FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION 

August 26, 2019 

consumer news PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

Beware of Fake Checks 

they ask that you send all or part of the 

proceeds back to them or to someone else 

(an accomplice) before the bank where it was 

deposited tries to clear or process the check 

for payment and realizes the instrument is 

fake. Te scammer might ask you to return 

the funds in a number of ways: in cash, by 

writing a personal check, by loading it onto 

a pre-paid or gif card, or through some 

electronic means, such as a wire transfer, 

automated clearing house (ACH) payment, 

or a person to person (P2P) transaction. 

If it is later determined that the check 

was counterfeit, you will likely be held 

responsible for the funds that were provided 

to the scammer, so it is important that you 

recognize the signs of a counterfeit check to 

protect yourself. Remember, fraud artists are 

constantly coming up with new ways to use 

fraudulent cashier’s or ofcial bank checks 

in their scams. Here are three of the most 

common scams, and tips on how to detect 

whether or not you are being scammed. 

1. Lotteries and Sudden Riches Scams

In these examples, the check recipients are

told that they won a lottery—perhaps in a

foreign country—or that they are entitled

to receive an inheritance. The recipient is

instructed that in order to “claim” their lottery

winnings or inheritance, the recipient must

first pay “taxes and fees” before they can

receive their prize or money. A fake cashier’s

check is sent, which the scammer asks the

recipient to cash and then wire back the funds

to cover the taxes and fees.

2. Online Auctions, Classified Listing Sites, 

and Overpayment Scams

Scammers might go to an online auction

or classified listing site and offer to buy an

item for sale, pay for a service in advance, or

rent an apartment. The odd thing is that they

might send you a cashier’s check for an

amount that is higher than your asking price.

When you bring this to their attention, they

will apologize for the oversight and ask you to

Protect yourself 

from fake check 

scams with these 

tips from FDIC 

Consumer News 

Even in today’s digital and mobile world where 

electronic money transfers are common, 

consumers and businesses may still prefer the 

assumed security of paper cashier’s checks 

or ofcial bank checks for large or major 

payments. Recipients generally prefer one of 

these checks over a personal check because the 

fnancial institution presumably has already 

collected the funds from the party purchasing 

the cashier’s checks or ofcial bank checks. 

Tis means the payment is guaranteed, unless 

the check is counterfeit, so there are risks to 

consumers and businesses from these types of 

paper instruments, as well. 

Unfortunately, criminals have come to rely 

on their victim’s sense of “security” provided 

by cashier’s checks and ofcial bank checks. 

Advanced graphics and printing technologies 

allow scammers to easily create fraudulent and 

hard-to-detect counterfeit checks in a matter 

of minutes, adding a sense of legitimacy to 

their scams. Fake checks can look so real that 

it’s very hard for consumers, or even bank 

employees, to detect. 

Fake bank checks are typically used in scams 

where the scammer tries to get you to cash 

or deposit the check. Once it is deposited, 
quickly return the extra funds. Te scammer’s 

motive is to get you to cash or deposit the check 

and send back legitimate money before you 

realize that the check you deposited is fake. 

3. Secret or Mystery 

Shopper Employment Scams

In these cases, the scammer advertises a job

opportunity and claims to be “hiring” people

to work from home. Te “employee” might

receive an ofcial check as a starting bonus,

and is asked to cover the cost of “account

activation.” Te scammer hopes to receive

these funds before the ofcial check clears

and the new employee realizes they’ve been

scammed. 

Another scenario involves an ofer to work 

from home as a secret shopper to “assess the 

quality” of local money transfer businesses. 

Te “employee” is sent a cashier’s check and 

instructed to deposit it in their bank account 

and withdraw the amount in cash. Tey 

are then instructed to use a local money 

transfer business to send the funds back to the 

“employer” and “evaluate” the service provided 

by the money transfer business. 

How to Spot a Fake Check 

Determining whether a cashier’s check or bank 

check is legitimate is difcult just by physical 

inspection. However, there are some things 

you can do to help identity a fake check: 

• Make sure the check was issued by a

legitimate bank. While some counterfeit

checks will include a legitimate bank’s

name, a fake name is a sure giveaway.

FDIC BankFind allows you to locate FDICinsured banking institutions in the

United States.

• Check with the bank that supposedly

issued the check to make sure it is real.

Make sure you look up the phone number

on the bank’s ofcial website and don’t use

the phone number printed on the check

(that could be a phone number controlled

and answered by the scam artist). Next, call

the ofcial number and ask them to verify

the check. Tey will likely need to know the

check number, issuance date, and amount.

• Consider how and why you received the

check. If someone you don’t know initiated

the payment, be skeptical and proceed

cautiously. Scammers ofen communicate

with their victims via e-mail or text

message. Teir communications may

contain poor grammar and spelling errors.

• Look where the check was mailed from--

if the postmark is not the same as the city

and state of the “supposed” issuing bank,

it might be an indication the check is fake.

Be especially cautious if it was mailed from

overseas.

• Determine if the amount of the check is

correct and as expected. Fake checks are

ofen made out for more than the agreed

upon amount. Tis is intended to coax the

person receiving the check into wiring the

overpayment back to the scammer.

• Ofcial checks usually contain watermarks,

security threads, color-changing ink and

other security features. While scammers

are able to sometimes copy these security

features, the quality is ofen poorly

executed. 

What to Do If You Are Scammed 

If you think you’ve been targeted by a 

counterfeit check scam, report it immediately 

to any of the following agencies: 

• The U.S. Postal Inspection Service at

https://www.uspis.gov/ (if you received the

check in the mail). 

• Your state or local consumer protection

agencies. Visit www.naag.org for a list of

state Attorneys General.

• For possible online crimes involving

counterfeit checks and money orders, file an

online complaint with the Internet Crime

Complaint Center (a joint project of the FBI

and National White Collar Crime Center) at 

http://www.ic3.gov.

In addition to notifying the bank whose name 

is on the check, you can notify the website 

or online service where you encountered the 

scammer (for example, the online auction 

website or job posting website), so they can 

block them from utilizing their services in 

the future. 

For more help or information, go to www.fdic.gov or 

call the FDIC toll-free at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342). 

Please send your story ideas or comments to Consumer Affairs 

at ConsumerNews@fdic.gov