It all starts when someone offers you something too good to be true. They give you a realistic looking check or money order and then ask you to wire the money somewhere and they will pay you for helping them. 


It is a phony, and so is the person’s story. Once you cash the check, it may take weeks or even months to discover you have been swindled. And you know what ... you are left holding the bag and you could be out thousands of dollars. Here are some common scams - read them and do not become a victim.

 WORK AT HOME 

In today’s tough times, we are all looking for a way to make a few extra dollars. You come home and find in your mailbox or email inbox a way to make money working at home. If it was so easy, why wouldn’t we all be working in our pajamas? They ask you to help process payments. All you have to do is deposit their check and send them the money minus your “pay”. Real companies do not business in this manner. DON’T DO IT. 

SUDDEN RICHES 

They say you won a foreign lottery or sweepstakes. But that is impossible unless you traveled to that country to enter, since it is illegal to buy or sell tickets across the United States border. Or they claim that you have been selected to receive a cash grant. But instead off giving you money, their plan is to steal money from you. DON’T DO IT!

 LOVE LOSSES 

It seems these days everyone is looking for love in all the wrong places. You think you have found someone special on line. But maybe you have been especially selected for a scam. Or, they promise to come to the United States to be with you. But they need you to cash a check or money order to cover travel expenses. DON’T DO IT!

The old adage is if it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t. So if you’re looking for love or to want to make an extra buck for yourself do it the old-fashioned way. Get out and meet people one on one. To make a few extra bucks get a job and work for it. Or else you may become a victim and have to work doubly hard to get out of debt to cover those fake check scams.