Market warns of fake check scam that looks pretty real, it arrived via Priority Mail

By CHRIS PETERSON

Hungry Horse News

A local nonprofit is warning other nonprofits about a check scam.

Melissa Ellis, director of the Columbia Falls Community Market, said the market recently received a check via U.S. Priority Mail from an out of state, unknown business donor for $3,870.

“When researching the business name on the check to provide stewardship to our unknown gracious donor, things became suspicious,” Ellis told the Hungry Horse News.

The check was written by an alleged company out of Lannon, Wisconsion.

Ellis took the check, which was drawn on a Chase bank account. to the nonprofit’s bank. Chase could not confirm that funds were available because it was a commercial account, so Ellis said they decided not to cash it and the local bank kept it and began an investigation.

Ellis then told the alleged donor they were not cashing the check. They, in turn, started sending her threatening text messages, asking her why she didn’t cash the check and asking her if she didn’t believe them, which, of course, she didn’t.

She ended up blocking them  from her phone.

The Whitefish Community Foundation confirmed that there is a scam going around, not just locally, but nationwide with bad checks to nonprofits. Spokeswoman Jill Seigmund said another nonprofit has seen a similar scam.

It works like this: The donor gives a nonprofit a donation and then says they accidentally gave too much and would the nonprofit kindly refund some of it back.

The nonprofit gives the refund and then the check, later, bounces as well.

The scam is well documented online. The Federal Trade Commission has an entire page dedicated to the scam, which also targets individuals as well.

The reason why it works, the FTC notes, is they send what appears to be a legitimate check. In Ellis’s case, they even sent it Priority Mail and they knew she received it through delivery confirmation.

By law, banks have to make deposited funds available quickly, usually within two days. When the funds are made available in your account, the bank may say the check has “cleared,” but that doesn’t mean it’s a good check. Fake checks can take weeks to be discovered and untangled. By that time, the scammer has any money you sent, and you’re stuck paying the money back to the bank.

Your best bet, according top the FTC: Don’t rely on money from a check unless you know and trust the person you’re dealing with.

In Ellis’s case, she sniffed out the proverbial rat before any damage was done to the market’s bank account.

Here’s some other tips from the FTC:

Never use money from a check to send gift cards, money orders, cryptocurrency, or to wire money to anyone who asks you to. Many scammers demand that you buy gift cards and send them the PIN numbers, buy cryptocurrency and transfer it to them, or send money through wire transfer services like Western Union or MoneyGram. 

Once you do, it’s like you’ve given them cash. It’s almost impossible to get it back.

Toss offers that ask you to pay for a prize. If it’s free, you shouldn’t have to pay to get it. Only scammers will ask you to pay to collect a “free” prize.

Don’t accept a check for more than the selling price. You can bet it’s a scam.

The FTC also notes that if a person or entity gives money back via gift card, crypto currency, or wire transfer if they contact the company or store they did it through, there’s a chance they can get their money back.

People are also urged to contact the Post Office if it came through the mail, the FTC or law enforcement so it can be investigated. In many of these scams, it’s a federal crime.