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Scam.. or not? I got a real check for $5000

What will happen?

  • Jail time, this fool is going down FOW SHOW.

    Votes: 4 5.1%

  • He gets a $5,000 check from karma!

    Votes: 9 11.5%

  • OP murdered in alley by angry Vietnamese man: accidentally sent life savings to college student

    Votes: 16 20.5%

  • Check is fraudulent and the OP has to pay bank fees.

    Votes: 27 34.6%

  • Y'all got punk'd.

    Votes: 22 28.2%
  • Total voters
    78
  • Poll closed .
#21
andrewd said:
Or he could open a new account for that check, that isn't tied to his normal account.
Click to expand...

And, when the check is returned for "insufficient funds," or it is identified as fraudulent, he'll be responsible for all of the fees and, very possibly, be arrested for passing a bad check.

It's a no win. Burn the thing.
 
#24
JonathanD said:
Do most of the people in the USA "earn" their money compared to people that work 10X as hard and make 1/100th as much? Why do I want it? because it would ad 50% to my yearly income and maybe I would only have to work 30 hours a week and go to school. Also, honeymoon coming up...I could get into a lot of trouble in Vegas with $5000!!!
Click to expand...
They're counting you you to think this way. If you really think you can get something for nothing take the bait.
 
#26
exactly JansenW hit it on the head..

People just dont mistakingly send out $5k checks and not catch it.. And lets see you yourself said you were a poor college student and it would help..

You fit the criteria of the perfect person whos greed is going to get the best of them, and cash it..

Once you do your screwed, and right before said Honeymoon, it might not be a good idea to lose all your cash, on the thought of getting something for nothing..
 
#27
I know you're thinking about all the ways you can spend that money, but don't do it! You'll regret it - big time - and you'll get a stern "I told you so" from all of us when you come crying back here in a month after they've stolen your identity, cleaned out your bank accounts, and gotten you $100,000 in debt w/in two weeks.
 
#28
JonathanD said:
Yep, I went to Chase bank(where I don't have an account) and they opened an account with the deposit. The money will sit there for a month and then I will come back and see if its there.

Jonathan
Click to expand...

Your kidding me.. dude your so screwed, do you know its highly illegal to cash fraudulent checks.. You are now just as bad as the scammers who were after you in the eyes of authorities. You are basically part of the scam. Chase bank now has the oppurtunity if something goes bad getting you for fraud.

Good luck, im def subscribed to this one..
 
#29
Yeah, you think you're smarter than they are. Believe me, they're professionals. They do this for a living. They know how to screw you without getting screwed themselves.

When you opened the account at Chase, you put your neck on the line. When that check turns out to be fraudulent, they're not going to go looking for the people who sent it to you -- They're going to come looking for you, because you cashed it. And, when you filled out the information on the little card to open the account, you told them right where to go to find you.

Unless you opened the account under a false name and social security number, in which case you just doubled the charges against you.

Y'know that house you and your wife-to-be were planning on buying? Forget it. Your credit is going to be screwed for 7 - 10 years. And, even then, you'll have to explain to potential creditors why you got busted for knowingly cashing a bad check.

Oh, and I hope your new wife doesn't mind spending her wedding night making a conjugal visit.

You are so screwed.

I really hope that you didn't open that account...
 
#30
If the check is no good the OP won't be in trouble with the bank as he didn't write anything against it. However, whoever did write the check has something in mind, not sure what but can't be good.
 
#31
the OP would be in trouble as soon as it was cashed if he wrote something against it or not. the intent is already there. Its just a matter of his history as to how much trouble he could get in.

No judge in the history of the world if going to believe a college student is that gullible(sp) to believe its just his lucky day and got a free 5K from a rich and obviously very sharing person in vietnam
 
#32
JonathanD said:
Yep, I went to Chase bank(where I don't have an account) and they opened an account with the deposit. The money will sit there for a month and then I will come back and see if its there.

Jonathan
Click to expand...
They're also counting on you ignoring sound advice.

Hopefully you didn't have any recently missing mail (like bank statements with your social security number on it) or missing ID's and your trash is secure.
 
#34
ibanezcollector said:
the OP would be in trouble as soon as it was cashed if he wrote something against it or not. the intent is already there. Its just a matter of his history as to how much trouble he could get in.

No judge in the history of the world if going to believe a college student is that gullible(sp) to believe its just his lucky day and got a free 5K from a rich and obviously very sharing person in vietnam
Click to expand...

All truth. While trying to dig up how this scam works, I found several reports of the people who fall for such scams ending up (even if only for a few days) in jail. One way or another, it's nothing but bad news and you are temporarily an accessory to financial crimes for having cashed it (if it ends up being fraudulent).

disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, nor do I pretend to be, just surmising what I found the last few minutes searching around.
 
#35
It's almost certainly fraudulent. I know that Vietnam is linked with quite a lot of check scams, mostly passing counterfeit checks that look real because they've been stolen from banks.

If I were you I would call the bank and tell them that you think that it is a bad check. Of course if I were you I would have either destroyed the check or taken it to the police.
 
#37
froovs said:
i reckon you can be 100% sure thats a scam

windfalls do happen tho

like the kid in the uk who bought a PS2 off ebay and as well as the goods in the parcel there was 65,000 euros

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/norfolk/6903433.stm

cheers
froovs
Click to expand...

Don't forget all the people that bought cabinets at homedepot that had kilos of weed in them :eek:

btw, I seriously doubt a judge (or even a prosecuter for that matter) would be interested in convicting someone that was the victim of a scam...
 
#38
Son of Magni said:
Don't forget all the people that bought cabinets at homedepot that had kilos of weed in them :eek:

btw, I seriously doubt a judge (or even a prosecuter for that matter) would be interested in convicting someone that was the victim of a scam...
Click to expand...

somebody's gotta pay... if that check isn't legit, where's the $5k come from? the bank, that's who. And they are going to want their money back.
 
#39
if he knew it was a scam, and still insisted on trying to get the cash then they would. Plain and simple.

The original poster is trying to get something for nothing and illegally as well, even going as far as opening a new checking account to try it.. That was a honest accident like you describe above, he went out and knew before hand its possible for it to be a scam yet went thru with it, in hopes of getting the money. thats fraud.
 

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