Merchant Newsletter - September 3, 2005

Analyzing a Phony Bank Check 



This check carried two scams for the price of one!.

  
Hurricane Katrina has hardly ended and the scams are already beginning.  There are a LOT of people who need aid.. DON'T waste it by giving it to a scammer.

The scammers are already starting their email campaigns, and with a disaster of this magnitude, we expect telephone solicitations as well.   

To INSURE that your dollars go to the right place, make up your mind NOW. If you decide not to donate, that's your free choice. If you DO decide to donate, do it proactively.  Go to your favorite, known organization's office or web site and DO IT TODAY...  Then when the inevitable calls come in, you can just tell them you already donated, and avoid both the scammers and the ones you do not recognize without a long discussion, and get back to business!

Safe Havens: If you are not sure who to trust, the two most respected organizations (who are already there and working) are the American Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Remember, third parties, radio & TV stations, even 'authorized collection facilities' often take a 'cut' to 'defray marketing expenses' !  Just go directly to the web site of the organization to make sure every penny you donate gets there.  The number of people planning on getting rich by legitimately or illegitimately collecting donations is sickening. 

 


'EVIL TWIN' HOTSPOTS: One example of how hackers get your wireless data is via an ''Evil Twin.'' Say you're about to log onto your local Starbucks' T-Mobile connection to gain access to the Internet. Nearby, an attacker with an ordinary laptop running special software can interfere with the Hotspot's legitimate network connection by sending a stronger signal from a base station positioned close to the wireless client (Starbucks) thus turning the fake access point into a so-called Evil Twin. You see a Web site that looks identical to the legitimate T-Mobile logon screen you normally see, asking for your user name, password or a credit card number. But in fact, you are really logged onto the Evil Twin Web site. So when you enter in your account information, everything is being captured by the bad guys.

Some of the Evil Twin sites may actually supply you with Internet access so that wherever you go, everything you type and receive is also being intercepted and stolen. And you may never be the wiser until it's too late.

One of our merchants, Di Blasi of America, received a phony US bank money order, complete with an 'Overpayment Scam' ruse.  The purchaser, from the Netherlands was hoping to get $3200 in merchandise, along with cash back!

Fortunately, as a reader of this newsletter, he spotted the scam and informed us.  He was kind enough to send us the forgery so we could view it and inform others.

Apparently, the forgers got hold of some old, commercial check stock, these are old, pre-printed forms by Deluxe, who still print similar blank forms and checks today.  You can cee the Deluxe form number on the left hand edge of the check:

That alone would be a sure tip-off, banks no longer use generic forms, they have their checks professionally offset-printed.

The forgers used a laser to put the a bank logo on the check, they need to check their toner, as the right hand edge of the logo is not completely filled in.  In addition, banks always print their PHYSICAL address, not a PO Box.  We assume the forgers did not want someone actually taking it to the bank:


Oddly, the pre-printed form had it's own error- the word 'remitter' is missing the 'i'.  Perhaps this caused a large batch of these checks to be thrown out, and somehow the fraudsters got their mitts on them.

Finally (and this was just plain stupid), in an attempt to make the check look 'official'. they added the text 'Two signatures required'.  rather odd, when the check has only ONE signature line!

 

DiBlasi of America manufacturers a unique folding motor scooter that gives you immediate mobility in just 3 seconds! This compact and lightweight street legal motorbike is perfect for private pilots, boat owners & anyone who travels. They have been using Pocket Verifier on an iPAQ to accept credit cards at their tradeshows since 2002.  They were also kind enough to send us the subject of this week's newsletter!


Last week we informed you that Treo 650 ROM Upgrade users should also perform a 'Bluetooth Reset' on their Pocket Spectrums.  In addition, after the upgrade, you MUST leave your phone in the 'Discoverable' mode, otherwise no Bluetooth devices will function properly, including the Pocket Spectrum. 

Free Merchant Toolbar!  Our Toolbar will take you directly to the Merchant Control center, as well as provide many other powerful web searching and information features.  To see all of the powerful features of our toolbar, or to download your own free copy, click here.  

ORDER FREE MERCHANT MATERIALS HERE!!!

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