Heads Up: Scammers Appearing Well-To-Do Taking Advantage of Area Residents

ORANGE COUNTY, CA – Area law enforcement is warning residents of a check-cashing scam reported in the Orange County area.

"We have received a recent increase in reports that involve a check-cashing scheme," the Huntington Beach Police Department said. "Although victims in the past have been all ages, the recent reports involve male suspects and college-age female victims."

Police said the suspects appear well-heeled -- driving pricey cars, wearing expensive jewelry and clothes and carrying on as if they had ample cash.

The victims, meanwhile, are often contacted in parking lots, where the suspects will ask them to deposit checks.

Stories may vary as to the reason for the check-cashing request, police said, including their accounts were "just closed," their banks were "just closed," they are in the process of "changing banks" or they are simply down on their luck.

The scam artists often offer the targets small payments for each check they deposit, and once trust is gained, they step it up with a seemingly quick and easy way to make money.

According to the agency: The suspect will provide the checks that the victim will deposit into the victim’s legitimate bank account. Usually during the same transaction, a large portion of the check is immediately withdrawn as cash. The money that was withdrawn from the account is given to the suspect, and the suspect will give the victim a small cash payment.

"If they find a willing participant, they will have the victim deposit as many checks as possible in order to obtain more money," police said.

However, the department added, a day or two later, the victims' banks receive reports that the checks, in fact, were fraudulent. Since the money had already been withdrawn, the victim is liable for the funds, the department said.

The agency offered the following tips to protect oneself from these types of scams:

• Do not deposit a check from someone you do not trust.
• Do not deposit a check from someone if the check belongs to a third party.
• Do not withdraw funds against a check until the check clears (regardless if your bank allows you to do so).
• In the past, banks would wait for checks to clear before allowing cash to be withdrawn. Each financial institution has its own set of policy and procedure.
• Please take every precaution to protect yourself and your family against this type of check-cashing scam.

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