# This is 100% a scam, right? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 9, 2015, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477 "2015-09-09T23:42:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/21 "2015-09-10T03:57:47Z")
There are also a couple of lovely grammar errors in the letter. Seriously tho - take that shit to the postmaster. They are fiendish about hunting down mail fraud. ---
**Author:** ![DataX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@DataX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DataX)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/22 "2015-09-10T04:12:15Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > Anyone _bother to look_ at the image of the check? > > Smart Financial _Credit Union_ is not a bank. > > Contact your postmaster as soon as possible. The postal inspectors live for this kind of scam. I’m not following you. Credit unions have branches and for the most part function as banks. I know there are differences, but can’t tell you what they are - cause I think in most cases they are immaterial to most people. Can you fill me in? ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/23 "2015-09-10T04:50:39Z")
There was a case years ago of a fellow who had his 15 minutes because of a fake check. He got a promo mailing telling him of the fabulous wealth awaiting him if he just “Joined Us!”. Included was a ‘check’ for something like $93,000 made out to him as a ‘sample’ of the kind of money he could make. He deposited it. And knew the banking regs very, very well. He waited the entire 90 days a bank has to recover fraud. They didn’t catch it. He made a few bucks on the ‘Motivational Speaker’ tour. The story ends with the bank stating that he had deposited the check ‘accidentally’ and he returned the money. ---
**Author:** ![Pai325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Pai325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pai325)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/24 "2015-09-10T05:05:38Z")
I’m surprised they found a bank open on Labor Day. If I were running this scam, I would have chosen a different date. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/25 "2015-09-10T14:20:58Z")
Something like this happens on Judge Judy all the time. Person #1 ets check like you did but doesn’t have a back account so asks friend to cash it for them. Friend cashes it, gives person #1 the cash, then the check bounces and person #1 argues that they don’t owe the person who cashed it the money, the people who issued the check owe the money! Person #1 always loses. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/26 "2015-09-10T14:40:11Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > So I got this email from Survey Monkey, which as far as I know is a credible site. [SurveyMonkey.com](http://SurveyMonkey.com) is indeed a real (and legitimate) site; we use them at my workplace regularly to create surveys and sign-ups for our employees. Survey Monkey (note the spacing) isn’t the same thing, though. And the folks at SurveyMonkey are aware of the scam; see here: [Avoiding Scams | SurveyMonkey Help](http://help.surveymonkey.com/articles/en_US/kb/I-got-a-check-in-the-mail-that-says-it-s-from-SurveyMonkey-for-a-customer-evaluation-program-is-this-for-real). Definitely report it to the authorities. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/27 "2015-09-10T14:43:11Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > Yes, 100%. > > The Houston PD may be interested, though. Doubt it. Mrs. Cad got one of these and I did a little investigation. Neither Carrolton, TX PD or the FBI ever responded. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/28 "2015-09-10T14:58:49Z")
> [@usedtobe](#): > > There was a case years ago of a fellow who had his 15 minutes because of a fake check. > > He got a promo mailing telling him of the fabulous wealth awaiting him if he just “Joined Us!”. > Included was a ‘check’ for something like $93,000 made out to him as a ‘sample’ of the kind of money he could make. > He deposited it. And knew the banking regs very, very well. He waited the entire 90 days a bank has to recover fraud. > They didn’t catch it. > > He made a few bucks on the ‘Motivational Speaker’ tour. > > The story ends with the bank stating that he had deposited the check ‘accidentally’ and he returned the money. [Patrick Combs](http://patrickcombs.com/95g/). And he didn’t know the banking regs at all. He deposited it as a joke, but when the bank went ahead and gave him the funds and didn’t do anything about it for several weeks, he then did his research on the regs. ---
**Author:** ![CheshireKat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheshirekat/32/1207_2.png) [@CheshireKat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheshireKat)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/29 "2015-09-10T15:01:04Z")
Also, habeed, since the criminals have your real name and address, you should stop all contact with them, not even to tell them you know it is a scam or that you’re reporting them to the Post Office. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/30 "2015-09-10T16:03:51Z")
Do you have a phone number for the scammers? I suggest calling them, and asking to deliver the money in cash in person. But while you’re talking to them, keep covering the phone microphone with your hand and pretend you’re asking someone in the room with you what you should do next. Maybe, ‘accidentally’ call the imaginary person “Officer”. See if you can get as far as setting a place to meet (open but hard to make a quick escape from) before they hang up. Obviously, don’t actually show up. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2015, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/31 "2015-09-10T19:15:40Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > There is a cashier’s check I am supposed to cash, “at my bank”, and then I’m supposed to wire $1000 to a shady sounding name in the same town. I have just 48 hours to do this…and obviously the check will be returned with insufficient funds, leaving me out $1000. This is a classic money order scam; usually it happens with items being sold on Craigslist. The seller is overpaid for the item and asked to send both the item and the excess money (in cash); eventually, the check turns out to be bad, and the seller is now out his item, the cash, _and_ the amount of the check. I know people who have a wall lined with phony checks. However, it’s not wise to give out your real address - _especially_ if you were asked to send the money to somebody in the same town, as that means the scammer is either local or has a confederate working locally, and it’s too easy for them to “pay you a visit” asking about the money - especially if they do it while there’s nobody home. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/32 "2015-09-11T00:28:04Z")
> [@CheshireKat](#): > > Also, habeed, since the criminals have your real name and address, you should stop all contact with them, not even to tell them you know it is a scam or that you’re reporting them to the Post Office. I’m not planning on contacting them. I’m not too concerned, I mean, it’s not like the criminals need an address to go on burglaries. They can just go into any suburb and point their finger at a random house. Even if these same criminals moonlight as burglars, them knowing my address does not increase my risk. ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/33 "2015-09-11T00:44:48Z")
> [@Sauron](#): > > [SurveyMonkey.com](http://SurveyMonkey.com) is indeed a real (and legitimate) site; we use them at my workplace regularly to create surveys and sign-ups for our employees. > > Survey Monkey (note the spacing) isn’t the same thing, though. And the folks at SurveyMonkey are aware of the scam; see here: [Avoiding Scams | SurveyMonkey Help](http://help.surveymonkey.com/articles/en_US/kb/I-got-a-check-in-the-mail-that-says-it-s-from-SurveyMonkey-for-a-customer-evaluation-program-is-this-for-real). > > Definitely report it to the authorities. One of the links from the SurveyMonkey answer goes to a sample scam whose letter pretty much reads as the one the OP got. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/34 "2015-09-11T03:11:22Z")
Judge Judy had a case involving a “Secret shopper” scam. The defendant got a sizable check, but didn’t have a checking account. So she endorsed it over to her friend to cash out, which she did. 3 days later it was reversed and the friend got hit with a bunch of fees. What made it so memorable is that the defendant could not wrap her head around why SHE should pony up the $1000. “It wasn’t MY fault that it was a bad check.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/35 "2015-09-11T04:01:31Z")
I am going to start ending all my business correspondence with HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!! It gave me a lift reading that part. ---
**Author:** ![Gotlift](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9fc348/32.png) [@Gotlift](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotlift)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/36 "2015-09-11T04:18:31Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > So I got this email from Survey Monkey, which as far as I know is a credible site. “Make $200 being a Walmart secret shopper”. Huh. So I took the bait and gave em my home address. > > So I get the “secret shopper package” in the mail today. Thing is in a priority mail express 1-day envelope. Oddly enough for the scammers, it appears to be a legitimate postage tag - which means the scammers are so sure this is going to work, they spend more than $20 of their own money per scam victim. Ah. I think I see how they did it. It says [cardcash.com](http://cardcash.com) is the payer of the 1 day postage label, so these guys are probably scamming either the post office or they paid for the label with a stolen credit card. The tracking number doesn’t work. > > It contains a [letter](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16656673/scam1.JPG)and a [check](https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/16656673/scam2.JPG). > > _Blatant_ scam. There is a cashier’s check I am supposed to cash, “at my bank”, and then I’m supposed to wire $1000 to a shady sounding name in the same town. I have just 48 hours to do this…and obviously the check will be returned with insufficient funds, leaving me out $1000. > > I thought cashier’s checks were supposed to be protected against this, where the bank itself is guaranteeing the check. Guess not. Isn’t it crazy that people actually fall for this shit? Clearly they would have to be pretty damn desperate to miss all the red flags, which speaks more to the scammer’s callousness than it does to the victim’s stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/37 "2015-09-11T06:56:33Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I am going to start ending all my business correspondence with > > HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!! HAVE FUN!! > > It gave me a lift reading that part. I know right. And stick a bunch of random logos for “trusted” brands at the bottom to make people subconsciously think “this is legit”. Yeah, I think the postal tag, while it _says_ it is a 1 day express mail, I suspect the actual barcode tells the post office it’s the cheap first class mail stuff. Their computer just routes it accordingly and doesn’t care that there is text on the label saying it is express. So the scammers were only out about maybe 50 cents to a buck. There \*is \*microprinting and “original document” on the check, wonder how the scammers duplicated that. So they only have to trick 1 in 100 people or so to make a $900 profit each one. I think the scammers just walked into a post office and stole some of the express mail envelopes, the post office tends to leave them out of view of the cashier and they are free for the taking. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/38 "2015-09-11T13:02:10Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > \*\*I suspect the crooks might have hand-delivered the envelope to my mailbox, \*\*saving them the $25. Ironically, postage fraud like that is probably a worse crime than the attempt to steal $1000. This would explain why the tracking number is invalid, and why the crook receiving the money is also in Houston. (bolding by me) this would be the part you should be more concerned about - then they do, in fact, know hwere you live. ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2015, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/39 "2015-09-11T17:23:24Z")
> [@simster](#): > > (bolding by me) > > this would be the part you should be more concerned about - then they do, in fact, know hwere you live. So what? How is this a problem? First of all, I don’t think they hand delivered it anymore. Second, it’s not like a criminal willing to commit a burglary (a dangerous, poorly paying crime next to fraud I suspect) _has_ to go to my house. A crook would have much better luck at my neighbors I suspect. And burglary is dangerous. Some homeowners have guns. Some are almost always home _and_ have a gun. Just saying. This is Texas, where if you shoot a burglar the chief of police will probably shake your hand and ask for an autograph. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2015, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477/40 "2015-09-15T00:24:08Z")
Have you reported these guys to Survey Monkey? While anyone can throw up a survey there, I’d bet this kind of response violates SM’s terms of service. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-is-100-a-scam-right/730477.md?page=1)