ScamVictimsUnited.com

My bank, Washington Mutual, won't do anything! They say I am responsible for $2850.00. I fell victim because I was selling a $350 day bed on craigslist.com and was propositioned by "Amy Ann" in Canada....I didn't pay attention to the red flags, and I didn't listen to the tiny voices saying, this doesn't seem quite right...now, I am 3 grand in debt! They sent me 3 MOs totalling 2850 and I wired the remaining after I took out the money for the bed to Nigeria thinking it was for the shipping costs! Then they wanted the 350 back as well because the shippers mother had developed breast cancer and they put the money down as a deposit at teh hospital!! (Oh I could kill them!!!!) So I wired that back too, thinking I was just oo deep in something I didn't understand so I wanted to get that money as far away from me as possible! OOps!!!

I know 3K may not sound like a lot compared to some of your stories I've read about...but I am a single, working, 21 year old and I've been trying to support myself since I was 16 and doing really well with bank accounts, savings, credit cards, etc. Now Washington Mutual is saying they will report me to some checking something or other and I will never be able to open a bank account again and this money will go to collections, and my credit will be screwed. I just don't know how to fight it! I need help. I've made an online report with the FBI..yeah, like that'll go anywhere; I can't seem to get a hold of any local police to help me. I'm going to call the NFIC. But can anyone tell me...am I really going to have to pay the bank??

VV-
You will have to pay back the bank, unfortunately very few of those that have been scammed don't have to pay it back. However, in some circumstances enough media coverage and giving the bank a bad repuation scares them. Read the admin's page on what to do if you are scammed. This includes writing a letter to the bank president and ANY media outlets that will listen.
I guess what the banks don't understand is if you don't have the money, you don't have the money! I am surprised more banks don't step up and offer a payment plan at no interest (since it was out of their own sheer stupidity most of the time that these checks aren't caught) BUT THEY PROBABLY MAKE INTEREST OFF CEHCK COLLECTIONS - which means they make money off the money you lost! And WAMU is notorious on this board for being a BAD BANK!
VV- Make some noise, write your media outlets get a story out there on how bad of a bank this is for not recognizing any of the 3 fake money orders!

Sunray is correct VV unfortunately you will have to pay the bank back. FACT: Though out of stupidity the bank did credit your account that money
FACT: You did spend that money
FACT: You owe the bank what you spent.

To avoid situations like this in the future it is advisable to not only call the issuing bank to make sure the check is good but also track down the account holder and ask them ... did you write a check to me? if they say no there is your answer, if they said yes they have record of it, then put it in the bank provided there are funds to cover it which the issuing bank can verify. DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT just call the issuing bank they have no clue if the account holder really wrote you the check,they can ONLY verify that there are funds to cover the check.

Yes, you will have to settle with the bank. I have read a few posts on this site, where the banks settled for less than the full amount. You can always open an account at another bank and start fresh. Also, you can complain to the Federal Reserve Board about this bank and their failure to identify counterfeit items. They will hide behind the agreement you signed when the account was opened.The Big Guys seem to winning -a nd the victims take the heat.

Open up your new account before they report you to Check Systems

Herein is a problem concerning the banks. When you deposit a check at your bank they have no idea if it is counterfeit or not unless it is painfully obvious. they do not know if there is even enough money in the account and bank it is drawn on. They simply verify that the bank routing number matches that of the branch listed on the face of the check.

The check then goes through the Federal Reserve and then onto the bank it is drawn on, there is where it is usually discovered counterfeit or forged.

Banks really are getting my skin crawling with stupidity over all of this, they know that they cannot find out for sure about an instrument ( check ) until it either is paid or comes back to them unpaid. Yet they still insist on immediately or within 72 hours crediting an account with the money ahead of final clearance.

Until banking laws are tightened up on and banks start getting held responsible for this, things will not change.

Money has to credited within an alloted time due Reg CC, and we do not match the routing numbers either, the routing number is never keyed in at the branch level.

Doesnt a machine check that? I was told it goes through a machine of some sort that matches that stuff, I could be mistaken and if I am , I appologize.

Routing number does not go back to a branch, it goes back to a bank (large banks may have several routing numbers), no check is run through a reader at branch level, therefore nothing on the check is "read". If you have other questions, may be able to help you.

wow armac thanks for the clarification. Maybe it would be helpful to have a sticky on the forum from someone who knows how checks are processed to clarify from time of deposit to time they can come back counterfeit what is the general route of a check for clearance. This seems to be an area of mass confusion for victims to understand how their bank didnt spot it.

Knowledge is the key here, as we learn new things the scams evolve, we must work together

I just found out that I am a victim of $25,000 fraud!!!! I can not pay back this money and am very scared!!! The bank put a hold on the check and didnt tell me that it didn't clear until after I withdrew the monies. The branch manager calls me 5 days after the check's hold came off and said that the check came back. That's all he said.

No, I don't mean suicide...You could do a BK 7 and since it's not a "Civil violation" (In other words, you didn't mean to help a scam intentionally) you could very well not have to repay this.

I'll admit, I couldn't understand the "Obviousness" of these scam letters, till I got one that actually was so well written, I gave them 5 secs of belief before I woke up.