ALEXANDRIA, Va.–Saying it had received numerous queries from consumers, NCUA has issued a warning over fake check scams.
According to the agency, there continue to be many versions of a fake check scam, but the result is the same. Scammers lure consumers into depositing a cashier’s check, money order, or other checking instrument from someone that they don’t know and wiring or sending money to the scammers, noted NCUA. “A check may take considerably longer to clear the financial institution that issued it before the funds can be collected. It could take days or even weeks to discover that the deposited check was fraudulent,” the agency said.
NCUA is reminding credit unions to remind their members that when the check is discovered to be fraudulent, the damage may already have been done and that once a victim wires or sends funds from such a check, he or she may be responsible for reimbursing the financial institution for that amount.
NCUA is pointing to a fake check scam alert published by the Federal Trade Commission that notes these checks can be hard to recognize and may be printed with the names, addresses, and logos of legitimate financial institutions.
Anyone with concerns, NCUA said, should:
- Contact your local law enforcement agency to report the scam.
- Contact your state’s attorney general. Contact information for each state’s attorney general can be found on the National Association of Attorneys General website.
- File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission.