Crimestoppers Warns Residents About Questionable Check

by WAKA Action 8 News

Crimestoppers has a warning about a check you might get in the mail. Crimestoppers says the checks are for about $2,000, but they say you may end up losing money if you try to deposit it.

Steve Searcy, director of the One Place Family Justice Center, says an employee got an envelope in the mail. He says inside was a check for $1,992.65.

“And I looked at it and said, ‘wow!’ Somebody is wanting to make a donation to the Family Justice Center! And then I realized… and I said well I want to get a second opinion on it,” Said Searcy.

This is what the check looks like — it’s from Wholesale Grocers Mart Incorporated, with an account from a bank in Philadelphia.
    
“There’s security features on the back where you endorse the check, you notice it has a lot of the same verbage as an official check,” Said Tony Garrett with Crimestoppers. He says you may be the one who ends up paying.

“Once you get the check, they ask you to deposit the check and send them $300 or $400… a percentage of the money  back,” Said Garrett.

We showed Lapelga Yuseuff the check to get her reaction.

“Oh my God!” Said Yusuff when we showed her. “What does that look like to you?” asked reporter, Catalina Trivino.

“It looks real!” Said Yusuff. She also told us she once lost money, even after checking with her bank.

“I went in and I asked the manager, ‘is this real? Can I put this in my account?’ He says, ‘yes.’ And i got a letter saying my account was closed because of a check like this,” Said Yusuff.

When it comes to any check in the mail or online that could be questionable, Crimestoppers is asking you to verify not just with your bank, but also with the Attorney General’s Office… They say these checks are hard to trace because they often come from out-of-state or over -seas, which makes it a federal crime.

If you have questions, call  the Attorney General’s Office Consumer Protection Hotline at 242-7335.