SPEEDWAY — A Speedway rental property host is spreading the word about a scam that uses personal information from innocent people.
Mike Doran owns a short-term rental and lists the home on Airbnb and VRBO.
He’s very busy during May but not so much in January, which is why Doran was thrilled to get a message on VRBO from a customer asking to rent from January 4 through January 25.
“It was really enticing at first,” said Doran. “You don’t want your place staying empty."
The customer, who called himself Micheal Cecil, sent a check for the rental.
But the check was for $13,100.95. That’s more than $6,000 over the rental amount.
The name and address at the top of the check was a woman named Linda in Bristol, Pennsylvania.
Doran said the customer told him he accidentally overpaid and asked Doran to wire the $6,000 back to the customer’s vacation planner.
Doran said he became very skeptical and asked the customer for a copy of his identification.
The customer sent a copy of a driver’s license of a Connecticut man named Michael Cecil. We won’t share his last name to protect his privacy.
WRTV Investigates tracked down the man on the driver’s license. When we called, his wife answered the phone.
She said her husband’s identity was stolen recently and Michael reported it to the police.
WRTV Investigates also contacted Linda, the name on the check, but we could not reach her or her family members. Our research shows Linda is an elderly woman.
We had Mike Doran call the VRBO customer at his San Diego area code phone number and ask for Linda’s contact information.
The customer would not provide it but said Linda is his boss.
Mike Doran also asked the man if he’s a Caucasian male.
“Yes,” the man responded in a heavy African accent.
He insisted Doran transfer the money to his bank account.
“It’s all very frightening what someone can do from a keyboard thousands of miles away,” said Doran. “It’s very concerning."
We shared the messages and check with Jennifer Adamany, director of communication at the Better Business Bureau Serving Central Indiana.
Adamany believes Linda, the woman on the check, and Michael, the man on the driver’s license are both innocent victims.
"It’s why it’s really important to not send your identification over, especially in a text message or an email,” said Adamany. “Scammers pose as an official government entity or a bank and they come up with reasons for why they need proof of your identity and that’s how they get you to take pictures of your identification. It’s in their hands to do as they please to try to scam other people or to steal your identity, and chances are that’s what happened in this case.”
Scammers are using innocent people to carry out a check overpayment scam.
“The part of it where it’s a check sent saying they overpaid, we’ve seen that for years,” said Adamany. “The scenario where it’s someone seeking a vacation rental is not as common. This scam has a new twist on it. "
The check overpayment approach is often used in employment scams or scams involving classified ads for luxury items.
Here’s how it works. The customer comes up with a reason for writing the check for more than the purchase price for the item or service. The scammer then asks the consumer to wire back the difference after the check is deposited.
Later, the scammer’s check bounces, leaving the consumer liable for the entire amount.
Your bank may even tell you a check has “cleared,” but that doesn’t necessarily mean you are in the clear—it can take several weeks to find out that a check has bounced.
Experts say says the scam often works because, though the checks are counterfeit, they may look good enough to fool bank tellers.
The Better Business Bureau says the average consumer loses more than $1,000 to fake check scams.
A BBB report on fake check fraud pointed to Nigeria and other West African countries as being deeply involved.
“Nigerians and nationals of other West African countries appear to be deeply involved in fake check frauds, though others are likely involved,” read the BBB report. “Every prosecution of fraud involving fake checks that BBB is aware of, where the victims respond by sending money, has involved Nigerian fraudsters.”
Adamany points to several red flags in Mike Doran’s situation
- The scammer repeatedly used the word “kindly” in his messages
- The man misspelled his own name “Micheal.” It does not match the driver’s license he sent.
- The scammer used various locations. The addresses and phone numbers all come from different states including Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Utah and California.
"It just seems sketchy when it’s all these different places,” said Adamany.
Adamany said she can’t think of a legitimate reason why someone would send you a check for too much money and ask you to send money back.
“If someone put too much money in a check, they could cancel the check rather than have you send money back," said Adamany.
Mike Doran filed police reports with Speedway Police and the FBI.
He also cut off communication with the scammer and hopes to never get any requests like that again.
“It just seems like it’s getting easier and easier for these scammers,” said Doran. “Scary."
TIPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF (Source: BBB and FTC)
- Never cash a check that comes with extra money
- If you deposited a fake check into your account, notify your bank and the bank that issued the check
- Know who you are dealing with – independently confirm your buyer’s name, street address, and telephone number.
- Never accept a check for more than your selling price.
- Never agree to wire back funds to a buyer – a legitimate buyer will not pressure you to do so, and you have limited recourse if there is a problem with a wire transfer.
- Resist pressure to “act now.” If the buyer’s offer is good now, it should be good when the check clears.
- If you accept payment by check, ask for a check drawn on a local bank or a bank with a local branch. You can visit that bank branch to determine if the check is legitimate.
- Consider an alternative method of payment, such as an escrow service or online payment service. If the buyer wants to use a service you have not heard of, be sure to check it out to be sure it is reliable – check its Web site, call its customer service hotline, and read its terms of agreement and privacy policy. If you do not feel comfortable with the service, do not use it.
WRTV Investigates contacted VRBO and the company said they are looking into the incident involving Mike Doran.
“We are investigating the traveler account they interacted with and will take the appropriate action, which may include termination of the traveler’s account,” said VRBO in a statement to WRTV. “We appreciate you bringing this matter to our attention and giving us time to investigate. We take fraud prevention very seriously, and keeping our site secure for both travelers and hosts is a priority.”
VRBO encourages hosts to interact with travelers directly on the VRBO platform and to take payment through our systems.
“This ensures the transaction is verified by our fraud prevention technology and that we’re able to provide proper support, should a host run into any issues,” read the VRBO statement. “If a host believes that they may have been contacted by a fraudulent individual through the Vrbo platform, they should immediately contact our 24x7 customer service team.”
VRBO has a Book with Confidence Guarantee [vrbo.com] that protects travelers who book and pay for a property through the Vrbo website – including payment protection against fraudulent listings, lodging assistance if travelers are unable to check-in, and rebooking assistance if the homeowner cancels at the last minute.
