Police warn of check scam

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According to Texarkana, Texas Police, they are hearing of instances in Texarkana where people have been approached and asked to deposit a check from another person into their bank account and immediately withdraw the funds for cash.

The suspect explains that they can’t get to their own account for some reason but really need to cash the check. As a act of supposed desperation, they offer to give the person depositing the check half of the money just for helping them out.

Most people realize pretty quickly that something is just not right with this situation, and the check they are being asked to deposit is probably worthless or stolen. They can smell the proverbial rat (and rightly so). However, some people ignore those warning signs – lured by the prospect of quick and easy money.

Police say that once you accept the offer and deposit the check, you are personally responsible for the money that you withdraw from your account. It’s your name on the account, not the other person. Not only could your financial institution require you to repay them the money that they lost because the check was bad, you could also be charged with criminal fraud yourself.

“While we’ve said this time and time again, it apparently bears repeating yet again… If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. You are not going to get something for nothing and it’s pretty darn certain that no one is going to give you several hundred dollars of their hard earned money just for depositing a legitimate check for them. If it were legitimate, they wouldn’t even need you. They want you to do it for them so when the crime is discovered, it’s on you and not them. It’s probably going to wind up costing you a lot more in the end than the little bit of money that you might get from them in the transaction. It’s simply not worth it.”

“If someone comes to you with some grand proposition, please just say “no” and walk away. That’s one decision that you’re not going to regret.”

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