Spring Break
University sophomore recent victim of Internet check fraud
Brenna McCabe
Issue date: 12/4/07 Section: News
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12/04/07 - James Scott Barden knew he was in trouble when he went to the bank and the teller wouldn't cash his money order checks. It was right after Thanksgiving that the University of Rhode Island sophomore was informed that he owed just under $2,000 because the money orders were fakes.
According to the official FBI Web site, 4.9 percent of Internet fraud victims in the United States have filed complaints about check fraud, as opposed to other common fraud schemes.
The Nigerian letter scam, one with striking similarities to the scam that Barden became entangled in, was cited by the FBI as one of the most common type of check frauds. Recipients are given the opportunity to "share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author, a self-proclaimed government official, is trying to transfer illegally out of Nigeria," according to the Web site. Barden fell victim to a similar fraud, fully expecting to share in the profit of an African man who needed to find a way to cash money orders in the United States.
On Oct. 9, he received an e-mail from "Evergreen LaPlant," a supposed artist who owned a gallery in the United Kingdom. The e-mail stated that he was looking for a representative from the United States to help him "receive payments from my customers in the states." The "artist" claimed that "getting payments is very expensive," and that he needed a temporary representative in the area.
The agreement was that Barden would cash the money orders, take 10 percent for himself, and send the rest through a Western Union money transfer back to LaPlant.
Barden admitted the e-mail from "LaPlant" sounded a little suspicious.
Although his first thought was that the e-mail was a scam, he sent his name, telephone number and address to LaPlant in hopes of earning some quick cash.
"I didn't think it was fake money though," he said. "I thought it might be something illegal, but I saved all of the e-mails just in case."
During a two-and-a-half month period, Barden not only received two money orders for $950 each, but also acquired 60 e-mails from LaPlant and his "clients," flooding his URI account with confirmations, specifics about future money transfers, and a story about LaPlant "losing [his] lovely daughter in the hospital."
According to the official FBI Web site, 4.9 percent of Internet fraud victims in the United States have filed complaints about check fraud, as opposed to other common fraud schemes.
The Nigerian letter scam, one with striking similarities to the scam that Barden became entangled in, was cited by the FBI as one of the most common type of check frauds. Recipients are given the opportunity to "share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author, a self-proclaimed government official, is trying to transfer illegally out of Nigeria," according to the Web site. Barden fell victim to a similar fraud, fully expecting to share in the profit of an African man who needed to find a way to cash money orders in the United States.
On Oct. 9, he received an e-mail from "Evergreen LaPlant," a supposed artist who owned a gallery in the United Kingdom. The e-mail stated that he was looking for a representative from the United States to help him "receive payments from my customers in the states." The "artist" claimed that "getting payments is very expensive," and that he needed a temporary representative in the area.
The agreement was that Barden would cash the money orders, take 10 percent for himself, and send the rest through a Western Union money transfer back to LaPlant.
Barden admitted the e-mail from "LaPlant" sounded a little suspicious.
Although his first thought was that the e-mail was a scam, he sent his name, telephone number and address to LaPlant in hopes of earning some quick cash.
"I didn't think it was fake money though," he said. "I thought it might be something illegal, but I saved all of the e-mails just in case."
During a two-and-a-half month period, Barden not only received two money orders for $950 each, but also acquired 60 e-mails from LaPlant and his "clients," flooding his URI account with confirmations, specifics about future money transfers, and a story about LaPlant "losing [his] lovely daughter in the hospital."
