How Can You Protect Yourself from Money Order Fraud?

1. Think About The Offer. Most of these scams are obvious once you think about them. Why would somebody who supposedly can't get funds out of a country be able to send you a money order - thereby getting funds out of the country - and why would they pick a complete stranger as their partner? Why would somebody need an intermediary to deposit large money orders for them, when they obviously have their own bank account? Why would somebody who could easily send money to their own shipper trust a complete stranger with thousands of dollars to be forwarded to the shipper, rather than simply paying the shipper directly?
   
2. Get the Money Through a Money Transfer Service. You may have noticed that the perpetrators of this fraud don't want you to send them a check - they want the money wired to them (or to their partners in fraud) through an international money transfer service like Western Union. If you're selling somebody an expensive item such as a car, there is no reason that you can't insist that an international seller pay through a wire transfer service.
   
3. Insist On Checks From A U.S. Based International Bank. While any time you participate in a deal that seems suspect you risk that the money order you receive will be fraudulent, you can at least insist that the money order sent to you be issued from a U.S. based international bank. If the person is in a nation with no international bank branches, insist on a wire transfer service. Using a domestic bank will make it much more likely that the forgery will be detected before the check "clears".
   

This is a type of fraud where the offer is almost always too good to be true. If you have any suspicion that the person you are dealing with may not be completely legitimate, don't send that person any money until you are absolutely certain that the check has been honored by the overseas bank.

Posted in: FINANCE AND LAW