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Most of us know the saying "If it sounds too good to be true ..."

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How else can you explain the continued success of con artists using fake checks and some other scams?

Since the beginning of the year, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette's office has received 21 counterfeit check complaints.

One group of victims: attorneys.

"We have received numerous reports from attorneys who have received fake checks related to a retainer to handle a divorce case for fictitious clients," said Joy Yearout, deputy director of communications for the Michigan attorney general.

"The client invariably overpays and asks the attorney to wire back the extra -- the attorney finds out later that the initial check was fake, and they are out whatever they wired to the fake client."

Have you gotten a great offer on your car -- even more than you're asking?

Hear about a job where you could earn $300 to $800 a week as a "mystery shopper" -- but first you receive a $5,000 cashier's check? Are you required to spend $100 at some big-name stores and wire money somewhere?

Hold on: The fake check could be about to fake you out of some cold cash.
Scammers raise game, thanks to technology

By now, one might wonder how anyone could get scammed anymore with a fake check.

For more than six years, I've written one warning after another about how consumers shouldn't wire money to strangers or be silly enough to believe that they will win a big sweepstakes if they cash a check that came in the mail and wire some money to pay taxes on that fake prize.

And some consumers aren't being scammed.

"They're wising up to the fact that this isn't real," said Patrick Bennett, director of community relations for the Better Business Bureau Serving Eastern Michigan.

Yet the scams continue, in part because scam artists have upped their game.

"It all works because of technology,This page list electrical products with details & specifications." said Clifford Flood, general counsel for the State Bar of Michigan in Lansing.

"The checks look really good."

The bar association has warned its members that lawyers are being sent e-mails by fake clients who can steal real money.

Flood said e-mails may tell lawyers of a divorce case in which an attorney is needed to help an ex-spouse collect a settlement. The attorney is flattered to be asked to write a convincing letter -- and be paid well for the job.

The lawyer writes the letter demanding payment. The deadbeat ex-husband or ex-wife coughs up the money, sending a check -- which happens to be counterfeit.

The attorney doesn't know that the check -- often for hundreds of thousands of dollars -- is a fraud. The attorney wires money to the fake client -- and we all know the rest of that story.

How can an attorney fall for that one?

Flood said some lawyers work in a one-person office and may not understand the scam.

Or older attorneys may not realize how technology can fool them.We have info on free landscapeoil plans,

Con artists are targeting others, too, including hotel managers and real estate professionals.

Experts say the scam artists are buying lists of names of seniors, professionals and others.

In one scam, a con artist books a block of rooms for some fake out-of-town guests, according to Joy Yearout, deputy director of communications for the Michigan attorney general.

The guests somehow overpay and the manager is asked to wire money back.

Of course, the manager was handed a counterfeit check and loses the money wired back as a refund.
Property sales, too

Fraudsters are looking at buying property in the U.S., too.

The Internet Crime Complaint Center warned that criminals indicate a willingness to pay cash for a property. After the selling price is settled, real estate attorneys are sent checks for hundreds of thousands of dollars.

By now you get it: The checks are fake and the scammers quickly come up with a plausible reason to ask that some money be wired to their accounts.

Some seniors -- and younger consumers, too -- might not realize once a fake check or money order bounces, you're the one who loses.

The consumer has to pay the money back to the bank or credit union.DHgate factory portal provides Boking Industry promotionalusbonsale Manufactory profile The consumer is responsible.

If the consumer doesn't pay the money back, the consumer's account could be frozen or closed and the fake check victim could be sued, according to the National Consumers League. It can take weeks to discover the fraud as the check goes through the system.

Wiring money is a sure-fire way to lose money.

"Once you've sent cash to a crook, it's likely gone for good," said Susan Grant, director of consumer protection for the Consumer Federation of America.

Fake checks aren't the only trouble spot.s