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Kim Johnson ReportingThere’s a warning today to Salt Lake area businesses from the State Consumer Protection office. A new check scheme is emerging and this one has an ironic twist.
Where's the irony? The irony lies in the fact the counterfeit checks, being cashed at local businesses, bear the name of the Department of Commerce and of course the Consumer Protection Office is part of that department.
What's wrong with the check? A lot. The address of the issuer says “Salt lake city Utak.” The address of the Bank has problems too; Washington Blvd is in Ogden, not Salt Lake. There is no state employee with the name Dennis E. Young. And no watermark, which is on all state issued checks.
Francine Giani, Div. of Consumer Protection: "It's a crook with a sense of humor who hopefully will be caught, or someone who is a victim of identify fraud potentially."
The only legitimate part of the check is the driver's license number. It really belongs to the person who cashed the check. While we can't release the name yet, he's a 23-year old man who worked for the state three years ago.
Francine Giani, Div. of Consumer Protection: "Businesses need to be careful when they cash someone's check to make sure they can authenticate the person who's on the check and that it looks legitimate. Clearly this looks, at least in my mind, very bogus to me."
Anyone with a problem should contact the local Police department.
