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Counterfeit money orders
Counterfeit money orders
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- FOX6's Contact 6 is issuing a warning regarding some special money orders that cause problems when people try to cash them.
Money orders -- some for hundreds of dollars, arrived on the doorsteps of some unsuspecting victims who thought it was their lucky day!
"They were receiving large bundles of counterfeit money orders from West Africa and then divvying up the money orders to send across the country to people that had already been contacted via Internet scams or mail order scams," U.S. Postal Inspector Thomas Kingery said.
The crooks were counting on recipients to deposit the money orders. When that happened, the scam artists would gain access to the victims' bank account information. These money orders were counterfeit.
"There is a metallic security thread that in a real money order is woven into the paper. On the counterfeit it's just merely printed on the inside," Kingery said.
Also, real money orders have a watermark of Benjamin Franklin on the far left side.
"On the counterfeits the water mark is actually printed on the outside of the paper. It`s not a true watermark where it is visible when you hold it up to the light," Kingery said.
FOX6's Contact 6 is warning people to be on the lookout for these counterfeit money orders.
Anyone who receives a money order in the mail can take it to the post office for verification.