SUU and Cedar City have been getting more than their share of a mail scam which has bilked people out of hundreds of thousands of dollars across the country, police said.
SUU Public Safety Chief Rick Brown said three or four SUU students reported receiving fraudulent checks during the past week and Cedar City Police Lt. Keith Millett said numerous cases of fraudulent checks have been reported in Cedar City.
A common theme to these scams involves legitimate-appearing checks for, in some cases, thousands of dollars made out to the victim.
The checks are either counterfeit or are legitimate checks which have been stolen.
The information accompanying the checks generally instructs the victims to deposit the money in their personal bank accounts and then send a portion of the funds to an untraceable entity, often overseas.
The problem develops when a bank cashes or deposits the bogus checks before they have cleared the international banking system. When the banks learn there is no money to cover the bad checks, they come after the victim to retrieve their money. Often by then the victim has sent at least a portion of the money to the scam artist via money orders or bank drafts, which are treated as cash, authorities said.
Millett said the police department receives two or three reports of fraudulent checks a week from Cedar City residents.
Cedar City Sgt. JR Robinson said most scammers operate outside the United States, which makes arrests and prosecutions difficult for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
“When the checks originate internationally, the chances of finding the scammers are minimal,” Robinson said.
Millett said most scammers find victims through the Internet, including Web sites like ebay.com, craigslist.com and social networking Web sites.
Wells Fargo bank teller Tyler Anderson said the scammers who send fraudulent checks are often untraceable because they use fake names with bogus bank accounts.
Anderson said when victims present fraudulent checks at the bank, tellers attempt to contact the issuing bank to see if the account is legitimate and funds are available.
Cedar City Detective Mike Bleak said some banks will credit back any overdraft charges resulting from such schemes, but victims are generally still responsible to replace any spent or transferred funds.
Cases where the FBI is successful in prosecuting such swindlers are rare, Robinson said.
Robinson said one way to avoid getting scammed is to recognize suspicious-looking checks involving large amounts; especially if sender requests money in return.
“Don’t take money from people you don’t know,” Robinson said. “If it (seems) too good to be true, there is a very good likelihood it is.”
Robinson said if a fraudulent check is deposited in a bank account, allow extra time, perhaps a week or two, for the check to clear to find out if it is valid.
Police warned students to be reasonable and ask why a stranger would send them money.
“Anyone who does not know what is going on is going to be a victim,” Robinson said.
Ashley Leavitt contributed to this story.
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