Who do I talk to about a job I did? I was asked to deposit money in my bank account and then withdraw it and get money orders and ship them off. Now the check I deposited came back fraudulent and the money has been shipped off. Now I owe the bank $3000.00. Everything I had for rent and to live off of was in that account. It's gone now and the contact person said that wasn't right and he will look into it. Have I been scammed? I am freaking out!

You have definitely been scammed. This is one of the oldest scams in the book. You can report it to the post office as mail fraud, but you will not get your money back.

@ShaCre01 wrote:

Who do I talk to about a job I did? I was asked to deposit money in my bank account and then withdraw it and get money orders and ship them off. Now the check I deposited came back fraudulent and the money has been shipped off. Now I owe the bank $3000.00. Everything I had for rent and to live off of was in that account. It's gone now and the contact person said that wasn't right and he will look into it. Have I been scammed? I am freaking out!

@ShaCre01 wrote:

Who do I talk to about a job I did? I was asked to deposit money in my bank account and then withdraw it and get money orders and ship them off. Now the check I deposited came back fraudulent and the money has been shipped off. Now I owe the bank $3000.00. Everything I had for rent and to live off of was in that account. It's gone now and the contact person said that wasn't right and he will look into it. Have I been scammed? I am freaking out!

Yes, you have been scammed. And short of a miracle you will not get your money back.

There used to be programs--with seniors, I think--where bank staff talk to customers making unusually large withdrawals in cash or by wire. They would do this to make sure they were not being "catfished" or otherwise scammed out of their life savings. Maybe there needs to be a program for large deposits as well since this scam is so common.

@ShaCre01 wrote:

Who do I talk to about a job I did? I was asked to deposit money in my bank account and then withdraw it and get money orders and ship them off. Now the check I deposited came back fraudulent and the money has been shipped off. Now I owe the bank $3000.00.

You didn't do a job for any Mystery Shop Company (MSC). You were scammed by a thief. This is a very well-known scam. No MSC would EVER pay someone in advance. They only pay AFTER the job is done, and only if it can be proven it was done.

If you were contacted online or through emails to do this, save the emails and screenshots of all your communications with the scammer and file an IC3 report with the FBI by going here: [www.ic3.gov].

If you were contacted and received the check by mail, save the envelope and letter if you still have it, and report it as Mail Fraud to the US Postal Inspection Service here: [www.uspis.gov].

Also go to your bank and explain what happened, and notify local police. If you need help with paying your rent and bills now, see if your locality has a General Fund for financial assistance, or ask for help from the Salvation Army, or any churches in your area. You can also start a GoFundMe, or have a friend start one for you (having friends do it seems to be more successful).

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Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 09/08/2022 10:46PM by shopnyc.

Sorry to hear this.

I'm sorry this happened to you. Please report it as others have suggested. Some of these scammers have been caught. Reporting it is all we can do once it happens.

I know that this is unlikely to make you feel better, but you are not the first person to report this type of scam on this Forum. Even worse, you will not be the last one. Report it as others have suggested. If you want to be of help, tell your local newspaper and TV station and let them interview you. You may save another person from being scammed.

This is a scam. You are not getting that money back.

@ShaCre01 wrote:

I was asked to deposit money in my bank account and then withdraw it and get money orders and ship them off. Now the check I deposited came back fraudulent and the money has been shipped off.

Perhaps there should be a public service message on TV about this? Who makes those/funds them anyways? (And if you're like Saul, run them during Murder She Wrote reruns so the elderly see them.)

I took a short term job in customer service for a national, mostly small town phone company. Problem is emphasis and bonuses were put on add on sales, not service.

I looked up my 85 year old uncle's account. Someone had "sold" him the most expensive unlimited home phone servive with every international plan added, the fastest most expensive internet package with every fraud plan available, and the highest TV package with every premium channel available.

His kids called him. He did call relatives in Europe once or twice a year. He checked e-mail and stock prices on the Internet and watched MSNBC, CNN and a couple of stock reporting shows.

He was being charged ovsr $250/mo for what they had sold him. My cousin called on his behalf and got the bill down to around $75 by cancelling everything he should never have been sold in the first place!

Why do people prey on the uninformed? That's rhetorical of course.

It is sad to see people take advantage of others. But let's be honest here, there are those that will always look to do this or any other scam to make a quick buck. The problem is, the person that falls for this particular one "cash a check and send $ back" is also looking to make easy money. Their greed for something caused them not to really think this thru. Is someone or a company that is legitimate really going to overpay you? Are they going to ask you to send MONEY ORDERS in return? Why wouldn't a legitimate company/business just stop pay their own check and issue you a new one for the correct amount (if this was truly a legit payment which it is NOT).

While there are scumbag fraudsters out there preying on people, at the same time people do some really dumb things and need to take more responsibility. I can understand people falling more for IRS calling and threatening for payment and being scared of that, than this overpayment/send $ back scam. Some scams are really too stupid to exist, but someone keeps falling for it.

I believe some of the scam companies are using FedEx, UPS and other shipping companies to eliminate the postal fraud/inspectors. I believe they've also turned to courier services in larger cities.

@wrosie wrote:

I believe some of the scam companies are using FedEx, UPS and other shipping companies to eliminate the postal fraud/inspectors. I believe they've also turned to courier services in larger cities.

I have a free UPS account that uses a particular email address. Just so happens I've been expecting a package that started out UPS and was handed over to USPS, right?? So I was away from home for a couple of days, and had requested USPS to HOLD all my mail. So in checking the tracking from UPS to USPS, I did see where it was handed over to USPS. HOWEVER, I got what looked like a real legitimate UPS email AT A DIFFERENT EMAIL ADDRESS from the one my account is withUPS, with all the logos, etc, AT THE SAME TIME that I was expecting this package. It said that UPS tried to deliver a package but no one was home, so please fill out this so-and-so form, and we'll re-deliver it to you for $2.99. For about half a minute now----and no longer----I thought this was legit, because I was waiting for that other package to arrive that had been switched from UPS to USPS. Then it suddenly dawned on me that, wait a minute, this isn't my UPS account email address, and WHY would I give my credit card or Paypal info to this???? So.....PHEW! Then I came to my senses. But folks, I **ALMOST** fell for it because I DO have a package coming, and I got this "other" email at the same time, so that was really weird and a coincidence. And I've been doing this for 17 years!!! So I can imagine how "newbies" might think these things are legit, but they're NOT!! And like you pointed out, @wrosie, scammers are now using ALL means possible!!!

@wrosie wrote:

I believe some of the scam companies are using FedEx, UPS and other shipping companies to eliminate the postal fraud/inspectors. I believe they've also turned to courier services in larger cities.

The Secret Service has jurisdiction over all counterfeit checks (not just currency and coin) regardless of means of transmission. States also have concurrent jurisdiction over fraud.

It is still considered mail fraud if the scammer uses private carriers such as FedEx or UPS. Any form of mailing something to commit fraud would qualify as mail fraud. And the mailing part doesn't have to be the main part of the fraud - if something is mailed in connection with a fraudulent act, it's mail fraud.

Even just trying to commit mail fraud is a criminal offense whether the criminal gained from it or not. The fraudsters can be charged with mail fraud even before they've scammed someone, if mail fraud was part of their plans. The FBI, SEC, and the USPIS have teams that will investigate and even set up sting operations to catch the criminals doing it.

For it to be considered a federal crime rather than a state crime, though, the mail or package has to have crossed state lines.

@wrosie wrote:

I believe some of the scam companies are using FedEx, UPS and other shipping companies to eliminate the postal fraud/inspectors. I believe they've also turned to courier services in larger cities.

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/12/2022 09:28PM by shopnyc.