IMO, Counterfeit USPS Money Orders are pretty easy to detect. We haven't lost money for some time now and our staff knows pretty well what to look for. If your bank cannot help you, your local Post Office or Postal Inspection Service office should be able to.
_________________________
"Droplets of Yes and No in an ocean of Maybe."--Faith No More
I have 5) USPS PMO that are in the amount of $700 each. Found them in my mother-in-laws estate. They are 14 years old, from 1990. The USPS said they were good. I fille dthem out and put my bank account #. My bank said no way, they don't take anything over 6 months old. MY local USPO never have $700 for each pmo one at a time,no cash their ever, I have been waiting weeks, and other branchs don't have that much cash at the PO.. What do I do with $3500 in MO's. I only want to cash one at a time.
John Burnett
Compliance is my life
Registered: 10/27/00
Posts: 12636
Tell your bank to look at the U.S. Postal Service's Domestic Mail manual, or contact the local post office to verify that postal money orders don't go stale. Here's a quote: 14.3.1 Validity and Value Domestic money orders are paid regardless of the time passed since their issue. Money orders are not interest-bearing instruments; they are paid only in the exact amount imprinted up to the authorized maximum amount. USPS records serve as the basis for adjudicating claims for payment of money orders. A link to the USPS Manual.
Great very site with lots of very important info here. A few Years ago I found 8 USPS M/O's in an envelope on the street. No amout was on the Potal MO's but they did have a serial number and were authentic. I tore them up and discarded them in the trash. My questions is would have the USPS give me a reward or what other actions should I have done ?
I would like to add a positive comment about the staff manning the phones at the Postal Inspectors office. We recently had a new customer present 12 money orders that we felt were questionable. I was unable to find the numbers on the list of issued MO on the website, so left a message for a live operator to call me back to discuss. I got a call back the next day from a very courteous and cooperative person who advised me that the MO's in question were fraudulent. We could have been out over $12k, but the very helpful (and not lazy) Postal Inspection Service staffperson on the phone saved the day.
I called the USPS 866 tel #, in regards to a Posatal MO. They said it was good never cashed. The MO was ripped, so I filed a trace, the USPS acct office mailed me back and said it was cashed, but since the MO was 3 y/o they had no record. They said the USPS destroys PMO's after 3 years? Does this sound right?
I received an email this morning in response to an online ad I have to sell my mom's accordion (craigslist.org). The sender had previously asked for additional info on this item, which I replied to in detail. He wants to purchase this and will arrange for the shipment. Now I am suspicious! Accordions take great care to pack and ship! He also stated "pay with online usps money order", so I really am suspicious now which led to my internet search and found this forum! Undoubtedly, I will NOT allow anyone to pick up the item, nor will I send any monies to him. I want to do everything possible to ensure this is legit. If it isn't, what can I do during this "play sale" to help report the man as thoroughly as possible to the authorties? By the way, it doesn't appear that the USPS even has ONLINE money orders, correct?
Quote: I received an email this morning in response to an online ad I have to sell my mom's accordion (craigslist.org). The sender had previously asked for additional info on this item, which I replied to in detail. He wants to purchase this and will arrange for the shipment. Now I am suspicious! Accordions take great care to pack and ship! He also stated "pay with online usps money order", so I really am suspicious now which led to my internet search and found this forum! Undoubtedly, I will NOT allow anyone to pick up the item, nor will I send any monies to him. I want to do everything possible to ensure this is legit. If it isn't, what can I do during this "play sale" to help report the man as thoroughly as possible to the authorties? By the way, it doesn't appear that the USPS even has ONLINE money orders, correct?
This is a very popular scam, don't go for it!
I used to get them very frequently in response to online advertising.. So much that I stopped advertising at that site. It usually came from someone claiming to be from out of the country, attached to a generic E-Mail such as yahoo. When I'd ask to what airport they wanted their purchase shipped, they'd respond that they'd handle shipping. How could they handle the shipping? They never even asked where I was located.
The form I got was that they'd send an inflated check drawn on a U.S. Bank (Say, $5,000 for a $3,100 purchase) and ask me to wire the balance to them.
The check they send may very well clear at first, but it is stolen or fraudulant, and by the time your bank figures that out it will be too late.
Not a lot that I know of that you can do to try to pinch them either.
Be careful! If it seems a little shady, it probably is!
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