Fake Check Scam

How Fake Checks Turn Waiting Time Into Risk

What this scam looks like

Common examples

• An online buyer sends a check for too much and asks you to refund the difference.
• A remote job sends a check for office equipment and tells you where to buy it.
• A prize notice sends a check but asks you to pay taxes, fees, or processing costs.
• A renter sends a deposit check and asks you to forward part of it to someone else.
• A fake refund offer sends a check and asks for a return payment through another method.
• A stranger asks you to deposit a check and send money to a shipper or assistant.

How to verify safely

• Contact your bank through an official channel before moving money from an unfamiliar check.
• Verify the employer, buyer, prize, or organization through a separate official website or known contact method.
• Do not use contact information supplied only by the person who sent the check.
• Ask why the check involves extra money or a third-party payment.
• Wait and get clear guidance from your bank before spending or forwarding funds.
• Be cautious if the sender becomes angry, rushed, or overly complicated.
• Ask a trusted person to help review the messages and payment instructions.

Warning signs

• Someone sends a check for more than expected and asks you to send back the extra money.
• A job, prize, or refund requires you to deposit a check before you have verified the source.
• You are told to buy supplies, gift cards, equipment, or services using money from the check.
• The sender pressures you to act before the bank has fully reviewed the deposit.
• The situation began with a stranger, online buyer, remote job, or unexpected award.
• The person gives complicated instructions about who should receive part of the money.

Questions to ask

• Do I know and trust the person or organization that sent this check?
• Why is the check for more than the agreed amount?
• Am I being asked to send money, gift cards, or payments before the check is fully resolved?
• Can I verify the job, buyer, prize, or refund through an official channel?
• Does this request make sense without the check?

Safer next steps

• Do not send money back from a check before verifying the situation carefully.
• Speak with your bank through an official channel if a check or deposit seems unusual.
• Be cautious with checks from online buyers, new employers, prize contacts, or strangers.
• Do not buy gift cards, equipment, or supplies because a stranger sent a check.
• Keep the check, envelope, messages, and instructions for your records.
• Ask a trusted person to review the situation before moving or spending deposited funds.

What to do if you already clicked, paid, or shared information

• Stop sending money and do not follow any more payment instructions from the sender.
• Contact the relevant bank, platform, employer, or agency through an official channel.
• Tell your bank what happened and share the check and payment instructions if asked.
• If you sent money through a platform, contact that platform through its official support tools.
• Save messages, check images, envelopes, receipts, usernames, and dates for your records.
• If the situation involved a job or marketplace, report the profile or listing through the platform.
• Be cautious of recovery messages that promise to get the money back for an upfront fee.

How to report it

• Report the check and messages to your bank through an official channel.
• Report the job post, buyer profile, prize message, or marketplace listing on the platform where it appeared.
• Use official consumer-protection or fraud-reporting channels in your region.
• Report suspicious payment accounts through the payment service used.
• Visit the site's /reporting page for general reporting options.

Common questions