam:

Be Aware of the Scam
Be suspicious of any emails or letters that:

• Come from a buyer claiming to be located far away, usually in a foreign country or out of state, who is interested in your goods sight unseen and tries to work through a third party, such as a secretary or associate.
• The email conveys a sense of urgency for you to wire the money, but there are no questions about picking up the item for sale. These people never really attempt to get the merchandise, and they never really make any shipping arrangements. They're not interested in getting the goods ? they're interested in getting the money.
• You are sent more money than you're owed. If someone is paying you and as part of the deal they want you to wire money somewhere, it's probably a scam!

Recognize Fake Checks
Some forged checks look so much like the real thing that it's practically impossible to tell the difference. With color copiers and desktop publishing software, it has become much more difficult to spot a counterfeit check.

Compounding the problem: Fakes are often written out of existing accounts (individual or corporate), but the account numbers are fake, or vice versa, so even if you called the bank to confirm that the account exists, you might be mislead.

And because banks are required by law to make available the funds on certain check deposits within two to five days, and many do it even sooner, some consumers falsely believe that this means the check has cleared. In fact, it could take 10 days or longer before a bank finds that a check is bad.

Be especially suspicious of checks issued through Qchex.com, an online service that enables consumers to print checks or send them by email to recipients who could then print them. Recently, the Better Business Bureau and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation issued warnings that some (though not all) of the checks issued through Qchex are fraudulent. Anyone can register and open an account with Qchex, which does not verify the accuracy of the information it receives ? certainly an attractive feature for check forgers, authorities allege. In a response to an inquiry from the BBB, the company that operates Qchex said that it is not its responsibility to verify accounts or funds, it is the responsibility of the person who accepts a check to do so.

After the Fact
Unfortunately, not much can be done to get your money back if you've been victimized by this scam. The Secret Service and the FBI investigate those cases, but working with law enforcement in foreign countries can be fruitless.

If you've been scammed, you should file complaints with the Federal Trade Commission (http://www.ftc.gov/), the Internet Crime Complaint Center (http://www.ic3.gov), the National Fraud Information Center(http://www.fraud.org), and the National Check Fraud Center(http://www.ckfraud.org).

William "Art" Sexton
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