Fraudulent Teller's Checks Reported in Relation to a Mystery Shopper Scam:

CommunityWide Federal Credit Union is reporting that fraudulent Teller’s Checks for $2950 are being circulated nationwide. The checks are associated with a Secret Shopper scam. The scam victim responds to a job offer on Craigslist and they are sent a fraudulent teller's check via USPS Priority Mail.

Included with the check are directions for the victim to deposit the check to their account, retain $300 as payment for their services and instructions to withdraw the remaining $2650 and send via MoneyGram or Western Union to a specified recipient. Upon completion of the transfer the victim is to respond via text or email to "Michael Coleman" with an evaluation of their financial institution (whether or not the funds were immediately available, were they asked a lot of questions, etc.)

The fraudulent checks do bear some resemblance to legitimate CommunityWide teller's checks however all of the fraudulent items list "Register #727959" below the memo line on the bottom left corner of the check.

The counterfeit checks have the following additional inconsistencies:
1. All checks have a six digit draft number starting with 8
2. The phone number is missing from the front of the checks
3. All checks bear a digitized signature "Natasha N Brown"

If you suspect that a client is presenting one of these checks or you are suspicious about any CommunityWide Teller's Check being presented, please contact CommunityWide Federal Credit Union at 574-266-1100 for verification.