Post by iceman on Mar 31, 2008 5:03:40 GMT -5
Recently, there has been an increase in the number of counterfeit postal money orders in circulation as well as money order scams that have greatly harmed unsuspecting victims. Con artists who, in many cases, reside overseas contact their victims via Internet chat rooms or other online meeting sites. They convince their targets that they have encountered problems cashing postal money orders in their country (Nigeria to a large extent) and need help to cash them. These thieves mail counterfeit money orders to their victims, telling them that they will share some of this money after the victims deposit the orders into their personal bank accounts and then wire most of the money back to the sender. Within a week after recipients deposit the money orders, their banks contact them to let them know that the money orders were counterfeit. The banks hold the depositors accountable and withdraw funds from their accounts to cover the amounts of the bogus money orders, sometimes amounting to thousands of dollars. Those who are fortunate enough to bring these money orders to their local Post Offices before wiring money to the sender find out that their documents are worthless.
Anyone accepting postal money orders, including postal personnel, bank tellers, and those receiving payment via postal money orders for products or services need to know how to identify a counterfeit money order. A genuine postal money order contains a repeating watermark of Benjamin Franklin that passes through an open oval area located on the left-hand side of the order. It also includes a security thread with the lettering "USPS" running both forward and backward that becomes visible when the money order is held up to a light. The thread will appear black with white lettering. The money order also contains thin dark purple or black threads embedded throughout the paper. On the front of the money order, denomination amounts appear in two separate locations. Serial numbers on sequentially printed orders increase in numeric order from 00 to 99, independent of the last digit which also increases from 0 to 8, and cycles back again to 0. Counterfeiters miss this detail and print sequential serial numbers using the very last two digits. Discoloration of the denomination amount indicates erasure and alteration, flagging the likelihood of fraud. When held under a black light, such as one included within a counterfeit currency detector (available to postal Retail Associates), a bright indigo serial number appears next to the one printed in black ink on the reverse side of the document. The black light also causes the dust-sized threads that are imbedded in the paper to glow either bright green or indigo, and causes the security thread containing the letters “USPS”” to glow a bright red. Finally, the maximum value for a domestic postal money order is $1,000 ($700 for an international money order, $999.99 for a Canadian money order).
In most cases, a counterfeit money order lacks either the watermark or the security thread found in a real document. However, there is a type of counterfeit money order that contains all of the security features of "real" ones, known as "raised" money orders. These fraudulent documents were originally authentic money orders that were printed on genuine postal stock by the Postal Service. They were issued for one amount but later altered to falsely indicate a higher amount. A real $10 money order, for example, was found to be altered, possibly chemically, to appear to be an $810 money order. These altered versions have become an increasing problem for the Postal Service since they contain the Benjamin Franklin Watermark, security threads, and other features that indicate a genuine article. Alterations are sometimes so professionally engineered that the changes do not cause discoloration around the denomination amounts. To make matters worse, serial numbers on these orders do not generally match those published in the "bad Domestic Money Order" list of the Postal Bulletin because counterfeiters obviously do not report money order serial numbers as “lost or stolen” after they have altered the denomination amounts on these documents.
In addition to matching serial numbers to the fraudulent money order listing contained in the bi-weekly Postal Bulletin, Retail Associates need to make sure that the spelled out denomination amount printed on a customer’s money order does not begin more than a couple of millimeters to the left of the word “amount:.” If the spelled out amount begins, for example, almost an inch to the left of “amount:” this clearly indicates that someone has added additional lettering to change the designated amount of the document. Spelled out amounts on fraudulently altered (raised) money orders begin to the left of the word amount because it's much more difficult for the counterfeiter to erase and reprint the entire line of text in order to change the designated amount.
Anyone accepting postal money orders, including postal personnel, bank tellers, and those receiving payment via postal money orders for products or services need to know how to identify a counterfeit money order. A genuine postal money order contains a repeating watermark of Benjamin Franklin that passes through an open oval area located on the left-hand side of the order. It also includes a security thread with the lettering "USPS" running both forward and backward that becomes visible when the money order is held up to a light. The thread will appear black with white lettering. The money order also contains thin dark purple or black threads embedded throughout the paper. On the front of the money order, denomination amounts appear in two separate locations. Serial numbers on sequentially printed orders increase in numeric order from 00 to 99, independent of the last digit which also increases from 0 to 8, and cycles back again to 0. Counterfeiters miss this detail and print sequential serial numbers using the very last two digits. Discoloration of the denomination amount indicates erasure and alteration, flagging the likelihood of fraud. When held under a black light, such as one included within a counterfeit currency detector (available to postal Retail Associates), a bright indigo serial number appears next to the one printed in black ink on the reverse side of the document. The black light also causes the dust-sized threads that are imbedded in the paper to glow either bright green or indigo, and causes the security thread containing the letters “USPS”” to glow a bright red. Finally, the maximum value for a domestic postal money order is $1,000 ($700 for an international money order, $999.99 for a Canadian money order).
In most cases, a counterfeit money order lacks either the watermark or the security thread found in a real document. However, there is a type of counterfeit money order that contains all of the security features of "real" ones, known as "raised" money orders. These fraudulent documents were originally authentic money orders that were printed on genuine postal stock by the Postal Service. They were issued for one amount but later altered to falsely indicate a higher amount. A real $10 money order, for example, was found to be altered, possibly chemically, to appear to be an $810 money order. These altered versions have become an increasing problem for the Postal Service since they contain the Benjamin Franklin Watermark, security threads, and other features that indicate a genuine article. Alterations are sometimes so professionally engineered that the changes do not cause discoloration around the denomination amounts. To make matters worse, serial numbers on these orders do not generally match those published in the "bad Domestic Money Order" list of the Postal Bulletin because counterfeiters obviously do not report money order serial numbers as “lost or stolen” after they have altered the denomination amounts on these documents.
In addition to matching serial numbers to the fraudulent money order listing contained in the bi-weekly Postal Bulletin, Retail Associates need to make sure that the spelled out denomination amount printed on a customer’s money order does not begin more than a couple of millimeters to the left of the word “amount:.” If the spelled out amount begins, for example, almost an inch to the left of “amount:” this clearly indicates that someone has added additional lettering to change the designated amount of the document. Spelled out amounts on fraudulently altered (raised) money orders begin to the left of the word amount because it's much more difficult for the counterfeiter to erase and reprint the entire line of text in order to change the designated amount.
