NOT in the Clear

ANCHOR LEAD:
YOU CASH A CHECK AND EITHER WATCH ONLINE FOR THE FUNDS TO SHOW UP IN YOUR ACCOUNT OR CALL THE BANK TO MAKE SURE IT CLEARS. ONCE YOU GET THE GREEN LIGHT, YOU'RE GOOD TO GO, RIGHT? NOT NECESSARILY. SURE, YOU CAN START SPENDING...BUT THE CHECK MAY STILL BE BOGUS...AND IT COULD COST YOU BIG!!!!!___________ EXPLAINS IN TONIGHT'S HEADS UP! ALERT.

TRACK ONE Length: 12
THIS RARE COLLECTOR'S CAR GOT LOTS OF LOOKERS WHEN IT WENT UP FOR SALE ONLINE, SO OWNERS SHAWN AND JEFF MOSCH WEREN'T SHOCKED WHEN A BUYER FROM AFRICA WAS REVVED TO PAY FULL PRICE. THEN, THINGS GOT SUSPICIOUS.

SOT
KEY @: 16 Jeff Mosch, Scam Victim
"He had somebody in the States that owed him some money, so he asked if it was okay if that that person in the States send a cashier's check."

TRACK TWO Length: 10
THE MOSCHES COULD DEDUCT THE COST OF THE CAR AND THEN WIRE THE REST. THEY WERE NERVOUS, BUT DEPOSITED THE CHECK...FIGURING THEY'D BE SAFE AS LONG AS THEY CHECKED WITH THEIR BANK BEFORE WITHDRAWING ANY MONEY.

SOT
KEY @:31 Shawn Mosch, Scam Victim
"We waited 48 hours and went back to the bank. She gave me the check amount and said, 'Yup, the money is in your account.'"

TRACK THREE Length:11
SO THEY WIRED $7200 TO AFRICA. THEN, A WEEK LATER, THEY SAY THE BANK TOLD THEM THE CHECK WAS COUNTERFEIT AND THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE! THEY WERE FURIOUS...NOT ONLY AT THE SCAMMERS...BUT AT THEIR BANK!

SOT
KEY @: 50 Shawn Mosch, Scam Victim
"I said, 'How can something that was good a week ago suddenly not be good, and it be my fault?'"

SOT
KEY @: 58 Nessa Feddis, American Bankers Association
"There can be some confusion between when funds are available and whether a check is good."

TRACK FOUR Length: 10
NESSA FEDDIS, WITH THE AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION, SAYS THE CONFUSION OCCURS BECAUSE FEDERAL LAW REQUIRES BANKS TO RELEASE FUNDS QUICKLY... SOMETIMES WITHIN 24 HOURS. YET...

SOT
KEY @: 1:12 Nessa Feddis, American Bankers Association
"It will take some weeks sometimes to determine whether that check is actually a good check."

TRACK FIVE Length: 07
BUT CONSUMER ADVOCATE JOE RIDOUT (ride-out) SAYS PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND THE LAWS AND THE LINGO, AND IT'S UP TO BANK EMPLOYEES TO BE MORE CLEAR.

SOT
KEY @: 1:24 Joe Ridout, Consumer Action
"Sometimes a teller will tell them a check is cleared when they really mean the hold has been removed, and the funds are available."

TRACK SIX Length: 08
RIDOUT SAYS BANKS SHOULD WARN CUSTOMERS THAT RELEASED FUNDS AREN'T NECESSARILY GOOD. BUT THE BANKING INDUSTRY SAYS IT'S NOT THAT EASY.

SOT
KEY @: 1:39 Nessa Feddis, American Bankers Association
"By law, the banks have to tell the consumer that funds are available and if they, at the same time, suggest that the consumer shouldn't withdraw the funds because the check might not be good, they could be accused of violating the law."

TRACK SEVEN Length: 10
TO PROTECT YOURSELF, ASK THE BANK IF THE CHECK'S BEEN CONFIRMED AS LEGITIMATE... VERIFY THE CHECK WITH THE ISSUING BANK....OR ASK THE BUYER TO SEND A POSTAL MONEY ORDER.

SOT
KEY @: 1:57 Joe Ridout, Consumer Action
"If the post office cashes it, it's legitimate, and if they don't, you know right there on the spot that this was a fraud."

TRACK EIGHT Length: 07
JEFF AND SHAWN SAY THEY'RE A LOT MORE CAUTIOUS NOW...AND STARTED SCAM-VICTIMS-UNITED-DOT-COM TO HELP OTHERS.

SOT
Length: 04(Jeff Mosch, Scam Victim )
"They say, 'Thanks, you know, you just saved me.' The average is about $5000."

ANCHOR TAG:
THE MOSCHES SAY THEY ENDED UP SETTLING WITH THEIR BANK. WE CONTACTED THE BANK, BUT OFFICIALS WOULD NOT COMMENT.
BY THE WAY, THE COUPLE DID NOT SEND THE CAR TO THE BUYER IN AFRICA.

(Additional tag information)
THE AMERICAN BANKERS ASSOCIATION SAYS THE REASON THE LAW ALLOWS YOU ACCESS TO FUNDS BEFORE THEY ARE VERIFIED IS BECAUSE CONGRESS DECIDED THE CONVENIENCE AND BENEFITS FAR OUTWEIGH THE RISKS. MORE THAN 99 PERCENT OF THE 37 BILLION CHECKS CASHED IN THIS COUNTRY ARE PERFECTLY FINE.

SOURCE INFORMATION:

Nessa Feddis
American Bankers Association
1120 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington, DC 20036
PR Contact:
John Hall
202-663-5473

Nessa Feddis is Senior Federal Counsel to the ABA's Government Relations Division. She focuses on consumer banking and payment system issues both in the federal legislative and regulatory arenas.

Joe Ridout
Consumer Action
221 Main Street, Suite 480
San Francisco, CA 94105
415-777-9635

Joe Ridout is Consumer Services Manager at Consumer Action. He hopes that banks will better communicate the ins and outs of check clearing to consumers in the future.

The bank involved in the Mosch case:

TCF Bank
PR Contact:
Jason Korstange

952-745-2755