After extensive discussion among the moderators, we’re revising the warning you’ve been given. We’ve now seen two instances in which you gave people dubious advice about scams:
Case #1. You advised someone to deposit a check he had been sent out of the blue for what was apparently a sizable amount. This has the hallmarks of a scam. Your advice was foolish. Colibri instructed you to “not advise people to do things that may well be illegal.” Depositing the check would probably not have been illegal, so Colibri’s instruction to you was not well stated; nonetheless, the staff believes he was right to admonish you.
Case #2 (the present case). You advised someone who had received a suspicious check to consult with their bank. You got a warning for failing to obey mod instructions. This warning was off base. Telling someone to consult with their bank is not illegal. However, bankers do not have magical powers that enable them to sniff out scams. The check could be legitimate and still be part of a scam. So when you say, “If they say “It’s good, deposit it!” then fine”, you’re giving foolish advice. (We say this after consulting with a veteran bank executive.) It’s not fine. This case, like case #1, has the hallmarks of a scam. The safest advice would be to do nothing with the check and have nothing further to do with Dr. X.
Thus this revised warning: Do not give anyone on this board, in this thread or any other thread, advice of any kind about scams. We don’t trust you to give sound advice on such matters, even when what you’re proposing seems sensible on its face. Failure to abide by the above instructions will be grounds for revocation of your posting privileges.