HELP! Check Nightmare

[quincy]

I did all that already. My biggest concern was them sending the cops after me. I have the messages and the check books showing a history of what was said and what not about the money in question.

I would not be concerned about any police or the FBI knocking on your door. Just report the scam to the proper authorities and be more cautious in the future.

Good luck.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

The check was cashed on the 11th. It WILL bounce. Hopefully, you still have the cash, because the bank will want their money back, and you are responsible to return it.

This is a scam.

If you're not convinced, tell the sender that you will gladly send along the money as soon as they send you an image of the back of the check with your signature. They will never be able to do that unless the check has cleared.

 

[Eekamouse]

Why are you even talking to and allowing people you don't know add you on FB? Are you unaware of all the scams that go on these days? Have you spoken to this friend on the phone and have a number for them? Did you bother to run a search on their name to see if they even really exist?

 

[Zigner]

Before I did anything with them, I called to bank on them to make sure the account was valid and had money in it....

I'd bet that you never talked to the actual bank...it's part of the scam.

 

[FlyingRon]

And understand, it is near impossible to tell if a check has cleared. The way the banking system has evolved is that it is assumed checks are good. The bank makes the amount of the check available to you on that assumption. It can take weeks for a bogus check to kick back to the institution you cashed it at, and as pointed out by previous posters, they will expect you to reimburse them (and likely charge you an additional fee for the bother).

 

[Mass_Shyster]

And understand, it is near impossible to tell if a check has cleared. The way the banking system has evolved is that it is assumed checks are good. The bank makes the amount of the check available to you on that assumption. It can take weeks for a bogus check to kick back to the institution you cashed it at, and as pointed out by previous posters, they will expect you to reimburse them (and likely charge you an additional fee for the bother).

That is why I suggest having the drawer email a copy of the cleared check to the payee. The drawer can generally see an image of the check as soon as it clears. If the check if a fake, there's no way the writer would have an image of the payee's signature.

 

[cbenoist]

I'd bet that you never talked to the actual bank...it's part of the scam.

I did actually...my biggest concern is that, let's say the account is legal and has the money in it to cover the check, does the person who gave me the checks have an legal recourse about the check that was written

 

[Zigner]

I did actually...my biggest concern is that, let's say the account is legal and has the money in it to cover the check, does the person who gave me the checks have an legal recourse about the check that was written

How did you contact the bank? Did you call their phone number? Where did you get the number from?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

I did actually...my biggest concern is that, let's say the account is legal and has the money in it to cover the check, does the person who gave me the checks have an legal recourse about the check that was written

Is the bank account in YOUR name? Your name alone?

 

[cbenoist]

How did you contact the bank? Did you call their phone number? Where did you get the number from?

called their customer care center, to verify that there was actually money in the account. I was told there was. I found the info on their web page

 

[cbenoist]

Is the bank account in YOUR name? Your name alone?

No and No. I have the chat records where he originally wanted me to write checks on the account to pay "employees" when I said I wasn't comfortable doing that, because the checks were in my name and not a company name, he then told me to go cash a check for $4000, I did $2000....trouble didn't start till the next day and continued until last night when I finally blocked him.

 

[Zigner]

No and No. I have the chat records where he originally wanted me to write checks on the account to pay "employees" when I said I wasn't comfortable doing that, because the checks were in my name and not a company name, he then told me to go cash a check for $4000, I did $2000....trouble didn't start till the next day and continued until last night when I finally blocked him.

Hold on a second. If you're not a signer on the account then yes, you do have problems. YOU can't legally sign checks from the account.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

No and No. I have the chat records where he originally wanted me to write checks on the account to pay "employees" when I said I wasn't comfortable doing that, because the checks were in my name and not a company name, he then told me to go cash a check for $4000, I did $2000....trouble didn't start till the next day and continued until last night when I finally blocked him.

So you have checks with your name printed on them and an account number that is for an account under another name?

If that's the case you could go to jail.

 

[cbenoist]

that's what confuses me. How could he send me checks to use if I wasn't authorized to use them....

 

[cbenoist]

So you have checks with your name printed on them and an account number that is for an account under another name?

If that's the case you could go to jail.

and that is my fear. Like I have all the proof about the money issue via chat. I don't have the money, I don't have anything...