Beware of car wrap scams promising easy money
If you're looking for a job or a way to earn some extra cash, be sure you know who you are dealing with.
The Better Business Bureau says a scam involving car wraps is revving up across the nation.
Here is how the scam works:
You'll get a text message out of the blue from someone you do not know asking if you would like to get money to have your car wrapped with an advertisement.
The pay offered is typically pretty good, with the scammer offering hundreds of dollars a week.
If you say yes, you will get a cashier's check sent to you with instructions on how to deposit it.
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The scammer will then tell you to use it to wire money to a local vender, who will create and install the car wrap.
The trouble starts when your bank figures out that cashier's check is fake, and the money was never there.
If you sent the cash to a vendor or spent any of that money, you will be responsible for paying it back, and the bank will seize whatever cash is in your account to cover the fake check.
"You want to be careful if someone is sending you a check and you do not know this person, it is out of the blue, wanting to send you the check," said Leah Napoliello with the Houston Better Business Bureau. "You also want to wait a while. If you get a check and deposit it, do not spend it immediately."
It could take your bank several days or weeks to figure out the check is a fake.
Something else to look out for, the BBB says the scammers often instruct victims to use mobile payment apps. The organization says you should never send money using a mobile app to someone you do not know, and use it only for close friends and family members.
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