The counterfeit check scam has hit a new level of sophistication as shown by mailings that hit our region the past few days.
Here’s how it works:
The intended victim receives a check in the mail, usually just short of $5,000. The accompanying letter says the recipient has been selected for a grant of just under $10,000 from a grant brokerage firm called “Beverly Hills Grants.” The letter claims that every year wealthy individuals select people to receive these grants and the check represents a half-payment.
The victim is advised to cash the enclosed check and then go to the firm’s website www.BeverlyHillsGrants.com.
The website instructs the victim to take ten percent of the check and purchase a GREENDOT Universal Reload Card or a Greendot Money pak and send the broker the number on the card by placing it on an attached form to be e-mailed to him.
Here’s the best part; he says once this is done, he will send the second check.
What do the scammers get from this?  They get the victim’s $500 by using the “gift card.” The checks are worthless.
The photos on the web site were no doubt pulled off web pages some where, the names are fictitious, and the whole deal is to be avoided like the plague.
This scam is very complex and convoluted. The language in the letter that comes with the check is very similar to the more familiar “counterfeit check” scheme that originates from the West African nation of Benin, adjacent to Nigeria.

From the Better Business Bureau serving West Central Ohio.