Topekan gets fraudulent check
4:58 p.m. Tuesday, December 30, 2008
"First instinct is, let's cash it. It's Christmas."
Ole' Saint Nick has come and gone, but on Christmas Eve, Liz Claiborne thought Santa had delivered her a special gift in a UPS express envelope.
"So I open it up and all that's inside is a small envelope with a check inside for $3,430," Claiborne said.
Instead of cashing the check, Liz called to find out if it was legit.
It wasn't.
But the company on the check, Intergraph Corporation, is.
We looked the company up on the internet and discovered it was founded in 1969 and specializes in software.
The company told her it's gotten at least 20 calls from others who received the phony check and 12 who made the mistake of cashing it.
"He said the reason they were delivered on Christmas Eve late in the afternoon is the scam artist knows the company is closed for the holiday, so people are going to be more prone to just cash them," Claiborne said.
"People want it to be true so badly and because times are so tough, they're not thinking," said Better Business Bureau Terri Young said. "Stop and think about it. Why would you get a check and you've not done a day's worth of work?"
Better Business Bureau President Terri Young says they get at least 10 complaints every week about a scam.
She says a popular one during the holidays involves job offers to become mystery shoppers.
Liz believes that's how scammers got her information. She replied to an email about becoming a mystery shopper.
"Be very careful. When you click on these links, you're just giving them your information. If you don't know who they are, delete it," Young said.
"Makes me mad, because what if I had put that in my account?" Claiborne said.
Liz hopes her story protects someone else from becoming a victim.
Protect Yourself
Find suggestions on how to avoid being a victim of identity theft at www.ktka.com/identitytheft.
In the meantime, she says she'll be more observant, cautious and...
"I won't reply to any of those emails anymore (laughs)," she said.
If you think you've received a scam, log on to the Better Business Bureau and fill out a complaint form.
Then, take what you got to the U.S. Post Office. They investigate crimes that go through the mail.
You can register to become a "real" mystery shopper at www.mysteryshopper.org.
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