More fake-check scams have made victims out of several Kaua‘i residents, banks, and legitimate businesses, including one business based in Vancouver, Canada. Stella Greenleaf, of Kapa‘a, was a potential victim in the scam, which claims she had been selected as
More fake-check scams have made victims out of several Kaua‘i residents, banks, and legitimate businesses, including one business based in Vancouver, Canada.
Stella Greenleaf, of Kapa‘a, was a potential victim in the scam, which claims she had been selected as a “secret shopper” with an enclosed $3,300 check and directions for purchases at several chains, including Wal-Mart, McDonalds, Burger King and Western Union.
Greenleaf knew better than to cash the check, but that didn’t mean there weren’t victims.
The company named in the letter, Campus Consulting, is a real company with a legitimate Web site www.secretshopping.ca/contact.
And its president, Paul Sullivan, is less than happy that dozens of complaints have been lodged against his company. Surprised that the letters have reached Hawai‘i, Sullivan explains he has been dealing with the scam since the spring of 2007.
After getting nowhere with the Canadian Royal Mounted Police, who said they had a barrage of other scams to investigate, Sullivan said he called the phone number listed on the literature handed out by the scammers that named his site.
“They just hung up on me,” he said.
Sullivan says, the scammers ask the recipient to call a phone number “because they want to convince you to definitely cash the check.”
He also said similar scams are taking advantage of jurisdictional issues, a massive case load and using legitimate companies such as his own to appear authentic. He said the Canadian police are referring victims of the scam to a firm called www.phonebusters.com.
The scam is one of several dozen to have reached the mailbox of the Greenleaf residence, Todd Greenleaf, Stella’s husband, said.
Greenleaf said if there is one thing he has learned over the past few years it has been to be diligent in follow through.
“Thank goodness I filed a police report.” he said, about a fraudulent charge made on his credit card; he filed the report despite being told not to worry about it by his credit card company.
Greenleaf had noticed an authorized $700 purchase and had called his credit card company to report it. Capital One had forgiven the charge; however, months later a bill collector wanted compensation for the $700 worth of software that had been illegally purchased somewhere in the United Kingdom.
“I told them it was a theft, and that’s when they asked for the police report. … I had it and the debt was canceled,” he said.
Greenleaf said the incident didn’t wind up on his credit report, but said that experience, combined with one that happened with a scammer who had taken money from his son on eBay, has him taking fewer chances.
That scam ended up being masterminded by a 16-year-old out of state who was monitoring eBay and then contacting potential buyers and offering the same goods at a lesser cost, he said.
To help protect himself, Greenleaf has since signed up for a $10 a month insurance plan with a company that alerts him if accounts are created in his name. He said he bought $1 million worth of coverage from www.lifelock.com, similar to companies such as identityguard.com or getlifelock.net.
Wailua resident Lisa Ostler wasn’t as lucky. She is still reeling from the after-effects of a check scam — despite having the wherewithal to follow the advice of her bank before taking any action.
Unlike many victims of fraud, Ostler followed her “this is too good to be true” instinct and followed up with her bank and the check’s authors before cashing it.
“(The bank) told me the worst that could happen if I deposited it and didn’t touch the money was a $5 back-charge,” Ostler said.
The check, which was purported to bear $5,000 in lottery winnings, appeared official, even in the eyes of the banker who viewed the version she scanned-in and e-mailed over her computer.
“But on the seventh day, I went to use my debit card and all of a sudden the account was seized,” Ostler said.
Ostler said the $5 backcharge hit her account, but in addition, her account was closed by the bank.
Worse, she said, was that she had to wait nine days for her money — all of it — in the mail.
Ostler said the bank told her the reason they were closing her account was because she “willingly deposited a fraudulent check.”
Before she had made the deposit, Ostler had also called the company that sent the check to verify it; though it seemed at first glance like a typical scam — the attached letter had informed her that she had won the lottery — Ostler said she thought she did enough research to protect herself.
“I kept getting notices telling me I won this lottery,” she said. “…Then they started calling me — I was even hanging up on them — then I got a certified letter and they mailed me this $5,000 check telling me to wait for it to clear and they’ll direct me on where to send fees for their lawyers.”
Checking with her bank first and calling the company made her feel the risk wasn’t that high, she said. When she called the company, she had an experience similar to those who had called the secret shopper scammers — they tried to convince her they were legitimate.
They said, “Oh, no. We’re not fakes. …We’ve been in business for 30 years,” Ostler said.
Though Ostler did much of what is recommended by the FBI — including checking with the bank and “getting to know the business you are dealing with” — other recommendations the FBI suggests include checking on the status of companies with the Better Business Bureau, an attorney, or the police.
Assistant Kaua‘i Police Chief Roy Asher said if a resident didn’t solicit or enter a contest and a letter bearing a check comes in the mail, to avoid cashing it and to take it directly to police.
“If it’s too good to be true,” he said. “It probably is.”
Is this a scam?
What to do: File a police report — three complaints against a company from three different states will trigger the federal authorities’ involvement; and could prove itself useful should credit rating snags arise
Follow up: The only way to ensure your name is still good is to check on its merits
• Amanda C. Gregg, assistant editor/staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or agregg@kauaipubco.com
