University sophomore recent victim of Internet check fraud
Brenna McCabe
Issue date: 12/4/07 Section: News
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Barden said he waited a long time to cash the money orders and that's when LaPlant started flooding his inbox with inquiries about his "earnings."
Still, with the intention of keeping the 10 percent and sending the rest back to LaPlant, Barden went to cash the money order checks.
"I found out [they were] fake," he said. "My mom was on business in Chicago and she met with someone in the police department there [who deals with fraud.]"
After realizing that the checks were fake, Barden sent an e-mail to LaPlant, confronting him about the checks. LaPlant quickly replied the same day, asking, "Will you like our relationship to be ended with peace or with a problem? Why don't you want to send me my money for me to use and solve my difficulties I am into?"
The last e-mail Barden received from LaPlant read: "Attention James, I have contacted my client about your information and he told me that you are lying, so let me know the truth now before I contact the FBI."
But Barden beat LaPlant to the chase by going straight to the URI Police Department and filling out his own report to the FBI.
Even though LaPlant claimed that he was an established artist in the United Kingdom, other e-mails that Barden received placed him in Africa, which put the incident "way out of the jurisdiction" of the URI police.
"They said they couldn't really do anything because this guy was from Africa," Barden said. "I lost $2,000 - I had to pay back the money for the [fake] checks."
Lt. Michael Chalek of the URI police said that it was a rare instance that a student comes in to file a complaint about Internet fraud.
"I think most people are smart enough to recognize they are getting scammed," Chalek said. "The rest, I think, are too embarrassed to report it."
Chalek said that the department's resources are "somewhat limited," but students who get scammed on the Internet should file a report anyway.
"I mean, if we can pinpoint where it happened, sometimes we can do something about it," he said. "We can get local law enforcement involved or pass it on to a federal law enforcement agency."
Barden said students should watch out when they get e-mails similar to the one that he received.
"If it's too good to be true, it is," he said.
Still, with the intention of keeping the 10 percent and sending the rest back to LaPlant, Barden went to cash the money order checks.
"I found out [they were] fake," he said. "My mom was on business in Chicago and she met with someone in the police department there [who deals with fraud.]"
After realizing that the checks were fake, Barden sent an e-mail to LaPlant, confronting him about the checks. LaPlant quickly replied the same day, asking, "Will you like our relationship to be ended with peace or with a problem? Why don't you want to send me my money for me to use and solve my difficulties I am into?"
The last e-mail Barden received from LaPlant read: "Attention James, I have contacted my client about your information and he told me that you are lying, so let me know the truth now before I contact the FBI."
But Barden beat LaPlant to the chase by going straight to the URI Police Department and filling out his own report to the FBI.
Even though LaPlant claimed that he was an established artist in the United Kingdom, other e-mails that Barden received placed him in Africa, which put the incident "way out of the jurisdiction" of the URI police.
"They said they couldn't really do anything because this guy was from Africa," Barden said. "I lost $2,000 - I had to pay back the money for the [fake] checks."
Lt. Michael Chalek of the URI police said that it was a rare instance that a student comes in to file a complaint about Internet fraud.
"I think most people are smart enough to recognize they are getting scammed," Chalek said. "The rest, I think, are too embarrassed to report it."
Chalek said that the department's resources are "somewhat limited," but students who get scammed on the Internet should file a report anyway.
"I mean, if we can pinpoint where it happened, sometimes we can do something about it," he said. "We can get local law enforcement involved or pass it on to a federal law enforcement agency."
Barden said students should watch out when they get e-mails similar to the one that he received.
"If it's too good to be true, it is," he said.
