Released: December 05, 2007

Check scams thrive, especially online

Source: Kathy Chu, USA Today (Free Registration)

Check schemes are spreading across the USA as scamsters exploit the popularity of online auction, dating and social-networking sites to find victims.

The scams have grown so prevalent that the Postal Inspection Service has launched a TV and print campaign — its largest-ever anti-fraud drive — to alert consumers. Overseas investigators, working with U.S. postal inspectors, have arrested 77 people this year and intercepted $2.1 billion in counterfeit checks headed for the USA. And the Federal Trade Commission sued two Canadian companies in October, accusing them of using fake checks to bilk U.S. consumers.

Even as consumers reduce their use of checks, the creation of fake checks is booming. Fraudsters are using them to pay for goods advertised online or to convince people that they’ve won sweepstakes prizes.

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