No Stupid Questions

They are trying to get you to deposit a counterfeit check. It most likely wouldn't clear your bank, but if it did, you end up on the hook for the entire amount of the check with no money, and they get the amount that you sent "back" to them.

I'm just here to say nice username

I'm going to outline this so everyone knows how this works in detail. There's a number of comments talking about metadata, but this is remote check fraud.

The key dialogue is here:

"Okay the check will be written here then I'll take picture of the check front and back then send it to you and you preview it on your laptop or iPad then you log in your bank app and take the snapshot to the provided space and you get the money"

Phase 1

1. Fraudster sends an image of a check through e-mail
2. You use your computer to view the check
3. You then use your phone's bank app to deposit the check
4. Your bank is required by US Law to make up to $500 available immediately

Phase 2

1. The fraudster makes an excuse of why they can't do it any more or mentions that they over paid
2. They ask you to send money through an untracable manner (Bitcoin, gift cards, etc)
3. They may say something like you keep some for your effort or just lean on your kindness
4. Your bank realizes that this check is fake or been used already
5. You bank withdraws that amount from your account

This isn't an unusual scam, but it's technically illegal for you to deposit a picture of a check. You need the original.

Best to block and report them.

Scam. Incredibly obvious scam, so much so that frankly I'm surprised you think you might be paranoid.

It's called remote deposit cheque fraud. It's a fake cheque. If you cash it, it will eventually get flagged as a a fake, and the bank will take the money back, even if you've already spent it or sent it to the scammer. And if you never send money to the scammer, they get nothing, but it also costs them nothing to make the attempt, because you're the one depositing the cheque and wearing the risk.

DON'T DO IT. Just say you did. Lie to them for as long as possible. If they ask for proof you can't give them, pretend to be dumb af and not understand their instructions.

If a clanker calls you, keep feeding them bogus instructions until they enter an inifite loop to waste their tokens. Kitboga has a YouTube video showing how to do it easily.

100% a scam - I fell for it from a Fiverr account, scalpers will find any prior relationship and use it to get bitcoin.

Report and move on.

If you're logged into your bank account and the image contains embedded code and you're vulnerable to the exploit, there's a good chance that they'll be attempting to transfer money out of your account.

If it sounds like a scam .. and this does .. it's generally cheap insurance to treat it like a scam.

Moreover, if it's unsolicited, as in, they came to you, the chances are significantly higher that it's a scam.

I used to deal with these types of scams all the time on Craigslist. These guys aren't even pretending to be legit anymore it seems.

I'm genuinely surprised that any business still accepts cheques.

A stranger is sending you free money? That's a scam.

You would have to be an idiot to entertain this. Block, move on, and ignore in the future. It's unlikely you're even talking to a real person.

This is the first stages of a very textbook fake check scam. They will provide a (unbacked) check, you can cash it and see the funds appear in your account. Something will happen, maybe they'll realize they overpaid you by a few hundred dollars and ask you to refund that amount. The original check funds will be pulled after a few days when the financial institutions realize they were fraudulent and you'll be out whatever amount of real funds you sent.

Now that you know this is a scam, even accepting the fake check is a felony.

Yes it’s a scam, they probably want you to buy something right? They’re going to try and send you a fake check, in which they will ask you to digitally cash it in so it doesn’t go through a teller. The check doesn’t actually get checked by anyone due a couple days so you would have effectively stolen money. Then once they convince you to buy something for yourself and/or for themselves they basically fuck off then the bank would be like hey that check wasn’t real, instead of reporting you/done this is the first time we’ll just charge your account for the check.

If your still adamant on them being real, take the check to a teller at the bank. Make sure the check is physical. Make sure the sender it matches their name and the bank is actually real (by the routing numbers not the logo on it)

There are fewer red flags in Beijing on May Day.

Yes, it's a scam. Doesn't really matter what's going on other than it's a scam.

Do they even play the game?

Props to you for being curious and inquisitive and having the knowledge it's a scam. Don't let others bring you off your digging (without endangering yourself).

scam. every photo you take with wny device has metadata. dont send them anything. block them immediately. dont even say bye.

That's like me asking if this email is a scam

Whatever you do, don't send any money back if they say they sent too much.

They're going to "overpay" you, then ask you to send them the money back (or sometimes but something for them). But eventually their check bounces, while you're out whatever money/items you sent them.

You also need to start being more careful, because the scammers sell and trade lists of people who have fallen victim, or almost fallen victim, to their scam. Because if you've (almost) fallen for one scam, you're more likely to fall for a second one.

Definitely an SCP trying to disseminate a cognitohazard. I'd avoid at all costs.

The check will bounce/charge back at some point IIRC

might be after your account and routing numbers on the checks

This is the most common kind of check fraud scam.

So at this point you know what it is, you know how to avoid being scammed, and you are aware that the most optimal way to deal with these people is to just block them and move on.

With all these things known, you can waste their time by pretending to have trouble depositing the check, saying the deposit went through while doing nothing, saying it worked and then playing hard to get with their "overpayment return" (usually they play on good Samaritan/pay it forward kind of guilt, so just pretend to be an asshole), and fucking with them every step of the way.

Atomic Shrimp on YouTube has done a bunch of these, if you'd rather live vicariously rather than expose yourself.