Update on Counterfeit Money Orders

This will update previous alerts concerning counterfeit US Postal Money Orders.

2 of the characteristics of the money orders we have discussed were:

1. The amounts of the money orders were usually between $900.00 and $1,000.00, and
2. The money orders were consecutively numbered.

Naturally, the con artists have caught on to the fact that financial institutions are on the look out for these 2 characteristics, and as a result have altered their pattern. The counterfeit money orders now will often be for smaller dollar, usually around $500.00, and they will no longer be consecutively numbered.

So....what can be done?

Remember that a valid US Postal Money Order will have:

• A Ben Franklin watermark in the oval on the left side of the money order. This watermark is easily seen if the money order is held up to the light, and slightly tilted. Many of the fake money orders we have seen have either no Ben Franklin, or the Franklin that is there is blurry.
• A silver security thread on the left side running top to bottom.
• The USPS shield appears on the right side of the money order.

One of the more popular scams involve the crook contacting the member through an advertisement for a roommate. The member will be looking for a roommate, an unknown person will contact the member, express interest in becoming the roommate, will send money orders for rent, security deposits, etc, and then contact the member, saying they cannot move in due to a family crises, and will ask the member to wire transfer the money back via Western Union.

If you have become a victim of this type of fraud, please forward all of the information including:

1. Email correspondence
2. How you were contacted
3. The postal money orders, to your local office of the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). You can find a listing of local USPIS office at: http://www.usps.com/ncsc/locators/find-is.html