Consumer Alert
Car wrap scam targets college students
If you have a car, you know how expensive the upkeep can be. Gas, maintenance, parking – the whole lot. So what if a company offered to pay you to drive around – which you were already doing – with their branding wrapped onto your car? It could sound like a good deal.
We’ve heard about some car wrap scams that have targeted college students, a group known to look for ways to make a few extra bucks. The gist of the scam is this: The scammers send emails with messages like “GET PAID TO DRIVE.” They offer to pay you $250-$350 a week if you’ll drive around with your car (or truck or motorcycle) wrapped to advertise a well-known product – or even an event like the 2020 Olympics.
If you bite, they’ll send you a check to deposit into your bank account. Then they’ll tell you to use some of that money so a “specialist” can put the ads on your car. And they’ll tell you to pay by money order, Walmart money services, or by making a cash deposit directly into the “specialist’s” bank account – all ways that are hard to cancel or get your money back.
For a lot of people, it’s only once their money is gone – and no car wrap materializes – that they figure out the “specialist” is really the scammer. And that check they deposited is a fake. Which also means the bank will take back the amount of that fake check…leaving people out even more money. Here’s how that works:
Spotted a scam like this? We want to hear about it. Let us know at FTC.gov/complaint.
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In reply to What happens if you cash at by granny
You are responsible for the checks you cash or deposit. If you cash or deposit a fake check, you'll have to repay the bank the value of the check when it eventually bounces. Your bank might charge you a fee for cashing or depositing a bad check, or close your account.
In reply to My car wrap scam was grom by Markiesmom
In reply to I am so grateful for this by HP
In reply to I am so grateful for this by HP
In reply to I was contacted through my by Beazulbub