Police Warn Residents Of Check-Cashing Scam

By Andrew Gorosko

Police are warning the public about a mail scam in which the unknown sender of a check to a local man attempted to swindle that man out of several thousand dollars.

Patrol Officer Richard Monckton investigated the incident for police, who received a complaint from the unidentified local man on February 6.

The man who received the bogus mailing did not comply with the instructions provided to him and thus did not lose any money. The man instead reported the suspicious situation to police, Officer Monckton said.

The matter amounted to a check-cashing scam. If the man had complied with the instructions provided to him, he would have been liable for the loss of several thousand dollars, the police officer said.

In the mailing, the local man received an envelope which enclosed a letter and what appeared to be a legitimate check made out to the man in the amount of $3,997, Officer Monckton said.

The letter instructed the man to cash that check and also to participate in a shopping survey. Such an activity would require the man to shop at various stores and fill out a form on his shopping experience, rating the stores he visited.

The letter asked that the man cash the check and retain about $500 of the amount for his having participated in the shopping survey. Additionally, it asked that the man wire the remaining funds, or about $3,500, to a person whose identity the man would learn after dialing a telephone number that was listed in the letter, Officer Monckton said.

Although the letter and the check appeared to legitimate, the man who received the mailing considered the situation suspicious and contacted police to alert them of the mail scam, the police officer said.

Although the check appeared to be negotiable, it was not, and had the man cashed it, the check would have “bounced” and the local man would have been held liable for the $3,997, Officer Monckton said.

The policeman urged residents to be wary of such scams in which the recipients of letters are asked to wire sums of money to people whom they do not know.

Officer Monckton said police referred the situation to the state attorney general’s office for its review.

The police officer explained that cautionary information on the type of scam described above is available for public review on the website for the state attorney general, www.ct.gov/ag/site/default.asp, and also available at the website for the Federal Trade Commission, www.ftc.gov.