they sent me a check for 2950 and said to deposit and keep 360 and they would send me a list of stuff to buy and send to them. Is this a scam or legit ?

Definitely a scam. Don't fall for it. Don't attempt to deposit the check. Either rip it up and toss it or hand it over to your local police for handling.

If it looks like it came from Sinclair, contact them immediately and tell them what happened. They are a really good company and I think they would want to know someone is using their company name. They can then proactively tell their shoppers so no one gets scammed.

Scam. Scam. Scam.

If you want proof that this is a scam, call the bank or credit union upon which the check is written on. Have them check the account. You will find that it is a fake check linked to a non-existent account. Contact your local police and the US Postal Inspectors. The Postal Inspectors have the ability to close PO boxes and to refuse to deliver mail to addresses when they are being used to defraud.

To clarify: The check is NOT from Sinclair. It IS A SCAM impersonating a known entity. Looks like you have good common sense to understand it is a scam.

I'm just curious- what happens if you deposit the check in these scams?

Generally in a day or two your bank will show the money as 'cleared' on your account because there is enough money in the account on which the check is fraudulently drawn to cover it. It may take a week or two before the check is determined to be fraudulent, at which time the money is backed out of your account along with a 'bad check charge' that seems to generally run around $35 but can be higher. You now are responsible for restoring to the bank that charge as well as any funds from the bad check you may have withdrawn. The bank may charge you with attempt to defraud. Chances are good that they will notify other banks through the banking system that accounts with you may not be wise. If you do not have enough money in your account to cover the check and the charges, they may report your fraudulent activity to police.

The scammers don't care if you go to Walmart or Home Depot or wherever they sent you to 'shop', they aren't looking for a report. What they are interested in is that after all that baloney is done you are wire transferring to them a couple of thousand dollars and when the check bounces you will find you wired them money for which you are responsible.

Real companies do not send you funds in advance. In fact it is usually 1 to 3 months after you lay out your money that you are reimbursed. When you are paid/reimbursed there is not going to be extra money to be returned to them or sent along to someone else.

Thanks! I know enough to know a scam when I see one but having never deposited a fraudulent check before I never realized how much responsibility falls to the person who deposits the check! I assumed you'd be out the money you would send them, but never imagined all the bank repercussions. Sad.

The simple answer is that people who truly fall for this scam (and a number have come to this forum after they sent money to the scammers) are responsible for returning ALL of the money to the bank where they deposited the bad check. So, in this case, the OP was sent a check for $2950 (often a realistic looking Cashier's Check). Lets assume that the OP had deposited the check, and two days later withdrew the remaining $2590 and then went to Western Union and sent $2590 to the scammer. A week later, the OP's bank calls and says that the original check was fraudulent. You are responsible for returning the $2950 plus a $50 (or whatever fee) = $3000 to the account within one business day or we will close the account, report you to ChexSystems, and perhaps take you to court. If you search this forum, you will read about people who came here after the check was declared fraudulent, trying to figure out what to do. Some came to declare that the MSC should be banned, only to find that it was a scam. Very sad. Often the people who really need the money (students and the elderly) are most easily duped. At least one college student reported that the scam began with a posting on their college job recruitment board.

thank you.....

I had a legitimate payroll check bounce. I would have been responsible for all INF fees if I would have written out any checks on the invisible balance. My credit union was very helpful and canceled all the fees when I went in and spoke to them. I also warned them that the company was planning to open a new payroll account with them ( he was blaming the bank for his overdrafts) I spoke to their security officer and they refused to let him open an account after they checked his track record with all his former banks.
It can take banks up to two weeks to clear checks. So if you have any doubts, wait to make sure it really cleared. I was very fortunate as everything I told the credit union was easily verifiable. Some financial institutions are now charging the depositor extra fees for cashing / depositing bad checks.

@cindy55 wrote:

Some financial institutions are now charging the depositor extra fees for cashing / depositing bad checks.

I don't know of any that do not and have not been charging the depositor extra fees for cashing/depositing bad checks. And those charges have been in place for many years. As a former landlord and having had small businesses off and on for many years, I always saw fees for deposited checks that bounced.

I am so sorry that I am apparently the only person on the forum that has never been a small business owner or a landlord. I never had to deal with payroll checks that bounced. I never had to pay any fees. Didn't mean to waste your time reading something that obviously everyone else already knew.

@ Cindy

Don't apologize for learning something new. We are all here to learn and unfortunately some of us have learned the rules of the bank and being charged fees through experience. Keep asking questions, that's how we learn and if someone else comes on board and is too afraid to ask questions then hopefully this will help them..

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/20/2016 05:56PM by prettygul1.

I'm an idiot...I deposited the check...they are convincing...I spoke many times with an Englishman..( for Sinclair metrics) on the phone...I can vouch from experience...it is a SCAM!!!!!. Dan Roberts was the representative.....if that's his real name. I don't get why they do it though..I didn't touch the money just in case.( At least I did something right) it took my bank 3 days to find no funds were available....but I still don't get it...do they( the scammers) get money back..that wasn't there or something????

Usually they send you out to do your 'shops', keep your fees and reimbursement out of the money they sent you and then purchase a debit or cash card (that they have you send the numbers off the back so they can drain it immediately) or wire transfer the balance on along to them. You are very lucky your bank worked so quickly to discover the check was fraudulent because likely you will be out of pocket only the bounced deposited check fee.

Melong, I have done many shops for Sinclair and as you probably know, there is no Dan Roberts working for them. And I am so glad you didn't wire them the money. Didn't you think it was really strange to be paid up front for work you hadn't done from a complete stranger?

I love it!

A scammer emailed me the usual BS. I told him to email me a copy of the check so I could deposit it electronically. I never heard from him again. I used his email to request info from all the car dealerships.

@myst4au wrote:

If you want proof that this is a scam, call the bank or credit union upon which the check is written on. Have them check the account. You will find that it is a fake check linked to a non-existent account. Contact your local police and the US Postal Inspectors. The Postal Inspectors have the ability to close PO boxes and to refuse to deliver mail to addresses when they are being used to defraud.

The check will bounce. Banks image checks through the Treasury, and they clear in four days. Depending on the bank or the customer, there may be a hold on the funds for a week at most.

The scammers hope that the victim will use their own funds to send the money. By the time the check bounces in the victim's account, the scammer is long gone.

There's a reason why these scams are still rampant. People fall for them.

@corylus wrote:

I'm just curious- what happens if you deposit the check in these scams?

On the same note: I had a Fridge up for sale on CL. I was contacted and told that Buyer wanted it and would send me a check and arrange pick up. Next email was buyer said his assistant sent out 2 money orders by accident and would I cash them and then send buyer the difference. Sure, sure I would( NOT). I actually had them sent to my wife's place of employment, the police department. They were actually western union money orders. I did research on them and found out they had been cashed for different amounts the year before. Its amazing how real they looked. I loved telling the buyer where he actually sent them and how we figured him out. We both knew it was a scam from the get go, but wanted to see what the money orders looked like.

Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.