Posted on 12/15/2003 4:44:19 AM PST by Holly_P
GILMANTON — A local exotic bird dealer says she is out $5,000 as a result of a bogus Internet transaction where she received a bad cashier’s check from a man claiming to be in Africa.
Authorities who investigate such cases of fraud say they are more common than one might expect and that they are more frequently seeing individuals receiving counterfeit checks.
"You would think you could trust people ... I never thought this would happen to me," said Barbara Murray of Crystal Lake Road.
Murray, who says she is the victim of fraud, makes her living by raising and breeding exotic birds such as parakeets, cockatoos and macaws.
Until recently, she dealt almost exclusively with local pet shops.
However, trouble recently arose when she attempted to sell the birds on a Web site.
Murray said a man who went by the name "Tony Romane" contacted her by e-mail expressing an interest in buying a breeding pair of two Australian Cockatoos.
The all-white birds are native to Australia and fetch more than $2,000 a piece.
"Romane" reportedly indicated that he was working at an oil refinery plant in the North African county of Libya. It was for this reason that he told Murray, his purchasing of the birds would be handled through a money-handler in Nigeria.
Murray agreed to sell the birds to the man and shortly thereafter received a cashier’s check for $5,000 that was supposed to cover the cost of the two birds, a health certification process and their shipping.
The amount actually covered more than was necessary and the buyer instructed Murray to send him back the overage.
Murray deposited the check, which was marked as coming from a New Jersey-based bank, at Laconia Savings Bank.
Thinking the money was in her account, she then used the funds to pay some bills and to get a head-start on some Christmas shopping.
Murray returned to her bank less than a week later to find out that money from the cashier’s check was never placed in her account.
"I went into the bank and was told I was $3,000 in the negative," she said.
Murray said bank officials told her the check ended up being no good and they are currently working with her to see the money paid back.
Laconia Savings Bank Senior Vice President Bernard G. McLaughlin refused to comment on the matter, citing privacy law that forbids the release of personal banking transaction information.
However, Holly Fraumeni, a special agent with the Secret Service in Manchester, shed light on the subject saying the incident resembles many recent scams that involve unwitting consumers receiving counterfeit checks.
Fraumeni said such instances fall under the umbrella of "advanced fee fraud" or "4-1-9 schemes." In recent year’s agents have received reports of numerous such scams coming from West African nations.
Fraumeni said the scams usually begin through the Internet and involve individuals contacting others offering the chance to make money through business transactions.
In cases where people are offering to buy things from Web sites, she said the individuals usually purposely send more money than is needed in the form of counterfeit checks. They subsequently ask victims to send the overage back in dollars that end up being legitimate.
Fraumeni said the counterfeit checks often go undetected for a short amount of time as banking institutions go through the deposit process.
"When the victim deposits it (a counterfeit check), it just doesn’t get processed quick enough. A victim can experience loss when they have funds to cover the check and spend the money thinking the deposit will be made up," explained Fraumeni.
The agent said such occurrence are "quite common and overwhelming."
Officers from the Gilmanton Police Department, the agency currently handling the case, said this isn’t the first time they have seen such this kind of instance in town.
Sgt. Philip O’Brien reported that this past spring his department investigated a similar case involving another local exotic bird dealer who had received a bad check.
"It was almost exactly the same circumstances," he said.
O’Brien said the case will likely be turned over to the state Attorney General’s Office.
Meanwhile, authorities and banking officials say the best way to deal with such crimes is simple prevention.
Fraumeni said a person’s best way to avoid such a situation is to never accept checks from people looking for cash back. She added that consumers should also avoid spending any of the money until the check has cleared.
McLaughlin agreed, saying that consumers are facing a time when "fraud and identity theft is on the rise in a very big way."
He said individuals need to be extremely aware of such frauds and the possibility of people trying to gain access to money that isn’t theirs.
"There are hundreds and hundreds of scams out there right now. If people think something doesn’t seem right, they should stop and check their transactions," said McLaughlin.
Such advice might have come too late for Murray, who is lamenting ever having tried to do business via the computer.
"I thought I was getting ahead of the game and could pay some bills and start holiday shopping ... now I’m nil," she said.
Murray does take comfort that she didn’t send the birds out before learning of the bad check. She usually ships the animals through Delta Airlines and was preparing to send the two cockatoos to Houston, Texas — where she was instructed they would be received and transported out of the country.
"I had the birds all lined up to go and thank God I didn’t send them. They could have ended up in limbo and it doesn’t take long for them to starve to death," she said.
Although she has the animals, the woman is out the money for the health certification and shipping. She must also find a way to pay back the bank for money she spent thinking it was in her account.
"They (bank personnel) are really being helpful ... I can’t complain about that," said Murray.
The local businesswoman said she will think twice about doing any more business through an Internet that appears in this case to have been anything but "for the birds."
Those seeking more information on prevention or the reporting of such fraud can go to the U.S. Secret Service Web site at www.secretservice.gov/alert419.shtml.
Geoffrey Cunningham Jr. can be reached by calling 524-3800 ext. 5931 or by e-mail at gcunningham@citizen.com
This should have set off about 15 alarm bells...
The amount actually covered more than was necessary and the buyer instructed Murray to send him back the overage.
This should have set off 20 more...
Fraumeni said a person’s best way to avoid such a situation is to never accept checks from people looking for cash back. She added that consumers should also avoid spending any of the money until the check has cleared.
Well, duh...but then again she could have invested in Enron like so many "smart" people did...
You would think you could trust people
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.