Legal Advice Needed! (LONG)

[CyPlainsDrifter]

Sorry if this comes across too strong, but you must have been born yesterday to fall for this. It had scam written all over it. Good luck getting it resolved. They will never catch the thief, however I guess there's always a chance the bank will take the hit instead of you.

You learned an important and expensive lesson here.

Never, never, never deal overseas and never, never, never send money to anyone in this manner. NEVER.

[drummerman]

Kil_gore:

June, 1990. Two and a half days of hell.

Sorry it took so long to respond

[CYdTracked]

I got in on this late but man this sucks. I was trying to sell my car a couple months ago and went the free advertisement routes with places like craigslist. I'm pretty sure some of the inquiries I got from that were scams. One guy offered me full asking price sight unseen then turns around and asks for my contact information so he can get a cashier's check made out. On top of that he mentions some carrier that will come pick up the car owes him $9000 so he will have them pay me. All that raised a big red flag for me so I email back asking him to call me and talk because someone offering full price sight unseen sounded fishy and I wanted him to prove he's legit. Never got another call or email after that. Got a couple other emails that sounded a lot like this asking for contact info to make out a cashiers check.

Anymore you best bet is if you are going to deal with someone online make them use PayPal which is secure and insured and second don't sell anything until you get a live person on the phone or an in-person meeting.

I did finally sell the car and this person called me and came in person to look at it so there are still good people out there that won't screw you but I'd much rather hold onto an asset longer if I'm suspicious of scam because I'd rather make a legit sale and not get screwed.

Best of luck to you, hopefully somehow you don't get burned on this and can recover the money.

[psycln11]

Tigers...I'm guessing this was your wife mentioned near the middle of this article??

Mid-Iowa Newspapers - Scam Alert! Warning: Not reading this article could be hazardous to your bank account

[mvsta]

I know of a similar situation and Wells Fargo did not take the fall. It was their customer's money and that is the position they took. The customer was out the money with no backing from the bank.

It is not the bank's fault the money order was counterfeit. I am assuming you had enough money in your account to return the money and thus the bank was not waiting for the counterfeit money order to clear. I do not see any responsibility on part of the bank.

I would guess it will just come down to how customer friendly the bank is and how they are advised by their counsel.

[cycloneworld]

It is not the bank's fault the money order was counterfeit. I am assuming you had enough money in your account to return the money and thus the bank was not waiting for the counterfeit money order to clear. I do not see any responsibility on part of the bank.

Except for the fact that the bank "examined" the cashier's check and said it was acceptable. I just don't see how they can not take the fall here because of that. If not, I would be finding a new bank and letting as many people know that their word cannot be trusted. This alone should get them to take the hit.

That would be like he going into Best Buy and buying a new plasma TV. If I asked the sales clerk if the TV worked, he said yes, but when I brought it home it didn't work. AND then they wouldn't take it back. It sounds silly but this is exactly what the bank is doing.

[tigershoops31]

Tigers...I'm guessing this was your wife mentioned near the middle of this article??

Mid-Iowa Newspapers - Scam Alert! Warning: Not reading this article could be hazardous to your bank account

Yeah she was the "Ames woman". I guess the officer she filed the report with made her feel pretty dumb so she really didn't want to keep telling him the story. He said it was confidential so she finished the report, then the next day it was in the police report of the Trib with her name on it. Needless to say, she wasn't happy.

It is not the bank's fault the money order was counterfeit. I am assuming you had enough money in your account to return the money and thus the bank was not waiting for the counterfeit money order to clear. I do not see any responsibility on part of the bank.

We did not go through our account at all with the money order. We told them we were concerned it was a scam and didn't want to have any of our account info associated with it. They checked out the money orders and said they were legit so it was actually the bank that cashed it. We didn't use our own money at all with it.

[psycln11]

We did not go through our account at all with the money order. We told them we were concerned it was a scam and didn't want to have any of our account info associated with it. They checked out the money orders and said they were legit so it was actually the bank that cashed it. We didn't use our own money at all with it.

Quick....Close your account and move your money to a new bank!!!

[mvsta]

Cycloneworld--

Let's just agree that I think Wells Fargo took a bad stance in situation that I told you about, however, I don't see how a court would pass it off to the bank.

Here is the basis of your transaction:

1. You deposited a cashier's check--although it was counterfeit.
2. You ordered the bank to cut a certified check from your own account.
3. You had sufficient money in your account to cover your certified check.
4. The counterfeit check comes back.
5. Your money is gone.

Your analogy is incorrect. In your Best Buy example you exchanged your money for their product. Also, not to mention there is a return policy and a mutual mistake of fact by both sides.

In the scam, you sent your own money to the scammer. The bank did not send its money--it sent yours. Even though the bank said the check was fine, it did not send out its own money.

Normally a bank will not allow you to immediately withdraw funds from a deposit, unless you have other sufficient funds in the account. They make you wait until the check clears before allowing you to use the funds.

A better analogy--you get a personal check for $2000 and you refund $1000 that back to the buyer. The bank clears your check because you have money in the account and then later tells you the seller's check bounces.

I hope the bank does the right thing. However, I don't know if they want to step up for every scam that happens to their customers.

[tigershoops31]

Cycloneworld--

Let's just agree that I think Wells Fargo took a bad stance in situation that I told you about, however, I don't see how a court would pass it off to the bank.

Here is the basis of your transaction:

1. You deposited a cashier's check--although it was counterfeit.
2. You ordered the bank to cut a certified check from your own account.
3. You had sufficient money in your account to cover your certified check.
4. The counterfeit check comes back.
5. Your money is gone.

Your analogy is incorrect. In your Best Buy example you exchanged your money for their product. Also, not to mention there is a return policy and a mutual mistake of fact by both sides.

In the scam, you sent your own money to the scammer. The bank did not send its money--it sent yours. Even though the bank said the check was fine, it did not send out its own money.

Normally a bank will not allow you to immediately withdraw funds from a deposit, unless you have other sufficient funds in the account. They make you wait until the check clears before allowing you to use the funds.

A better analogy--you get a personal check for $2000 and you refund $1000 that back to the buyer. The bank clears your check because you have money in the account and then later tells you the seller's check bounces.

I hope the bank does the right thing. However, I don't know if they want to step up for every scam that happens to their customers.

Did you even read my response to your post?
1) I did not deposit anything, I only took the money orders in to have them checked out, and then the bank cashed them out.
2) Since we were suspicious of the money orders, we asked that they not involve our account at all. They just made out a cashier's check for the money orders.
3) I did not have sufficient money in my account to cover the money orders, which should make no difference since my account was never involved.
4) The counterfeit money order came back counterfeit after we had sent the bank's money to the lady through Western Union.
5) The bank's money is gone. Our fear is that they are going to take our money to cover their loss.

[psycln11]

Did you even read my response to your post?
1) I did not deposit anything, I only took the money orders in to have them checked out, and then the bank cashed them out.
2) Since we were suspicious of the money orders, we asked that they not involve our account at all. They just made out a cashier's check for the money orders.
3) I did not have sufficient money in my account to cover the money orders, which should make no difference since my account was never involved.
4) The counterfeit money order came back counterfeit after we had sent the bank's money to the lady through Western Union.
5) The bank's money is gone. Our fear is that they are going to take our money to cover their loss.

I stand by my above statement...

Quick....Close your account and move your money to a new bank!!!

[mvsta]

Tigershoops--I apologize I did not read your response. I was a bit confused I guess and thought I was responding to Cycloneworld.

So I am sorry for wasting your time.

[tigershoops31]

Tigershoops--I apologize I did not read your response. I was a bit confused I guess and thought I was responding to Cycloneworld.

So I am sorry for wasting your time.

No problem

[tigershoops31]

I stand by my above statement...

Quick....Close your account and move your money to a new bank!!!

It's kind of touchy since my wife works at this bank Otherwise, I'd be all for your plan

[psycln11]

It's kind of touchy since my wife works at this bank Otherwise, I'd be all for your plan

There's at least two new banks opening in Ankeny each year. It seems every freakin' corner has a bank within spitting distance now.

I bet she could find a new job pretty easy!!