Hi Whitewraithe and Welcome to Scamwarners.
great news we were able to help you with this thread, many others are saved in the same way by concerned citizens such as yourself posting their stories and the emails they receive.
As to your questions.
It is not ideal that you have given you personal information but it isn't the end of the world either.
be on teh lookout for more scams that may now include some of your personal details and look that bit more convincing, if there is anything you are not sure about, dont hesitate to ask.
There is no doubt that in your posession you have a fake cheque and it is an offense to have it in your possession so there are 3 options;
1) Destroy the cheque and place it in the bin.
2) Take the cheque complete with packaging to the police station where they will more than likely destroy it and deposit it in the bin for you
3) Mark the cheque clearly as FAKE by using a permanent marker and big letters and keep it somewhere prominent in your house or office, it will serve as a permanent reminder and a talking point for anybody who sees it giving you the oportunity to discuss cheque scams with them and maybe saving someone else from being scammed.
As to which is the best course of action, I would be leaning towards number 3 with number 2 as a close second.
While there is a chance the police will be able to use teh cheque and investigate, realistically they most likely will not do anything, at least option 2 you know it will do some good by making others aware.
Finger prints on the cheque;
Even if the actual scammer himself left finger prints, some DNA and his real name and address on the cheque there is still virtually no chance of him actually being arrested, he is almost certainly scamming from an internet cafe in Africa where your police will have no jurisdiction even if they did have time to investigate.
The person who actually sent you the cheque is more than likely another victim of the same scammer known as a mule, in some cases, police may be able to track down this person based on evidence from the cheque if you were to hand it to police but again, there is little chance of that happening as well.
Contacting the scammers;
Please dont do that, they have your real information and it is not worth the risk to upset them when they know who you are, besides, it could only serve as education for the scammer if you inadvertantly tell him where he went wrong in his scam
I think I have your questions answered but if you have any more questions please ask.
One last thing, could you please post the email address, emails (if they are different to above) and any other information from them as this may be the piece of evidence that the next victim finds to save them from being scammed.
great news we were able to help you with this thread, many others are saved in the same way by concerned citizens such as yourself posting their stories and the emails they receive.
As to your questions.
It is not ideal that you have given you personal information but it isn't the end of the world either.
be on teh lookout for more scams that may now include some of your personal details and look that bit more convincing, if there is anything you are not sure about, dont hesitate to ask.
There is no doubt that in your posession you have a fake cheque and it is an offense to have it in your possession so there are 3 options;
1) Destroy the cheque and place it in the bin.
2) Take the cheque complete with packaging to the police station where they will more than likely destroy it and deposit it in the bin for you
3) Mark the cheque clearly as FAKE by using a permanent marker and big letters and keep it somewhere prominent in your house or office, it will serve as a permanent reminder and a talking point for anybody who sees it giving you the oportunity to discuss cheque scams with them and maybe saving someone else from being scammed.
As to which is the best course of action, I would be leaning towards number 3 with number 2 as a close second.
While there is a chance the police will be able to use teh cheque and investigate, realistically they most likely will not do anything, at least option 2 you know it will do some good by making others aware.
Finger prints on the cheque;
Even if the actual scammer himself left finger prints, some DNA and his real name and address on the cheque there is still virtually no chance of him actually being arrested, he is almost certainly scamming from an internet cafe in Africa where your police will have no jurisdiction even if they did have time to investigate.
The person who actually sent you the cheque is more than likely another victim of the same scammer known as a mule, in some cases, police may be able to track down this person based on evidence from the cheque if you were to hand it to police but again, there is little chance of that happening as well.
Contacting the scammers;
Please dont do that, they have your real information and it is not worth the risk to upset them when they know who you are, besides, it could only serve as education for the scammer if you inadvertantly tell him where he went wrong in his scam
I think I have your questions answered but if you have any more questions please ask.
One last thing, could you please post the email address, emails (if they are different to above) and any other information from them as this may be the piece of evidence that the next victim finds to save them from being scammed.
