A new scam targeting younger adults in particular is turning up on social media.  It starts when the targeted victim is contacted through social media by the scammer who tells the targeted victim that the scammer saw a photograph of the targeted victim on social media and wants to pay the targeted victim thousands of dollars to paint it.  After the targeted victim agrees, he or she is sent a very legitimate appearing check with instructions to deposit the check and then wire a portion of the check back to the scammer to pay for the artist’s supplies and keep the rest.  Some victims of the scam thinking they are being prudent wait a few days to clear before wiring money to the scammer, but what they don’t realize is that although a check may appear to have been cleared by your bank after a few days, all you are really getting is “provisional credit” and when the counterfeit check eventually bounces, the credit is taken back from your account and you are left having sent your own money to the scammer. The overpayment check is the basis for many scams including mystery shopper scams about which I have written many times

TIPS

This is just another variation on the scam whereby the victim, for whatever purposes receives a check in excess of the amount owed to the victim and asks the victim to send back the difference.  There are a number of tell tale signs to look for and steps to take to avoid this type of scam.  First, you need to remember that the prudent thing to do when being paid by a check is to wait until the check has fully cleared before you can feel confident that the funds actually are in your account.  This may take a few weeks.  Most importantly, never accept a check for more than what is owed you and send the difference back.  It is always a scam.  Asking you to wire money from your account is also something about which you should be skeptical because once money is wired, it is impossible to get it back.

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