Check scams are on the rise

Robbyn Reckard had one young child and another on the way, so when the 38-year-old was told via e-mail she’d inherited some money, she inquired further.

Before cashing the $850 money order she’d received in the mail, Reckard called the post office to make sure it was real.

“They told me to describe it to them and to read the serial number,” she said. “They told me it was authentic.”

Ten minutes later, Reckard was arrested at Honey Bee Check Cashing in Spokane, then charged with forgery and possession of an illegal bank instrument.

She was involved in what law enforcement officials call the “too good to be true” fake check scam. It has become so prevalent in Spokane County that state and local officials are launching an awareness campaign today. Part of the message: Fall for the scam and you easily could wind up with a criminal record for trying to cash a fraudulent check.

“The naive, the needy and the greedy are the targets of this scam,” said Stephanie Collins, a deputy Spokane County prosecuting attorney.

Collins, who leads the property crimes unit, said there is a resurgence of the scam in the area. Not only has her phone been ringing off the hook the last few months, but the prosecutor’s office has seen a lot more people falling for the scams – and perpetrating them.

The prosecutor’s office told Reckard – and few select others charged in the scam – that if she shared her cautionary tale, the charges could be dismissed.

Reckard was contacted by a shyster claiming to be the “Bank of Nigeria” in October 2005. “The e-mail stated that my name had been drawn from an inheritance and that I was supposed to distribute this money out to the poor and homeless,” she said.

Meanwhile, Reckard, who lives in Clarkston, was hospitalized in Spokane because of the premature delivery of her daughter. While in Spokane, she received another e-mail from the bogus bank saying they needed some money for processing fees in order to give her the inheritance.

“I told them they were scam artists,” Reckard said. “They came back and said they would loan me the money and I could pay them back.”

So she thought it might be legitimate. “I know I was stupid,” she said.

A short time later a blank envelope containing the money orders came in the mail. While trying to cash one of those in July 2006, she was arrested.

The fake check campaign carries this message: “Attempt to cash a fake check once: you are a potential victim. Attempt to cash it twice: you are a criminal.”

“It was the first one I tried to cash,” Reckard said. “The unfortunate thing was I had signed one over to my fiancé and he’d tried to cash it, but Money Tree Check Cashing said it was no good. I asked him to give the check back to me so I could give it to police, but he had thrown it away.”

Nonetheless, it was the second time a fake check in Reckard’s name had been presented for cash.

The experience has disrupted her life, she said. “I used to be a mortgage banker, and I haven’t been able to be hired since this was a crime against a bank,” she said.

While looking for a job, she’s run into another scam.

“I saw an e-mail for a mystery shopper,” she said. “I applied and they sent me a cashier’s check for more than $900 through express mail. It’s from a company in Canada. The documents inside said my job was to go to a Wal-Mart, cash the check and use Western Union to wire money back to them.

“I’m turning that over to police,” she said.