Male VO: When is “money in the bank” NOT “money in the bank”?

When you deposit a check from someone you don’t know.

It looks like the money is sitting in your account. But it still could be a counterfeit check.

It takes only a few days for your bank to make the money available to you; but it can take weeks for your bank to determine a check is a fake.

And if you already withdrew that money, now YOU will have to pay it back to the bank.

It might sound like a deal that you can’t refuse… but counterfeit checks can cost you a bundle.

So if a stranger tries to give you a check and asks you to wire them money in return, it’s a trick.

When it comes to depositing a check from someone you don’t know… exercise doubt and check it out… at FTC.gov.

A tip from the Federal Trade Commission, the nation’s consumer protection agency.