A woman from Escondido, Calif. has been arraigned on federal charges of conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud after authorities say she received more than $800,000 in counterfeit money orders and travelers checks. The scheme was devised to defraud people via Craigslist and Yahoo! sites.
Kathleen Wurts, 59, was charged in connection with a scam that began sometime around April 2010. Wurts allegedly worked to defraud people who used the Internet to find jobs, purchase and sell merchandise, and rent or buy property.
Wurts didn’t work alone, however. Her co-conspirators mailed her counterfeit money orders and travelers checks from outside the U.S., and provided her with stolen bank account and credit card numbers via e-mail and online chat rooms.
Wurts used the information to create fraudulent checks, and mailed the counterfeit money orders, travelers checks and fraudulent checks to victims, who had expected to receive their asking price for the items sold, but Wurts sent them checks for over that amount.
The victims were asked to deposit the checks into their accounts and wire the excess funds to an overseas account.
Wurts is alleged to have created more than $17.2 million in fraudulent checks using stolen information.
If you are selling or buying items online, be sure you verify who you are dealing with. If you receive a check for more than the agreed price, and are asked to deposit it and wire the extra, report it immediately to the police. It is likely a scam.
There are legitimate folks selling merchandise online. Just be sure that it’s those people you are dealing with before you provide your personal information, and before you exchange any money.
