NEWARK
– Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa,
the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs,
and the New Jersey Department of the Treasury
today are warning consumers about fake checks,
which are highly detailed and realistic, and
purport to be cashier’s checks for $3,800,
issued by the New Jersey State Treasury.
“We
are seeing with more and more frequency
that technology makes it easier than ever
for con artists to create phony legal documents,
checks, and even websites that mimic those
of government entities or businesses,”
Attorney General Chiesa said. “Consumers
should stop and verify the truth of any
communication that asks them to send money,
or their bank account or other sensitive
information, to a third party.”
At
least one consumer as far away as Ohio has
received the fraudulent check in the mail
from a con artist. It included a letter
that stated the check was being sent for
a “Mystery Shopper assignment.”
The letter instructed the consumer to deposit
the check, keep $200, and use the balance
to send wire transfers via two separate
Western Union locations – supposedly
to evaluate the Western Union services.
“This
fake check, purporting to be from the State
Treasury, is a new twist on what is known
as the ‘cashier’s check scam,’”
Eric T. Kanefsky, Acting Director of the
New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs,
said. “This is the latest example
of an emerging trend in which con artists
send out official-looking documents, falsely
using the names of government agencies,
to fool victims. Consumers need to be suspicious
of any letter or email that says they’ve
won a prize or legal settlement, or offers
them free money.”
State
Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff said,
“Criminals who would cheat the most
vulnerable people in society with such a
heartless scam are beneath contempt. Consumers
should have absolutely no doubt that this
check, and any similar communication purporting
to come from the State of New Jersey, is
a fraud. Anyone who receives an offer of
money that claims to be from a government
agency, should call that agency directly,
and independently verify whether the check
or letter is real.”
In
the “cashier’s check scam,”
con artists will spin an elaborate story
to convince the victim to deposit a fake
cashier’s check into his or her own
personal bank account, then write a separate
check to the scammer – or wire money
to the scammer. The fake cashier’s
check will look realistic enough to fool
the teller at the victim’s bank, when
he or she attempts to make the deposit.
Although the teller will give the victim
a receipt, the fact is that, once the bank
determines the check is a fake, no money
is actually deposited into the victim’s
account – and so the victim loses
whatever money he or she sends to the scammer.
The
“State Treasurer Impostor Scam”
comes on the heels of another scam, discovered
last month, in which con artists sent out
a realistic but fake “legal document”
purporting to be from the New Jersey Attorney
General. That 11-page letter bore the logo
and letterhead of the Attorney General’s
Office, and invited consumers to apply for
their share of the proceeds from a fictitious
multimillion-dollar legal settlement.
The
fraudulent letter included phone numbers
and an email address, which apparently were
manned by perpetrators of the scam. When
a Division of Consumer Affairs investigator
called one of the numbers, it was answered
by a man with a strong foreign accent who
falsely claimed to be working for the New
Jersey Attorney General. (See the press
release: www.njconsumeraffairs.com/press/03082012.htm)
In
February 2012, the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission warned investors of similar scams,
in which “fraudsters posing as SEC
employees” called victims over the
phone, and offered large sums of money if
the victims would transfer smaller amounts
of money into a specific account.
Acting
Director Kanefsky noted that each of these
“government impostor scams”
includes information that at first appears
to be official and accurate, but does not
hold up under closer scrutiny. Consumers
should protect themselves by independently
verifying the accuracy of any letter or
email that purports to be from a government
agency and says the recipient is entitled
to a large payment. Consumers are advised
not to call any numbers that may be on the
communication itself, but to find the agency’s
contact information separately, such as
via the agency’s website, and call
to learn whether the letter is real.
Attorney
General Chiesa and Acting Director Kanefsky
urge anyone who receives a similar document
by letter or email, to call the Division
of Consumer Affairs’ Consumer Service
Center Hotline at 800-242-5846
(toll-free in New Jersey) or 973-504-6200.
Consumers
can learn more by reading the Division of
Consumer Affairs’ Consumer Brief,
“Beware of Government Impostor Scams,”
at www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/brief/imposter.pdf.
A
full-sized image of the scam check can be
found at www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/press/ChkScam.pdf.
Consumers
who believe they have been cheated or scammed
by a business, or suspect any other form
of marketplace abuse, can file a complaint
with the New Jersey Division of Consumer
Affairs by visiting its website
or by calling 1-800-242-5846
(toll free within New Jersey ) or 973-504-6200.
Follow
the Division of Consumer Affairs on Facebook,
and check our online calendar of upcoming
Consumer
Outreach events.
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