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Have you seen ads promising easy money if you shrink-wrap your car — with ads for brands like Monster Energy, Red Bull, or Pepsi? The “company” behind the ads says all you have to do is deposit a check, use part of it to pay a specified shrink-wrap vendor, and drive around like you normally would. But don’t jump onto the bandwagon. It’s only easy money for the scammer who placed the ads.

How you spot the “offer”

You might see an ad on a job board or on social media. Or someone might send you a message — maybe because they saw your profile or resume on a job site.

How the scam works

The message says you’ll make a couple hundred bucks. But when the “company” sends you a check, it’s for much more than that — a couple thousand dollars. They tell you to deposit the check, keep part of it as your share, and wire the rest to another company that will wrap your car.

Weeks after you wire the money, the check bounces and your bank tells you it was a fake. The money you kept as “your share” disappears, and the money you wired is long gone — no getting it back. On top of that, you’re on the hook for paying your bank back for the fake check. And, of course, no one’s wrapping your car.

How you can tell it’s a scam

If you get a message urging you to deposit a check and wire money back, it’s a scam. Every time. No matter the story. And if this were a legitimate car wrap opportunity, wouldn’t the company directly pay the car-wrapping vendor, instead of asking you to do it?

Has this happened to you? File a complaint. Want to know more? Read our articles to learn how to spot variations on fake checks and money wiring scams.

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The purpose of this blog and its comments section is to inform readers about Federal Trade Commission activity, and share information to help them avoid, report, and recover from fraud, scams, and bad business practices. Your thoughts, ideas, and concerns are welcome, and we encourage comments. But keep in mind, this is a moderated blog. We review all comments before they are posted, and we won’t post comments that don’t comply with our commenting policy. We expect commenters to treat each other and the blog writers with respect.

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Andygarcia23
May 06, 2020
Mcafee coffee offered me 800 weekly to represent their logo Kevin Ozan messaged me is this for real
rfrankie25
November 20, 2020

In reply to by Andygarcia23

Hi I just got one today I’m trying to find out if it’s real or not how was your situation handled
Big daddy side show
May 07, 2020
I just got a check for $3900 from Awkwafina saying that they would give me that weekly as long as I put a decal on my car the check looks very very legit but after reading all this I don’t know. Can’t the bank tell you if the check is real or what not so nothing comes back on you?
A
May 08, 2020
Thanks for the info
Zora
May 08, 2020
I received an email from "Gillette" as a car advert... They said they will send me a check... Thanks God I read this first!! I will keep the check as a medal.
Suskel2
May 08, 2020
I received a check from Hermes priority mail today for $3750.00 from a real bank. Still a scam? I haven’t done anything with it.
1400/800
May 08, 2020
What if you never wire the money will you owe the bank the amount of money you never wired
Don't use your…
May 10, 2020
Received a check $1850.00 from Escrows, Inc to wrap my car door’s with Sweet Treat Ice Cream logo. They told me to deposit the check keep $800.00 and the balance was for the wrap company. The check was sent from City of Huntsville 1212 Avenue M Huntsville Tx 77340. By Fed Ex. The check from Escrows Trust Account 4000 W Magnolia Blvd, Suite H Burbank,Ca 91505. Citizens Business Bank Specialty Banking Group 90-3414/1222. I’m sure this is a scam and will not deposit the check, so glad I checked this out before I went through with it. Promised $800.00 per week made me wonder if it was a scam or not.
Todd
May 11, 2020
Got one to Red Bull I get one at least once a week
Puppybreath3
May 11, 2020
I decided to check this company out about putting the wrap on my car. The guy sent me a check for about $1,300 and I was supposed to deposit it and send somebody money to put the rap on so I told him I couldn't deposit the check at first because it was a holiday weekend and the bank would not be open again until Monday. He wanted me to just drop it in a bank it one of those deposit Aries but I told him I didn't want to do that. So fortunately my next door neighbor is a bank teller and I went and asked her about it and she told me that these people are scam artists and that they never do what they say they're going to do and they only want to take you for however much money they can get their hands on and the bank has no recourse so if you deposit a check from these scoundrels they will just rip off your bank account and then it will be closed for future use and you will have to pay the bank back all that money so be extremely careful don't do it just tear it up and tell the guy or whoever that you tore it up and you don't want anything else to do with that. The man had the audacity of telling me that he was going to turn me in to the police because I kept his money and I was trying to rip him off even though I had told him I will not deposit your checks. So I finally told him that my husband wanted to speak to him immediately and I never heard another word from him . Thank God!
MLBK
May 13, 2020
continued-- in this day and age of internet information, LOOK UP THE COMPANY NAME OR PERSON POSTING THE OFFER! The product my hiring manager used was ROCK STAR....a Google search leads to the exact scam, CAR WRAPS I am going to pursue this with the Postal Service fraud department. This is the 2nd scam !!! The first one, I actually fl for it and got cleaned out for $1600.00. I know better now
Bryant
May 13, 2020
I’m in the midst of this right now. They text every day to tell me the check has cleared my bank. I always tell them I’m waiting a week for it to clear their bank. I’m supposed to pay the installer when he comes to wrap my car ???
R.kurtz
June 16, 2020
I got a Minster wrap scam. My bank is great about detecting frauds. The name used is Lawrence Hill (515)789-0774 Lawrencehill022
Tuko
May 13, 2020
My mom just got one from pepsodent and to wrap her car she got a $2,400 check and they taste it and want to make sure that we wanted to do it and then I started looking up about it and seeing it was fake thank God for yall on here I then deposited the check in the bank how do I go about getting it out of my account
Dongrandma't u…
May 14, 2020
Mine was for Frito Lay. What a ripoff.
MJ
May 14, 2020
Got a check for 4,987.65 supposedly from Capri-Sun Name on Check: CHRISTIAN DOUGLAS, 1st national bank OK. I'm in Tucson , AZ, enclosed letter plain white paper no letterhead - what a joke
PennieWithersp…
May 15, 2020
I received a check today it came from a bass shop in Florida but the check is from Wisconsin and it was for 2620.00 from Amp Energy to put on my vehicle they told me to deposit it into my account and send a picture of the deposit and my fund should be there in 24hrs is it a scam
Ralph
May 16, 2020
This happened to me
Meridamama
May 16, 2020
I responded to one of these "car wrap" things from Dr Pepper. We're to pay me $1000.00 biweekly. Sent me a check for $4050.00, I was to keep $1000.00 and send the rest to the person who was going to do the wrap. I thought it was some kind of scam, even told the guy (Slaven) that I thought it was a scam. He assured me it was not. Just got the check from Fed-x today...like two hours ago. The guy just messaged me asking why I haven't contacted him yet! Some nerve!
Gullible
May 19, 2020
I responded to an ad for M&M car wrap. $500 a week. Was very leary when I had gotten the check overnighted. Too many addresses and areas involved. I questioned and they had another phone number to text to expedite the check. They assured me it was Valid. I did a mobile deposit and was asked to check to see if it cleared so they could make the appointment. I got a very uneasy feeling and checked my bank. Nope nothing cleared and Im thankful. Said nope not today my banks very good about fraudulent transactions perhaps it will clear Monday. Well I checked Monday am first thing. Nothing whew ok Im safe. Then after the bank opens I checked again. Negative 1600 the check was for 1900. I almost died immediately called my bank and explained everything. She said please take it easy we already flagged it once the deposit was made. Nothing has come from your account. I said please do something to stop this from happening. They are working with the federal fraud department. An hour later I heard from the guy yet again. I explained I have a wonderful bank that protects their customers and have turned everything over to the fraud department. Never got a response!! In these times looking for employment these scammers go beyond elaborate schemes. Please don't be like I was thinking WOW this is great. I can get ahead!! Yeah that is what they are counting on. You to be so desperate that you will deposit the money so they get theirs!! DON'T DO IT!!!!
GlassRose30
May 19, 2020
my husband recently applied for a car wrap job and it was for red ribbon soda drink. i did research and found this site and i also reached out to the company listed on the check and the company listed on the check confirmed that they were indeed a victim of identity theft. thankfully we did not deposit the check into our bank account. i wanted to post this so no one else falls victim to this scam.
Potential scam
May 20, 2020
Email I received today- Good day. Just wanted to let you know that you qualify for this AQUAFINA® Advertisement Job opportunity you apply for, your information has been received. Below are some questions you need to answer before we can proceed. NOTE BOARDS (1/4) 1.. How long do you intend to carry the advert on your vehicle? 1 or 3 months.. 2.. Have you crashed a car between January 2020 till date? 3.. Send a picture of vehicle. 4.. Do you drive your car daily? Please Note that a Check will be send to you to cover your first week Upfront salary of $800. And also The Graphic Artist Agent fund will be include, When you receive it you are to deduct your first week payment of $800, i am offering you extra $100 for your stress then forward the rest to Graphic Artist Agent who will come and install the AQUAFINA® LOGO on your vehicle, The further Instruction to guide you to get started easily with the payment will be send to you immediately after you confirm you receive and understand the content of this Message I........Confirm to have received this email and understand the content to go further Thanks and Best Regards.
Nokia- Rose an…
May 20, 2020
We got an email from Nokia saying they would pay $499 per week to advert on our vehicle. Then, when the rep contacted us the amount went down to $400 a week. No biggie we went further still...We would normally not be ok with tainting our family ride with advert graffiti. However, times are different and we saw this as the kismet powers at work helping provide for our family and keeping us together,home and safe... Nope. Not today. My husband took the $1,900 check to Walmart customer service and they wouldn't cash it. There is a bank in this particular Walmart. They ran verifications on the check and said it didn't clear and refused to give the check back... The bank that the check was supposedly from is Old Second Bank. I don't know if they are a part of the scam or just another victim.... People from the scam are still contacting us. They keep texting on different numbers with different area codes after we already told them the bank kept the check. They haven't set up a time to wrap. They just keep messaging about getting the money in a bank acct. What saddens me most is that people are out there taking advantage of people at a time when we should be reaching out and helping each other. We have 5 children under our roof, 2 already on their own in the world and a grand baby on the way. I have many many family related things to occupy my time with and feel robbed of precious,irretrievably lost time with my family because of this. We also had gotten sucked in to a Facebook marketplace RV scam. We were so excited and planned our life around getting it. We got to the point of almost sending money and looked it up on Facebook scams page. Most of the time, if you are feeling like something is too good to be true,follow your gut instinct,it probably is... Look up a name in the Google search bar and 99% of the time you will find the answer you are looking for. That's what has saved us both times. Thank you to those that have posted messages like this to help others not get duped. Good Luck! Stay safe!
JoeeeDon't use…
May 20, 2020
Thank you for the good advice. I was about to fall for the scam. The money sounded good. Thank you again.
TheLadyFlies
June 30, 2020

This is a message I received this morning, May 21st:

"1 of 8 FRM:Michael Axelrod MSG:_ Thank you for your reply and interest in taking part in our advertising campaign for the New Zero Ultra (Con't) 2 of 8 Monster Energy Drink. We are searching for candidates, because we offer to pay $500 a week for a span of 3 months. Get paid by (Con't) 3 of 8 submitting your full name, mailing / street address, city, state, zip code & email address. We'd like some information regarding (Con't) 4 of 8 the vehicle, make, model and year to better assist us with our selection and decision process. Upon which we can notify you if (Con't) 5 of 8 chosen. If your application is selected , your check will be sent to you via mail. As for the installation, a technician will be desi More?" They didn't even bother to properly finish the message. No need, I will not be pursuing this so called "opportunity" anyway. They seem to have gotten more savvy, sending the scam through a message center instead of directly from a cell phone number. Interesting.

Kcroct4
July 16, 2021

In reply to by TheLadyFlies

Mine was the exact same… got an over 4k check… I am stringing him along to see how much information he’ll give me
Cinren
May 24, 2020
I wish they could do something about these people the internet has turned into a tool to rip people off every body has a check for you I close about 40 things aday with somebody wanting to give me money the internet has turned into something really bad the like going after older people
Vickiv
May 30, 2020
My son applied over a year ago for one of these scams to wrap his car, same scenario they sent a check and were pushy about depositing it. I started researching all the addresses, their were three different states . Come to find out their adress was a construction company in Florida. I talked to them and they said they called the police many times about their adress being used. Any way we shredded the check and will informed the texter we would not be part of his scam. Fast forward to this morning, my son got another yellow enveloped delivered by FedEx. We have moved since last scam so no clue about how they got our new adress. But again he received a cashier check for 2950 same sonario asking him to deposit the check and so fourth. This time the check comes from Downey Federal credit union in CA. Check comes from a tavis Williams. Just thought I would add this here.
Only Orange juice
May 30, 2020
Does anyone know if “only Orange juice” is a scam? I got a text saying I would get $500 for putting a decal on the door of my car. Should I send them my location?
DebG
June 22, 2020

In reply to by Only Orange juice

If they are texting you, it’s a scam. Companies don’t do that.
Deereyesinhead…
May 30, 2020
The texts started by saying that Budweiser wanted to pay me for advertising by a car wrap. They have said in a letter to put the check in my bank account. Today I recieved a check (with a water mark) and I let them know I had it. They wanted me to go to the ATM and deposit. A deposit slip I was told to keep for my records. They said when the check went through for this I would get a$200 Amazon gift card. I believed that this is real until they urged me to deposit it through my ATM.
4ThePeople247
June 04, 2020

In reply to by Deereyesinhead…

I completely agree! When they try to pressure you to deposit check via the ATM it is a scam. Im definitely going to file. We should ALL file to make something happen against such evil doers.
MaMaBee100
May 31, 2020
I've been getting texts over the last few days from "Mc Cafe logo advertising".. says they'll pay me $500/week + $50 weekly for gas, to drive around with their "tiny logo decal"... they're wanting me to reply with full name &address so they can send 1st check...umm no I'm smarter than that.
Aloudiaz
June 03, 2020
Thank God my boyfriend warned me. I'm unemployed. I almost got scammed twice!! First one was for an at home Customer service representative job. The guy was super pushy and the interview was on hangout. He wanted me to deposite a check to buy equipment Asap. It felt to good to be true so told him no. Now recently got contacted for Energy drink Rock star. They sent me a $3500 check and want me to deposit so that someone can come and put decals on for payment of $500 a month. Again to good to be true. Ughhh, so frustrating because it would help out my situation . What stinks the most is how so easy for people to get scammed. Especially at this rough time that we are going through.
Icanbeatthis2016
June 03, 2020
I was just a apart of this possible scam. Been communicating back and forth "through text" by someone who calls themself Melvin Jones. It's supposed for Toshiba. They want me the check for 2,395 dollars and I'm only supposed to keep 400 for myself. I deposited through my mobile banking by taking a picture of it. And then my intuition just told me to call the back that's on the check which was from Bank of Tennessee and spoke with someone who said the check was invalid. So I then called my bank to notify them. I can't believe people. And yes, I truly was counting on this extra money to pay my bills and take care of my children with. I'm gonna trash the check. I honestly was already apprehensive about it because the person never reached out through a phone call. Only text. And then when I saw the check I was even thinking that it could be a bomb or something. This world is full of deceitful people. But I pray that nothing else comes of this. I spoke with me bank and made them aware. And basically once the check goes through as invalid from my bank they said they will send me out a letter and then a second letter in the form of a check but not to cash it because it's invalid. Has this happened to anyone this year? Its June 3rd 2020
Greyhound lady
June 05, 2020
The one I got was to shrink wrap my car for video games I got a check for 4 thousand 500 for me.since they had my phone number they were text me can't they trace any of this?
JIN
June 05, 2020
I received a message and mailed the check to me, but I did not give it to the bank.The phone number is 4022840839, don’t be fooled.
Panama fsk mindy
June 06, 2020
iwanr to snd the checks back along with the letter that cam with it ,whee do I send ir????
Littlecricket
June 08, 2020
I am ready check been deposit
Toni1444
June 11, 2020
+1 (877) 336-9209 this number texted me recently about a Starbucks ad to wrap my vehicle for money
Negra
June 12, 2020
a start-up check for $4900 issued to me, mailed to me , I'm required to deposit the check into my bank account and from there wire payment to installer, of course, deducting my first weeks pay. As soon as the installer receives the money they will schedule an appointment with you to install the wrap. then reconfirm address. The bank account thing got HINKY!!! My experience. Thank God I googled the question!
Htownridarz
June 16, 2020
A guy contact me saying that it’s a job from Burger King and he sent me a check for more than 2600 and he wants me to wire money to the “company” who will wrap my truck
Texas woman
June 14, 2020
I received a text offering to pay me $700 per week to allow them the wrap my vehicle in logos for Dr Pepper. The form they were asking me to fill out asked for my name,Address DOB, name of my bank and make/model of my vehicle. The alarm bells immediately went off. Way too much personal information.
Cherylh
June 16, 2020
Thank you I actually reached out to them by searching it on google. But I did finally get a fed tracking number today and directions to deposit the check and everything else that you said for Dasani water. When this check arrives I am taking it to the police department.
Debbiesue
June 18, 2020
I got One from sensitive 9 to face and they're gonna give me enough money to pay to have the decals on and my 1st week pay he but I don't have to pay anything out of my pocket to get it done or anything does this company sound like a scam or does it sound legit because this not having me make all that money out of my pocket
Jeannie
June 18, 2020
This just happened to me but the check never came and I told them I thought it was a gimmick and have not heard anything else. Stay safe
Infer if this …
June 18, 2020
I received a letter from Fitbit vehicle wrap service, with a Hawaii national bank cashier check for $2500.00 . Wondering if this is a scam? I
Emersonbiggens
June 18, 2020
I was sent a check from car wrap and they dont require i send money anywhere. They say they are sending aomeone to my house to install the wrap. ????????
Andi
June 18, 2020
Allegedly, "Aquafina" is now trying to get people to put a decal on your vehicle. Why do they need your age and name of your bank? Hmmmm because it's a scam
Blessum
June 19, 2020
This scam is still going on. I was contacted through a text message about doing a car wrap. Sounded good, but when I received my first check before the wrap was applied for more than the agreed amount. The alarms went off and it is a certified check. I do not pay anyone else out of funds to be paid to me. It is a big indicator of a scam.