Lottery Scam

Individual receive a letter from a foreign lottery company, which indicates that they won a large sum of money. Attached with the letter is a check for greater than $2,500, with an unfamiliar business name and address in the upper left hand corner. The individual is instructed to cash or deposit this check, and then wire either all or most of the check amount to a given source to pay for fees associated with winning this lottery. One can usually look up the name and phone number of the bank that the check is drawn on via the internet, and verify if this check is counterfeit. Even if we can not verify funds on this check, the transaction is denied. Legitimate lotteries require a person to pay income taxes on the winnings, never any fees.

Selling Things on the Internet Scam

Many individuals try to sell things on various internet websites. They usually get contacted via an e-mail, from an individual who is from a foreign country. The foreign buyer offers to send a check to the seller, but it is usually for an amount in excess of the amount owed. The seller is instructed to cash this check and wire the excess funds to a "shipping agent" in the U.S., who will be picking up the item and shipping it to the foreign buyer. The check mailed to the buyer will normally be a business check, with an unfamiliar business name and address in the upper left hand corner. One can usually look up the name and phone number of the bank that the check is drawn on via the internet, and verify if this check is counterfeit.

Chat Room Scam

Individuals meet other people on the internet via variouse chatrooms and dating websites. After several weeks of online communication, the foreign individual will present a crisis that he or she is in, and will request money from our bank customer. Our customer believes that this could be their life partner, and wires them money, usually several times. The foreign individual may also send U.S. Postal Money Orders or Travelers Cheques to our customer and ask them to cash the items for them, allowing them to keep 10% of the total. Customer then wires out the funds to a complete stranger. They later find out the items were counterfeit, and the person they were talking to on the internet is a con artist.

Work At Home Scam

Individuals search job websites to find a job. Foreign businesses solicit for "Processing Agent" positions, which only require that a person have a bank account and have good ethics. The foreign business claims that it receives checks and money orders from Americans as payment for its products, that can not be cashed withn its country. The actual items will be mailed to the "Processing Agent" within the U.S. or will be wired via ACH into their bank account. The new employee is instructed to wire out 90% of the funds back to the foreign business, and allowed to keep 10% of the funds. The items that the new employee receives are counterfeit, and the wired funds are stolen from another victim.

Secret Shopper Scam

Individuals receive a letter from a Secret Shopper Agency, along with a check for greater than $2,500. The letter indicates that they have been selected to be a secret shopper for this agency. The person is instructed to cash the check, and then wire out the majority of the fuds via Western Union or Money Gram to a stranger in a foreign country. After the funds are wired, they are to complete a survey on how well the wire process went and fas this survey back to the agency. The secret shopper thinks he/she earned a few hundred dollars for their services. The check they cashed is counterfeit, and will be charged against their bank account.

Cash Grant Scam

Incividuals receive a letter which indicates that they received a cash grant for $9,950, along with a check for $4,975. The letter indicates that they will receive the remaining cash grant amount after they wire out a 10% commission ($497.50) to the given source. The words "Metavante Corporation" are found in the upper left hand portion of the checks. These are counterfeit checks drawn off a legitimate account of this corporation. This scam is similar to the lottery scam, where it requites that a fee or commission be paid before the large sum of money can be obtained.

Phishing Scam

Individuals receive e-mail which indicates that a third party has compromised their account or debit card or online banking access. They are instructed to click on a link provided, and are then directed to a fraudulent website. Personal account information, Pin#, Passwords, etc. are requested by the crooks once they click on the link. Sometimes, simply clickin on this link may cause a Trojan horse to be downloaded on to a hard drive and destroy it. Clickin on this link could also cause malware software called a "keystroke logger" to be downloaded on to a hard drive, which would allow the crooks to see every keystroke that their victim types on his/her keyboard. It is best to simply delete these e-mails. Financial Institutions would never send an e-mail to its customers to verify account information, since it would already have that information.