DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. – An expensive lesson for a Lower Paxton Township resident who answered an ad on Facebook. The ad said that he could earn extra money by having his car wrapped with an advertisement. The resident communicated with a woman via email who claimed to be in Minneapolis that told him he would make $400 doing this.
She went on to tell him that he would be sent a check for $2240.00 which he was to deposit in his account, keep $400 and send the rest back to her via Money Gram. He complied and sent her the money minus his payment. A few day later, he was contacted by his bank who told him that the check was counterfeit and that he owed them the full amount.
The check had been drawn on an account for Redwood Living Inc. in Ohio. Lower Paxton Township Police cautions residents that no legitimate business would pay someone in this manner. It is always a scam and you will be out the money.
The scam artists rely on a loophole in the Federal Banking regulations that require that banks make funds available sooner than the checks can be verified.
