CLEARWATER (970 WFLA) -- Check fraud... it sounds like a criminal blast from the past... but it's very much a problem for consumers and businesses in 2018. Brian Oglesby with the Better Business Bureau West FLorida office in Clearwater, says scammers are gaming federal requirements that banks clear checks quickly.
"Banks have to make funds available quickly... but the bank may not learn (for days or weeks) that they have a bad check... (by then) the scammer has your money, and it's your responsibility to pay (the bank)," Oglesby said.
Sometimes the scam involves writing you a bad check and asking you to send money someplace else. You're stuck when the check bounces. Oglesby says those in their twenties are most likely to get ripped off... perhaps because they're not as familiar with how checks work.
The BBB says Nigeria is the source of many fake checks and money orders... even cashier's checks are not immune from scammers.
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