[Machineguntony]

I am sad to hear that people fall for this scam so often. Part of the problem is that banks do not educate people on how the bank system works.

A lot of people do not know that when you deposit a check into your bank account, the money that is in your account is not really there when you first have a chance to see it. The banks say that the check has 'cleared', when really what they mean is that the funds are 'available'. The available funds are actually an extension of credit that the bank offers to its customers based on deposit history, called a 'float'. The money is usually not transferred from bank to bank for at least a few weeks or maybe a month later.

During this float period, the account holder thinks they really have the money. The account holder starts to spend the funds, and usually the funds will be genuinely available because the payor is a genuine payor. Because the account holder has always used this 'float ' system for all of his life without problems, and actually, without even being aware that he was using such a system, he becomes vulnerable to this scheme.

I have seen people be scammed for high five figures on this check scam.

Finally, if you fall for this scam, the account holder is on the hook, not the bank. The bank may legally offset the deficit with any funds available in your account. If you don't have the funds to cover the offset, then the bank may sue you.