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Sandra Yi ReportingSgt. Paul Jaroscak: "If you've got to come up with a good story to cash a $500 check, they get very creative."
Identity thieves have a new scam and police are urging people to keep an eye out for it. Authorities say they've never seen anything like it before.
When we pay for something with a check or credit card and the cashier asks for ID, we take it out of our wallet, so they can get a good look at it. Well, thieves have found a new way to pass fake IDs. The scam was caught on tape at a Walmart store.
Sgt. Paul Jaroscak: "These people are very creative. They'll come up with anything. You'll see the customer hand the wallet with the ID kind of open, to the cashier and the check."
The clerk struggles to get the ID out.
Sgt. Paul Jaroscak: "You can see him trying to move it and pull at it. Tries to read it, then she just kind of gives up and cashes the check."
But that $500 check was a fake.
Sgt. Paul Jaroscak: "Be aware that this is a new tactic that they're using."
Investigators say the suspects buy check stock from an office supply store, then manufacture their own checks.
Sgt. Paul Jaroscak: "What they do though, is they use actual numbers from checks they have stolen or photocopied, and they put those at the bottom of the check, so it's got valid numbers on it, but it's a fake check."
They also have a fake ID, intentionally secured to the wallet, so a store clerk can't get a good look it.
Sgt. Paul Jaroscak: "They can see what they need, which would be names or numbers and things like that, but they can't pull it out and see that it's not really a good replication of an ID."
Police say so far suspects have hit large chain stores like this Walmart, and they're passing the idea on to their friends.
Sgt. Paul Jaroscak: "So if you do have someone who comes in with a large check or they're buying a large amount of items and they can't get their ID out, that's a problem."
Police say if cashiers can't get an ID out, they should call a manager or even the local police department.
If you recognize the suspect in the surveillance tape, call the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office.
The agency can also provide training for businesses that deal with potential fraud cases.
