Joe Ellis/The Clarion-Ledger

At his office in Jackson on Friday, postal inspector Dwayne Martin sorts through a stack of counterfeit money orders that have been confiscated in Mississippi over the last two to three months.

At a glance
In fiscal 2004, 3,733 counterfeit money orders were confiscated in the United States with a face value of roughly $3 million.

In fiscal 2005, more than 51,000 fake money orders were confiscated with a face value of $45 million.

A retired Brookhaven man thought he was helping individuals in Nigeria by cashing money orders and wiring most of the money to them.

But in reality, he became one of the unwitting Mississippians falling prey to the Nigerian money order scam, U.S. Postal Service officials say. This and other scams are costing Americans millions.

The elderly man, whom authorities won't name, lost nearly $30,000 in retirement savings in November after being contacted on the Internet.

A similar thing recently happened to a Brandon woman who lost $15,000.

"It's just the tip of the iceberg," postal inspector Dwayne Martin of Jackson said. "I'm getting 15 or 20 a day of the counterfeit money orders sent from Nigeria ... They will ship a whole box."

Joe Ellis/The Clarion-Ledger

A counterfeit money order (top) is shown next to an authentic one. Security features in the authentic money order that are not present in the counterfeit include an embedded security thread and a watermark image of Benjamin Franklin that is visible when the order is held up to the light.

Beware if:

A money order comes from Nigeria or other parts of Africa. The postal service doesn't issue money orders in Nigeria or other parts of Africa.

Anytime anyone sends you a money order, asks you to cash it and wire the money.

Money order is for an amount more than $1,000. The maximum amount of a U.S. Postal Service Money Order is $1,000.

How to tell if it is real

A U.S. Postal Service Money Order has security features including:
Watermark of Benjamin Franklin that is visible when held to light USPS security thread embedded in the money order paper

Warning instructions on reverse side
No discolorations around the denomination amounts showing if they have been erased

Visit www.usps.com/postalinspectors/
moalert.htm for more information.

Often the fake money orders are being sent from Nigeria to someone in England or Canada who thinks he or she is doing a legitimate business deal by mass mailing the money orders to individuals in the United States, Martin said.

In fiscal 2004, 3,733 counterfeit money orders were confiscated in the United States with a face value of roughly $3 million. In fiscal 2005, more than 51,000 fake money orders were confiscated with a face value of $45 million. Mississippi's figures haven't been tabulated separately from the national figures yet.

Brookhaven postal service manager Serrina Waters has seen an increase in counterfeit money orders in her area. She said victims are contacted through Internet chatrooms or e-mail. The scam has been going on for about three years across the country.

"The elderly man said he thought it was a scam, but he went ahead with it," Waters said. He cashed about 31 postal money orders, each with a value of about $950, she said.

When a person cashes one of the fake money orders, Waters said, they are responsible for repaying the money they receive.

"It's almost impossible to catch the scammers," Waters said. "They're like ghosts."

Scammers spark Internet conversations, then ask the victim to cash money orders and then wire the money so they can pay for a sick family member's medical care. Victims tend to be the elderly, Martin said.

Many victims cash the fake money orders at banks or credit unions. Postal officials suggest people bring postal money orders to their local post office because workers are trained to identify counterfeit money orders.

Martin said if money is wired overseas, U.S. authorities have limited or no jurisdiction in the cases.

Allen Bryant, resident agent in charge of the Secret Service in Mississippi, said his agency is busy on similar scams in the state.

One major scam operating is the Canadian lottery where a person is told he or she has won a particular lottery. The person will receive a counterfeit check in an amount between $4,000 and $60,000 and asked to deposit it and wire a certain amount back to an individual.

In a similar scheme, the scammer offers the victim a percentage of the money if the victim will cash the money orders and wire the balance. The scammer claims to be a business owner whose customers use postal money orders to pay for products.

Also, thieves purchase an item for sale on the Internet, but send a counterfeit money order for several thousand dollars more than the purchase price. They ask the seller to cash the money order and return the difference.

"If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is," Martin said.

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pb...63/1002/NEWS01

Contact: http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/

Attached Images

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Received E-mail from above company, chumyang@gmail.cn, looking for a home based offshore representative.
The job was to receive payments from their "esteemed" customers in USA and Canada, then forward payments onwards, keeping 10% commission.
Received a cashiers check for $7,000 by FedEx from an address in Texas, deposited it into my Bank of America account on a Saturday Morning and was informed that $5,000 would be available after midnight on the Monday, the remainder after 10 days.
E-mailed Dr Chum Yang, dryangchum@yahoo.com.hk, and informed him accordingly.
Checked my Bank of America balance on Tuesday Morning, found that the $5,000 had been deposited, wired $4855 by MoneyGram to Shaquenta Taylor, Mesquite, Texas, as per Dr Chum Yang's request.
Bank of America pulled the $7,000 deposit on Tuesday Afternoon stating it was a counterfeit cashiers check.
I now owe Bank of America $4855, THANKS DR CHUM YANG !!!
Other Info:- yangoperation@yahoo.com
Dr Chum Yang, Chum Yang Export Co. Ltd., 312, Des Voeux Road, Postal 510410, HONG KONG. Tel:- 86-20-3633114

You received a cashier's check, this thread is a bout counterfeit Postal money orders