Needless to say, the scammer said this was a great idea and instructed Marquez to forward the link to the online application to as many people as he wanted. However, he was saved at the last minute by his desire to share the wealth with others.īefore the check arrived, Marquez had asked the scammer by text if it would be OK if he encouraged a few friends and family members to also apply for the program. In Marquez’s case, he would have been out $2,070 of his own money (and wouldn’t have gotten the $500 he thought he was keeping for himself). You’re wiring your own cash.Īnd you won’t know you’ve been had until a few days later, when the bank informs you that the check has bounced. If you immediately withdraw and wire the money as instructed, therefore, you’re not wiring just-deposited funds. The con relies on the fact that it usually takes several days for a bank to clear a check, even though it will appear on your account that the deposit is complete. Instructions will be provided to wire the money. Here’s how the scheme typically plays out from there:Īfter the check is deposited, the scammer will say something to the effect that the decal artist is very busy and needs to be paid upfront to schedule time to come out and apply the decorations. Subsequent messages encouraged Marquez to deposit the check and confirm the transaction as quickly as possible. “Hello,” said an ensuing text message, “i tracked the payment just now and it has been delivered to your mailbox so how soon will you be getting it deposited?” This is generally a sign that the scammer believes a sucker is hooked and a bigger payoff is possible. The next red flag for Marquez was that the size of the check he received was a lot bigger than what he’d been promised. “We’ve been getting calls about this for the last few years,” he said. Scott Zankl, owner of the Florida luxury-car dealer, told me he was aware his company’s name was being used by fraudsters but wasn’t sure what to do about it. And, yes, a search for Excell Auto Group will turn up a legitimate company with the same street address as on the check. The check appeared to be issued by Excell Auto Group in Boca Raton, Fla. It also allowed the sender to track the package and know when it had arrived. Marquez’s check arrived via a FedEx priority overnight shipment, which made it seem more legit. At this point, however, nobody knows who’s perpetrating it. “This is something that’s been going on for a while,” she said, adding that Monster Energy is cooperating with authorities investigating the racket. “Monster has no car-wrap program,” said Tamara Taylor, a spokeswoman for the Corona-based company. He promptly received a text that included a photo of a Monster-branded car. Marquez asked for more details about what the decals would look like. “You will receive check of $1570, Once you get it you are to keep $500 your upfront weekly payment and the rest is for the decal artist who will come for the decal,” the text said in broken English. Actually, he was told he’d been “choosen,” which should have been a red flag that he likely was communicating with nonnative speakers, possibly based overseas. This part of the racket played out over several days.įinally Marquez was told that he’d been selected for a car wrap. Marquez was asked to take a photo of his car and show where the decals would be placed.
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