My uncle is in the middle of being scammed

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:23 pm

My uncle fell for one of the scams where some business wants an American to put some money orders in their account then send them back the $ and keep 10%.

I didnt know that he did this until the checks came and he told me about it excited that the money arrived (Yes, he gave the scammers his real address and cell phone number!). I told him how he was scammed and how the scheme works, but he doesnt care. He said he is still going to cash the checks and if they get cashed then they get cashed, if not then then he will forget about it since he doesnt have a bank account to desposit them.

Now keep in mind some information about my uncle, he has been in and out of prison and still hasnt learned from his mistakes. While he has not been arrested for several years now, he continues to party all the time, not look for steady work (or not take the jobs seriously when he lands one) and mooches of my grandparents.

He received three money orders at a little over $500 each and he tried at Wal-Mart (these were legit looking Wal-Mart money orders) but WM said they had to be made out to the store and wouldnt cash them.

He did however get a small convenience store to successfully cash one of the money orders. Since I informed him that it is a scam, he now does not plan to send the Nigerian any money, he says he is going to hold on to it and see if the liquor store contacts him

Of course, I suspect he has already been spending the money and is trying to find places to cash the other 2 money orders.

The scammer has been constantly calling and emailing about the Western Union transaction, so I told him to send an email saying no one would cash his money orders and that he is facing legal troubles and will not be able to correspond regularly anymore until things cool down (he doesnt answer any of the phone calls)

Anyways,

I have 3 questions regarding this situation.

1) Will the scammer be able to track that his (most likely fake) money orders have been cashed?

2) Do you think I was right about what I told him to email the scammer (considering the scammer already has his real name, phone number and address)?

3) What will the consequences be for my uncle?

He seems to have the mentality that if the check cashing places want their money back down the line, he will just hand it over. But I believe he will at the very least have to pay excess fees as well and possibly face fraud charges. And most likely he wont even have the money anymore anyways when they come to collect.

Let me know what any of you think about this situation and my questions.

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:32 pm

Sorry to be blunt but the answers to your questions

1. NO there is no way to track a fake check
2. Yes, the best advice is for him to stop all communication and come clean, he should not be spending any more of the money either as he will need to pay it back eventually
3. Bad, he has pissed off a criminal who knows where to find him, he has cashed money orders tha tare fake, presumably leaving his own ID when he did it, and he is contemplating doing it again.

The only good news here is that he wont be sending it to the scammer

I hate to say it but does he miss his old proson buddies

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11857 Location: UK

1) No, the scammer will not be able to know if a cheque has been cashed

2) Sort of, it's best to just ignore them completely, but if you do feel the need to send them one last email, say something along the lines of, I have been arrested by the FBI for passing fake cheques you sent to me, the FBI are monitoring all of my phone calls and have taken my computer away, I am mailing you from an internet cafe, DO NOT contact me again.

3) Ask your uncle if he knows where shit creek is, he might have been up there before, ask him if he needs to borrow a paddle. Seriously, he could face quite serious federal charges for what he is doing, fraud, theft, money laundering, passing a fake monetary instrument etc, I suggest he goes to see a lawyer as soon as possible and explains that he thinks he has been scammed, that he cashed a cheque, and now found out it's an "representative scam" blah blah blah, all the time he leaves it, the worse it will be, especially with his previous record of prison time.

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:35 pm

1) The scammer can't track something that never existed in the first place, so no.

2) That is a good suggestion but the scammer won't stop trying to contact until your uncle drops all communication with him for awhile.

3) Where he cashed the money order at will want it's money back. He could also be charged for fraud. This is counterfeiting. Explain it to him like that, most people seem to understand the dangers of passing a fake dollar bill but for some reason don't connect fake checks and money orders as the same thing. With him already being an ex-con, the DA may not be willing to work with him too. He should seek legal advice but it sounds like he doesn't want to listen to reason so far. Sad

Edit: SP and Murry beat me to it

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jul 2006 Posts: 5727

I'm no legal expert, but I'll give it a shot.

1) No
2) Tell him to cut off all communications with the scammer
3) Your uncle knowingly passed bad paper. I hope he enjoyed prison, as if he doesn't do something IMMEDIATELY he will be heading back there.

edit: SP, Murry and Ook beat me to it. I hate coming in fourth. Not even the bronze medal for me.

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:46 pm

We have all said the same thing at almost the same time, lets hope the message gets through

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:49 pm

^^right. And you have expressed it better than I could ever have done. Sad

Now let�s hope the best...hope your uncle believes you.

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:51 pm

I really could care less if he goes back to prison, in fact it would probably be for the better.

I'm just worried about safety since they have my grandparents address and who knows if the scammers know people who are close by.

I'm also worried if I can face any trouble for knowing about this and staying silent. Of course I am going to just play dumb and assume he DIDNT cash the money orders, although I know him better than that.

I dont really want to get involved although I sort of did by helping him on what to write the scammer. He seems to think its funny we're messing with the Nigerian and doesnt seem to care or comprehend what can happen to him.

And since he sees this all as a joke and I made him aware of how I am trying to scam bait he says we should mess with this guy and try to get a pic out of him. Which I'm all for doing, I just dont want to get in any trouble legally when the shit hits the fan.

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:56 pm

Bigger concerns than I can help you with but perhaps consider removing the internet connection.

Some people should be banned from using the internet, your uncle sounds like he is one of them

Baiting Guru Joined: 07 Jul 2006 Posts: 5727

Quote:

... he has been in and out of prison and still hasnt learned from his mistakes. While he has not been arrested for several years now, he continues to party all the time, not look for steady work (or not take the jobs seriously when he lands one) and mooches of my grandparents.

Your uncle's a mod on this board?

(Sorry. Couldn't resist)

One more thing to add. It could weeks, or even months, for the money order to come back bad, but it will eventually come back as bad paper. Dat der's a federal offense. I don't know what your uncle has done in the past, but he really doesn't want to mess with the Feds. Don't let your uncle think that even though three or four weeks have passed without the money order bouncing it is okay. It ain't. He needs to see a lawyer yesterday.

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:56 pm

If he's not using the phone, see if you can "confiscate" it and set it to automatically divert to voicemail. Record a message about him being in jail and then hide the phone where he wont find it for a while.

Hopefully, you won't need to get past any passwords to do that - otherwise maybe even consider holding onto and answering any incoming calls yourself?

If nothing else, it might save him from a late-night visit from the boys in the toe-cutting gang.

Then all he has to worry about is the boys in blue - but I get the impression he is homesick and another stint inside might do him some good.

Sorry if it sounds harsh, but he's got himself in some serious trouble. I'm sure you sincerely want to help, but you can only do so much if he refuses to listen.

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:01 pm

You really think theres a chance of violent retaliation?

Thats why I asked if the mugus have any way of checking if their checks have been cashed. If they cant detect it has been cahsed then I would assume they just realize they lost a lead and will cut their losses (the money it took to fedex the package) and move on.

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:10 pm

Check scammers are only interested in the money they can make off their victims. They will not "come after" your uncle.

The best thing to do, is for your uncle to tell the scammer that the bank has determined the checks to be fake and then to ignore all further communication.
The scammer will try scare tactics, threaten with the FBI etc....this is standard procedure for them when they realize no money is coming.
Block their email addresses and ignore all calls. The scammer will move on once he realizes the game is up with your uncle.

My uncle is in the middle of being scammed	View next topic View previous topic