One scam that we keep seeing that traps some seniors and boomers is a scheme where you get a check or money order and are told to keep a commission and forward the rest to someone else. Inevitably, the paper is written on a foreign banks and takes weeks or months to bounce as fraudulent; whereas, your money has long since cleared.
Do not accept and deposit unknown and unasked for checks, especially drawn on foreign banks. You will be charged when the check bounces.
Do not ever send someone your money based on such a scheme. You might as well burn your money because you will lose it.
A variation is that you receive a large check for some foreign lottery winnings, a lottery that you did not enter. You are told to forward money for taxes. It should come as no surprise that is not how foreign governments collect taxes. To illustrate, I sold some land in Canada once and the lawyer withheld a certain amount of money for taxes. Later I filed with Canada and got my money back when I could show I sold the land for less than I paid for it.
A third variation is that you receive a check or money order drawn on a foreign bank for more than you are owed as payment for something you sold. You are asked to send the difference back. Once again, you will lose your money when the check or money order bounces.
Do not fall for any scheme where you have paper in one hand and a request to send some of it on or back in the other hand. Counterfeit money orders and checks on foreign banks are difficult to verify that they are genuine. It can take months for one to bounce, leaving plenty of time for the one who scammed you to move on after cashing your check for real money, your real money.
Be an informed senior citizen and read our scam news daily. If you are a baby boomer, read it as well and educate your parents.
