There is a new check scam which the individual can be held liable for.

Greene County Sheriff Steve Haupert says that a Grand Junction female victim took a survey indicating she wanted more income.  Last week, she received information in the mail asking her to become a mystery shopper.

The subject, John Reed sent her a check for $2,700 from Nestle telling her to set up a separate checking account and deposit the money.  She was then to take $2,130 and purchase two money pak cards for a $1,000 a piece from Walmart.  The instructions further laid out that she was to scratch off the numbers on the back of the money paks and call him back with those numbers so he could put those funds into a paypal account that he had set up.

Sheriff Haupert states that the victim followed through with those requests and then she received another check in the mail for $9,700 and she was to take $3,267 out and do the same thing.  By the time the victim went back to Peoples Trust and Savings Bank in Grand Junction, the bank told her that her first check was a fraudulent check.  When the victim notified the Sheriff’s Office, they unfortunately told her that she was liable for the money used in the scam.  The Sheriff’s Office later found that the scam originated from Quebec, Canada.

Sheriff Haupert would like to tell the public that if you find yourself in that situation to wait until the bank notifies you that the funds have been cleared or that the check is fraudulent so that you don’t become liable for the funds used.

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