Junk mailed
Couple gets taken in international money scam worth thousands
By Dominic Desmond, news editor
Posted on April 24, 2006

When juniors Rachel Barnes and Chad Isabelle posted an advertisement on the JMU Off-Campus Living Web site in March, becoming potential victims in an international money order scam probably wasn’t on their minds. After about a week, they received a number of hits for their two-room Madison Manor apartment. One hit was from a 25-year-old United Kingdom resident named Julia. Barnes and Isabelle didn’t know the Web site was open for viewing for non-JMU students.

“We were a little intrigued at first,” Barnes said. “She’s coming from England.”

The two thought Julia’s age was a little strange at first but thought she might just be going back to school after a break. So Barnes and Isabelle began corresponding regularly with Julia to hash out details for Julia’s arrival and takeover of the Madison Manor apartment. 

First, Julia needed some help establishing a financial base in America.

In e-mails to Barnes and Isabelle, Julia told the couple she had a sponsor in the United States who would send a series of U.S. postal money orders to them as means of paying for Julia’s first month’s rent, a flight and other travel expenses. The money orders would be made out in Isabelle’s name. In one of the e-mails, Julia urged Isabelle to take the money orders to the bank as soon as he received them and cash them immediately.

It seemed to Barnes and Isabelle that everything was going ahead normally and didn’t think anything was suspicious — except for the amount of money Julia sent.

“’Does she really trust us with this amount of money?’ I thought,” Barnes said. The plan Isabelle, Barnes and Julia had worked out was simple — Barnes and Isabelle would keep $180 of the original $3,800 amount to pay for the first month’s rent and then send the remaining $3,620 back to Julia for her travel expenses.

In early April, the couple finally received four money orders. The next day, Isabelle took them to the downtown Harrisonburg post office to see if they were cashable.

“When I brought them to the post office, [the clerks] immediately knew they were counterfeit,” Isabelle said. “It ruined my day. I thought, ‘I’m going to get in trouble.’”

Had Isabelle cashed the checks, he would have been stuck holding the bag.

“I thought Chad was joking,” Barnes said. “You think something like that would never happen to you.”

Barnes and Isabelle’s case isn’t an isolated incident.

Since May 2005, the U.S. Postal Service has issued a number of warnings regarding this sort of scam. According to the Postal Service, victims are contacted on the Web by e-mail, through chatrooms, or, in Barnes and Isabelle’s case, on message boards.

During the 2003-‘04 fiscal year, the Postal Service reported that 3,700 counterfeit money orders were cashed of the 188 million that were printed that year ending in September 2004. This roughly equals one counterfeit note for every 53,000 genuine postal money order, according to a 2005 press release.

“All of these scams have something in common — someone overpays,” said Postal Service inspector and spokesman Paul Krenn. He said the usually writes an amount that is more than the real cost of an item or purchase — a month’s rent for example. Then the victim sends the balance back to the perpetrator, making exorbitant profit.

Krenn warned U.S. postal money orders are not the only types of counterfeit instruments floating around in circulation. Counterfeiters have even produced fake Wal-Mart money orders and cashiers checks. He said the Postal Service is working closely with the Federal Reserve and U.S. Customs to address this situation.

Harrisonburg Postal Service clerk Roy Layman was astounded by the quality of the counterfeits. He said he knew they were fakes right away. Each postal money order has a red serial number on the top left corner with 11 digits — the money orders Isabelle brought in had 12.

Two weeks ago, Layman said someone else also brought in counterfeit money orders to the downtown office.

“It makes you a little concerned,” Layman said.

Barnes and Isabelle stopped corresponding with Julia and are a little roiled about the whole thing.

“We’re screwed out of one person,” Barnes said. “We’ve been screwed by paying two months for the apartment. The new tenant doesn’t even have anyone.”

The couple was supposed to move out of their apartment last week and sublet the two-room apartment between May and July. Now they’re stuck paying for a nearly empty apartment for two months or until they find someone else. This has led them back to the Web.

“I think it’s a terrific resource, better than word of mouth,” Barnes said. “But you have to know who you talk to.”

From now on, Barnes will personally interview anyone who inquires about the apartment. “You have to be picky. Now I’m just sticking to JMU students.”

A few days after posting another advertisement on the Off-Campus Life Web site, Isabelle got another suspicious hit. This time it was from Ireland. He knows better now.

“You have to adapt,” he said. “You live and learn.”