Transferring money is very easy these days. A few taps on your mobile phone will do the job. But some people still prefer to use other forms of transference to the job. Money order was very popular once upon a time as it offered people who do not have bank accounts to receive or send money without much hassle. Though it is not as popular as before it is still widely used by many people in the USA. If you are wondering ‘where can I buy a money order close to me?’ the answer is very simple, in banks, local grocery and pharmacy stores, post offices, etc.
Being a convenient mode for making payments it has attracted the attention of scammers and con artists. Here we are going to discuss ways in which people can scam you and how to be safe from those scams.
What Is A Money Order?
A money order is like a payee check which is not associated with any bank. A money order is issued to a person when pays the amount they wish to send via money to the cashier. An additional fee will be paid for these services. Payee then gives money orders to whomever they wish and without any problems.
Money orders are very close at hand aids due to being available at many locations at late or early hours. But these conveniences can be hazardous to receivers if they are not careful as forgers and scammers use many methods to cheat people of their money. Buying a money order close to me is very easy.
How Do People Do Money Order Scams?
The most basic money order involves giving fake money orders as payment and asking for the receiver of the money order to return the money in cash or checking account. This is the foundation of a scam which since has evolved into many forms. As it is so easy to buy money orders close to your home that scamming would not require much effort.
Let’s take a look at them one by one.
Deposit Assistance:
In this scam, they plead for one reason or another to have someone deposit a certain amount of money which will be paid to them in the form of a money order. The poor helpless people who do not have any bank account because there are no banks near their village and are looking for a kind Samaritan to help them out in an emergency and will be compensated for those troubles.
Rental Reversal:
This ploy is only employed in real estate deals where they pay a non-refundable deposit and additional amount for some form of reservation by paying it from money orders. They will rapidly cancel the request and ask for refund money. They will expect you to deposit your money order and to get them their deposit and all deposit back in a hurry.
Overpayment Scam:
It is also known as an excess scam, in which scammers buy something with a fake money order and pay extra money saying they made a mistake and ask for sellers to return the extra money. This is a very sneaky way of scamming someone but people can be very devious sometimes.
Fake Buyer Regret:
Con man gives the money for any type of payment but they back out before the order is completed and ask for their money in an emergency. To sell this idea further they will even be generous and let you keep the portion of money asking you to send the rest back to them. Rental retrieval is also a type of fake buyer regret.
Fake Buyers:
There are many types of payment frauds but the fake buyer is very common. They steal by sending fake money orders and before sellers are able to get the money they take away the articles. It is commonly used for objects or goods which are easily resalable and do not trace back to the thief.
Guidelines To Prevent Being Scammed:
Now that you are familiar with the types of scams people do, let us tell you how to avoid them.
Look For Forgery:
Sometimes, scammers will make changes to the authentic money orders such as changing the amount written on them. Duplicates of money order also surfaced from time to time and depositors won’t know anything is wrong until they come to make a deposit.
Postal service provides a whole section for anti-counterfeiting features of the money order. If you have any doubts don’t accept the money order at all.
Verify:
Before depositing the money order and shipping the objects to the desired location check if the serial number on the money matches the one listed on the website.
Don’t Rush:
If someone is trying to rush you to deposit the money order and give out the refunds in an emergency. Scammers will try to rush you on every step so be careful of unnecessary urgency.
Maintain Records:
Keep track of all the money orders you receive. Keeping a copy of money orders you deposit will help you much more than you think if you fall victim to a scam and you have evidence to back you up in a court of law.
Money orders are convenient and very easy to buy close to homes on the way to any location. But if you have any doubts ask for an alternative form of payment method.
