eBay

phoebescollectables · ‎04-27-2005

There was an interesting article today in the NY times on Fake USPS money orders. So far most are coming out of Nigeria, Ghana and Eastern Europe. Here is the link for the story, but you have to register to see it. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/26/business/26forgery.html? It doesn't say if it also applies to International Money Orders but I know some Canadian Sellers do accept domestic Money Orders.

You can use this link to see how to spot the differenece between a legit and real money order. http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2005/04/26/business/forgery.gif

Michael

nan*55 · ‎04-27-2005

Thanks for the info:) *

lina-mallows · ‎04-27-2005

We gladly accept USPS GREEN Money orders.

ScotiaBank accepts them, on collection, with a fifteen business day hold.
We always tell our customers, if sending a money order, don't spend more for those fancy international PINK ones. Regardless of what the GREEN money orders say about being only 'valid in the US and its territories and posessions', I have never had a problem depositing them into my CANADIAN DOLLAR bank account here in Toronto.

I also always make a copy of all incoming money orders, to keep with our sales records. Normally I make a simple black and white copy. We recently purchased a new printer- Epson Stylus CX 5400. I went to make a copy, and hit the "color" button instead of the "B&W" button. Well, at a foot away, I can't tell the difference between the original, and the Epson copy. Even up real close, the faithfulness of colours is truly amazing. Scary, really scary, to think that a C$150 printer can yield such amazing results, and that's without trying.

ALWAYS CHECK FOR THE WATERMARK & EMBEDDED THEAD !!!!!
Here is the official USPS website link for more information about USPS money orders:
http://www.usps.com/missingmoneyorders/security.htm
This may also be of help:
If you have questions about accepting Postal Money Orders, call your nearest U.S. Postal Inspection Service™ Office or Post Office™. Call the fraud hotline at 1-800-372-8347 (Monday-Friday) or visit www.usps.com/postalinspectors for additional information. (While the website works, unfortunately the 1-800 is not available to Canadians.)

phoebescollectables · ‎04-27-2005

I have heard of some Royal Banks and Credit Unions accepting Domestice MO's but never Scotia Bank. I'm jealous.

Michael

sunset_sports_cards · ‎04-27-2005

My Royal branch will not take the Green US money orders. I have tried to pass them twice to no avail. Just the pink ones.

shoplineca · ‎04-27-2005

I have gotten a couple and I simply endorse them and mail them to my account with TD Waterhouse in NJ to deposit.

Malcolm

llee2 · ‎04-27-2005

They're definitely some counterfeit MO's floating around. I got stung for one a few years back (thankfully it was for only a small item).

It wasn't a postal MO, but a counterfeit US bank MO. The quality of the counterfeit was amazing. Had the DocuGuard Watermark on back, MicroPrint, finely perforated edges like many bank issued MO's, correct paper weight, etc.

There were a couple of clues upon close inspection that may have hinted that something was amiss, but I never caught them until after it was returned to me. See if you can spot anything suspicious...

P.S. The burn marks were done by the bank to as a counterfeit test.

Lincoln

llee2 · ‎04-27-2005

@#%^#%$ my lack of html skills...here's the front (I hope).

Lincoln

phoebescollectables · ‎04-27-2005

It says present for payment within months of this date. It doesn't say how many months!

sunset_sports_cards · ‎04-27-2005

Wow! It looks like the real deal! Thanks for the heads up on that, I will definately look closer at mine from now on!

mirakbiz_inc · ‎04-27-2005

The amazing thing is that someone will go through all that effort to scam $19.95

llee2 · ‎04-28-2005

"The amazing thing is that someone will go through all that effort to scam $19.95 "

He also scammed a few other sellers out of Dell laptop computers at the same time. My $20 item was an interchangeable palm rest cover no longer made by Dell for the laptops he "acquired". Guess he thought there's no point in stealing laptops if you can't steal the accessories to go with them as well.

Lincoln

phoebescollectables · ‎04-28-2005

So what are the various clues we should be looking for?

llee2 · ‎04-28-2005

Not really dead giveaways, but might give you pause... 2 spelling typos

1. Above the US Bank logo, "considered" is spelled as "concidered".

2. Under the "Notice to Customers", "applies" is spelled as "appies"

Lincoln

lina-mallows · ‎04-29-2005

Just a question for those who handle many of these types of cheques- do the large serial numbers at the top, which appear as black on the face, show as red on the back?
I receive numerous other cheques where this is the case.

ellingtons · ‎04-29-2005

LOL - They go through all the sophistication, and use the high tech equiptment it takes to fake a Money Order and then make spelling errors?...not the brightest crooks on the planet

wrightcomputes · ‎05-01-2005

Consider yourself lucky this one wasn't you:

We will not accept a printed payment instrument we can't verify. If the amount is such that it warrants caution, we will phone the issuer and verify the serial numbers and amounts. We obtain the phone numbers from 1-800-555-1212, or through the internet. Never use the phone number printed in the payment instrument.