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There is a lot of information on this page - please read everything
carefully
You gave out your bank, credit union, credit card,
PayPal, Post Bank, and/or other account number so that money could be
wired or drafts could be deposited into the account and it hasn't
happened yet.
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You are going to be alright!
You are not going to be arrested.
No one is coming after you for anything.
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R Cease all
correspondence with the scammers. Do not open or answers their
emails. If you have caller ID, do not answer their calls.
If you do answer the phone, hang up as soon as you realize who is calling you.
If they persist, blow a whistle into the telephone. If you are
being threatened, please go here:
http://www.fraudaid.com/threats.htm
R If you have been
corresponding with the scammers by email and/or have gone to a web
site they told you is theirs, you are at high risk of Identity Theft
even if you have bad credit. Go here:
www.fraudaid.com/id_theft.htm.
R File a Scam Email
Report with our Law Enforcement Support Division. You will
find step-by-step graphic instructions for your email service here:
www.fraudaid.com/find_headers.htm.
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MONEY ORDER
WARNING! Counterfeiters are now inventing
the names of money order companies. DO NOT CASH any money
order and DO NOT DEPOSIT any money order you receive from someone
you do not know or someone you met online without ordering your bank to send it for
collection. |
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DO NOT WITHDRAW
ANY FUNDS FROM YOUR ACCOUNT to spend or to send to anyone without asking
your bank if they have been paid. Even with a hold, your
account is credited before your bank has been paid.
If the draft you deposited comes back because it was stolen, forged,
or is a counterfeit you will owe your bank all
the money plus return charges.
www.fraudaid.com/check_liability.htm |
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You gave out your bank, credit union, credit card,
PayPal, Post Bank, or other account number so that money could be wired
or drafts could be deposited into the account and it hasn't happened
yet:
Any funds that are transferred into your
account as a result of a work-at-home scam will be money stolen from
someone else's account. Any deposited drafts will be forged,
stolen, and counterfeit.
The following instructions are for residents of all
countries.
Credit Card accounts:
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Western Union and MoneyGram were
designed to send money to friends and family, not to send
money to strangers.
NEVER WIRE MONEY TO A STRANGER! |
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R Contact the credit
card company stating that an unauthorized party has your account
number and may be wiring stolen money into the account.
R Ask for a new card number or an entirely new account.
R If you are assigned
a new card number, monitor your account very carefully. It is
possible, though rare, for fresh unauthorized transactions using the old card
number to be recorded on your account anyway.
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Bank, credit union,
and PostBank accounts only:
R Contact your
financial institution
stating that an unauthorized party has your account number and may
wire stolen funds into your account, or may make an unauthorized
deposit of counterfeit drafts.
R Ask that the
account be closed.
R Check back in a
couple of days to ensure the account has been closed and that a
service charge or interest credit has not kept the account open.
R Open a new account
using your name configured in a different manner. Example:
instead of your full name, address, and telephone number, open the
account with your first name initial and last name - no other
information.
There's no point in providing your information to
unknown parties every time you write a check. This will also
make it more difficult for criminals to forge your name since you
are only providing your first name initial.
R Switch automatic
deposits to the new account and inform depositing companies and/or
agencies of the change.
R Switch your Bill
Pay setup to the new account and inform the creditors of the change.
R Notify any
companies whose bills are paid by automatic withdrawal of the
change.
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PayPal only:
R Verify your PayPal
account balance.
If funds have already been transferred into your
PayPal account, go HERE. Otherwise, continue below.
R Return the current balance
in your PayPal account to the attached financial institution or
credit card account.
R Check both your
PayPal account and your attached PayPal bank account or credit card
account the following
day to ensure the funds belonging to you have been transferred out
of PayPal.
R As soon as you have
a zero balance in your PayPal account, contact PayPal and
tell them that scammers have your PayPal access information and that
you want to close this account and open a new one.
Tell them not to accept any deposits into the current
account before it is closed.
R Go back the next
day to verify that your PayPal account has been closed.
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PayPal and
attached
bank, credit union, PostBank, or credit card account:
R Contact your
financial institution or credit card company
stating that an unauthorized party has your account number and may
wire stolen funds into your account, or may make an unauthorized
deposit of counterfeit drafts.
R State that you want
your account flagged for now because you have to redeposit funds
from your PayPal account before you can close your bank account (see
above).
R Next, follow the
instructions for PayPal above.
R Last, follow the
instructions for bank and credit union accounts above.
R For credit cards,
ask that new cards be issued or that the account be closed entirely.
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If your circumstances do not fit the above solution and you have checked
the MENU for solutions and have not found
what you need, please write to
so we can
review your problem and offer alternate solutions or intervention.
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