L 23 Mar 2014
I had posted an add looking to provide daycare. Someone from the exact same phone number (786-506-7576) contacted me in response to my add and told me the exact same story (female doctor "Ashley Wayne" from London UK with twins needing daycare during a medical course in Canada). We were looking to go ahead with supporting them with daycare, until we received the check for just short of $6000. From this point, the whole thing seemed off so we started to dig. The area code shows from Miami Florida, not London UK. We could not find a "Dr. Ashley Wayne" in London UK. When we googled "check in the mail scams" and we found that what we were almost about to do is a common scam. See below some comments I copied from one page of many describing check in the mail fraud. I hope this posting helps more innocent and unsuspecting victims: "What can the legal consequences be from cashing fraudulent checks that scam victims receive in the mail? A: Once the victim accepts the check for the scam and deposits it into their account, they become responsible for any losses. If the victim does not have enough money in the account the bank can file litigation against the victim for any money owed to the bank. They can report the victim to reporting agencies such as ChexSystems, which will then make it difficult for them to open an account at another financial institution, and they might even face jail time. What can the financial consequences of check scams be? A: Typically the check is deposited into the victim's account and they are then asked to wire or transfer (via Western Union or Money gram) overseas proceeds to cover miscellaneous processing or attorney fees related to the win. Once the check is returned as counterfeit, the bank may immediately charge the victim for the amount of the counterfeit check along with bank return fees. If the bank files litigation or if the victim faces any other potential criminal charges as a result, they might even have to fork out more money to pay for attorney fees."
L 23 Mar 2014
I had posted an add looking to provide daycare. Someone from the exact same phone number (786-506-7576) contacted me in response to my add and told me the exact same story (female doctor "Ashley Wayne" from London UK with twins needing daycare during a medical course in Canada). We were looking to go ahead with supporting them with daycare, until we received the check for just short of $6000. From this point, the whole thing seemed off so we started to dig. The area code shows from Miami Florida, not London UK. We could not find a "Dr. Ashley Wayne" in London UK. When we googled "check in the mail scams" and we found that what we were almost about to do is a common scam. See below some comments I copied from one page of many describing check in the mail fraud. I hope this posting helps more innocent and unsuspecting victims: "What can the legal consequences be from cashing fraudulent checks that scam victims receive in the mail? A: Once the victim accepts the check for the scam and deposits it into their account, they become responsible for any losses. If the victim does not have enough money in the account the bank can file litigation against the victim for any money owed to the bank. They can report the victim to reporting agencies such as ChexSystems, which will then make it difficult for them to open an account at another financial institution, and they might even face jail time. What can the financial consequences of check scams be? A: Typically the check is deposited into the victim's account and they are then asked to wire or transfer (via Western Union or Money gram) overseas proceeds to cover miscellaneous processing or attorney fees related to the win. Once the check is returned as counterfeit, the bank may immediately charge the victim for the amount of the counterfeit check along with bank return fees. If the bank files litigation or if the victim faces any other potential criminal charges as a result, they might even have to fork out more money to pay for attorney fees."
Caller type: Scammer
Caller: Dr Ashley Wayne
Number: 786-506-7576