"Be careful who you deal with:" Protecting your business from fake money order scams
MILWAUKEE -- It's a scam costing people and businesses millions each year. In a Contact 6 report, Katrina Cravy explains how one savvy employee kept his store from becoming a statistic.
Long's Bedding
"He was shopping for a bed and he came back to buy it this time," said Bob Long, Long's Bedding.
Bob Long has been in the furniture business for more than 50 years, but something about one customer made him suspicious. He wanted to pay for a king size bed with four, $700 money orders.
"The sale was for $2,700 and there was $100 change that would have to have been given to this person," said Long.
The customer also seemed to be in a hurry.
"He wanted to get the bed delivered right away, within three, four days. I mean, these people are not stupid. They know it's going to take five, six, seven days for it to come back to me and it will be too late by then," said Long.
But a savvy salesperson was able to buy some time to look into the money orders.
"Look, when we deliver the bed, three days later, we'll return the $100 change to you and the guy said that's OK," said Long.
Long and his staff immediately took a picture of the money orders and sent them to a bank.
"He calls us right back and says these checks are not right, do not take them," said Long.
Long, then called postal inspectors who investigated the money orders and verified they were fakes. Their probe led to a quick arrest.
Inspectors say there are several red flags, including variations in ink color and paper texture.
"Once you hold up the money order and you are unable to see the watermark along with the strip that is illuminated, once you hold it up at the light. If there's some markings by the amount that might look like it has been erased," said U.S. Postal Inspector, Amanda Kaur.
"You got to be careful with who you deal with. You certainly don't ever want to give change back to somebody," said Long.
The suspect in the cast faces federal charges for the counterfeit money orders and could spend up to five years in prison.