SCAMPATROL

[Guest]

I have posted a room for rent on-line and just today I received a cheque from a renter who allegedly wants me to cash out my portion and send the rest on to her, I took it to the bank earlier today only to receive an email a few hours later informing me that it's a scam. Have I already gotten myself into trouble by taking the check to the bank? I have not sent any money to her because the bank put a 5-day hold on the check because it was so large and not local. Can I still cancel the deposit and forget about the whole thing or am I already in trouble for simply attempting to deposit the check? Thanks for your help.

[Jezabelle]

Hello

Print out your correspondence with the "renter" and any other evidence you have and head over to the bank first thing tommorow. Explain the situation and present your evidence. This should resolve things with the bank. Depending on their response and advice you may or may not also want to report to your local police.

Also report to wherever you listed the apartment because I can guarantee you are not the only one this has happened to. Ask them to post a warning.

Let us know how it goes.

[Q]

As Jezabelle has pointed out the best thing to do is get in touch with the bank as soon as possible. Tell exactly what has happened and that it has come to your attention that the cheque you believed to from a client was in fact sent to you by a scammer.

Please remember even if the cheque appears to clear, it hasn't!! It just appears to have. Many banks will allow you to access funds before the cheque has completed the clearing process. So don't touch the money or believe for one moment that the cheque is good. The scammers rely on the honest and trusting of good honest people like you and me. The cheque will be either counterfeit, altered or stolen. The cheque will eventually bounce it may just take a bit of time. Generally up to 14 days, but banks can return them at any time within six months.

You may all be liable for a returned cheque fee. This will depend on the terms and conditions on your account. But hopefully this will be the only fee you are liable for. Even if there is a fee banks will generally waive them if you are victim of fraud. The fees are generally in place to discourage people for cashing cheques they know are likely to bounce.

[M_Saeed_Al_Sahhaf]

Whatever happens don't do nothing and wait for the cheque to clear or bounce. The way the scam works is that the cheque can appear to clear and the funds are credited to your account. The sting in the tale is that the bank will bounce the cheque much later.

[llamedos]

Bit late to this:

Guest.. Was the sender of the cheque called (or a partner of) Kim Laun by any chance?

Cheers
A.