We received a check in the mail yesterday for $3500 from a company called CCI Inc. in Virginia. It was sent via USPS Priority mail but didn't have include a letter or any other info.
I decided to contact the company who mailed the check to find out what it was for (lots of private lessons??). I found only 2 hits online for a CCI Inc. in Virginia on some free business websites as a drywall/acoustic company. When I tried calling their number it was disconnected.
Then I tried calling the bank listed on the check, Suntrust Bank, also in Virginia. What was odd about this bank's website was the amount of fraud and scam information they had just on their homepage (does this happen a lot to their bank?). I spoke to an agent on the phone and after giving him the account and routing numbers twice, he confirmed that there was no such account number or company name. He then recommended transferring me to the "business dept" to talk to someone about the check being fake.
When I told the new agent from Suntrust bank about the situation, she didn't seem fazed at all. She checked the account and routing numbers again and could not find any CCI Inc., old or new. When I finally told her that I wanted to report it to the bank's authorities, she just said that there are a lot of scams out there and that I should just rip the check and forget about it. (!?!)
I got off the phone knowing that this bank must be in on the scam too-how easy would it be to make a fake bank website and just have someone answer the phone when you call about the check? Or else how could they be so indifferent about fake checks being sent out with their bank's name on it?
I immediately reported the incident to the FBI and USPS because, according to the FBI, since it went through the USPS mail, it is a concern of theirs too.
Things that made the check suspicious:
1. We had no idea who the company was or the location it was coming from.
2. In the memo section, they had printed: Exchange for Cash.
3. On the perforated receipt portion of the check, there was a box that stated the following warning:
"Important: Please contact the above payor for any questions regarding this payment. Please do not deposit if you feel this payment has been made in error or appears unauthorized."
And when you looked above for any contact info, there were absolutely no phone numbers, email addresses, or websites to contact them with. This warning was placed there so that when you do cash the check and then try to sue the company that scammed you, they can claim that there was a warning on the check to not cash it if you don't recognize the company. SNEAKY!!!
Things that made the check look legit:
1. The envelope was sent USPS Priority mail, as if someone was really sending an important check that they wanted you to receive on time.
2. The check is written out specifically to our company's name and had all the correct address information.
We're posting this incident here because we want to make sure that everyone knows that CCI Inc. is a scam and that these checks are NOT REAL. If you don't know where it's coming from or why you're getting this money, then you need to check it out and make sure you're not just looking at the numbers on the check!!!
Please be careful out there and forward this to anyone you know who might be in danger of this happening!!
I'll scan a photo of the check so you can see what it looks like.
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