Fake forum- Paid for Receiving Bank Transfers

...the cheques are fake and anyone cashing them will at minimum be in debt to their bank, and might even find themselves facing cheque kiting charges.

Okay, I've registered for a friend who has fallen prey to this scam. He didn't want to come here and admit to it for fear of being reported, so I'm here to ask a couple questions for him.

He says he was sent a bank draft, which he cashed with no problem. He also got to keep 10% of the money. He sent the remainder to someone via WU, and all is well - so far.

He saw this thread AFTER the fact, and is wondering what will happen now. Will he be arrested? He also says he contacted the people, who said the bank drafts are legit, and all he's doing is forwarding funds to other people, which is completely legal.

Can anybody shed more light on this? We've both Googled but can't find a whole lot of info that confirms things to the good or bad. It's all supposition it seems.

Thanks for your help and advice. I've told my friend to not accept anymore bank drafts until we know for sure.

Hi Cellar, welcome to Scamwarners.

Your friend has fallen for a job scam or similar type of scam. The MO is to have the victim "process payments" from clients in the form of fake bank drafts and wire the money to the scammer by WU.

Your friend need not fear being reported to anyone by us. Our aim is to support victims of scams, not turn them over to any authority. He is welcome to register as handles are used on here, keeping the member anonymous.

Scam victims are not always arrested; however, they do have to pay the money back to the bank. The best thing for your friend to do is to print out all correspondence between him and the scammer and take it to his bank and to local law enforcement. The burden of proof that he was scammed falls on your friend. I know that this is a very scary time for him, but in order to clear things up, he has to participate in the effort. There are thousands of people that are in your friend's shoes at sometime in their lives. The scammers don't care who they hurt or how they do it.

Tell your friend not to accept anymore bank drafts. Now that both of you know they are fake, accepting them could lead to legal charges against him.

Please urge your friend to follow my suggestions. Arrest is unlikely if he gets right on it. People that willingly participate in scams in order to scam other people or that embezzle funds to pay scammers are usually the ones that are arrested. Innocent victims usually aren't.

This site and any advice given here is not a substitute for legal advice. He might also consider contacting a lawyer to help him clear things up.

Hi CellarDweller, and welcome to Scamwarners.
First off, I can assure you that the bank drafts are either fake, or drawn on the hijacked bank accounts of other victims (I suspect the latter). They will seem to clear at first, but WILL eventually come back as fake or stolen. Does you friend have the cash to cover the draft? If he has the cash, he should deposit it back in the account right away, not touch it for any reason, and notify the bank manager. If he cannot cover the draft, he needs to speak with the bank manager right away, and explain what happened. I'm afraid he will owe the bank for the bad draft, but some banks will work out payments.

Reporting the scam to the police is also a good idea, as it will show that your friend is a victim here, not a criminal. Also, under NO circumstances should your friend accept another draft, wire transfer, or anything else. Once a victim has deposited a cheque/draft/money order, the scammers will try to hit him with more very quickly, so that they can get the maximum money out of him before the bank twigs on the first deposit.

He also says he contacted the people, who said the bank drafts are legit, and all he's doing is forwarding funds to other people, which is completely legal.

This is a lie. These scammers want your friend to cash as many drafts as possible before the poop hits the fan, so of course they are going to tell him that the drafts are real and the "deal" is legal. Why would criminals who are using your friend to launder money admit that the drafts are fake/stolen?

As for arrest, if your friend comes forward and is honest about what happened, it is unlikely. Most often, the people who wind up facing charges are those who blithely go along cashing these drafts until the bank twigs and the police are notified, or worse, those who realize that it is a scam and continue anyway.

Please give us a bit more info on exactly what happened, so that we can give more specific advice. Also, we are a victim support group and do not report people who have fallen for a scam to the authorities. Your friend should not be afraid to post here.

Edit- sheboppe's advice is also right on.
@Sheboppe- tandem posting