Yep that is a scam that has been through this part of TN. People from across seas would send elderly people checks and tell them that if they deposit it and wire the money back to them that they could keep a part of it.
It is sad what some people are capable of doing.

This was in our paper a while back
 

Authorities urge residents to report suspicious checks


ERWIN — Local authorities and the Secret Service are cautioning residents to not cash suspicious checks received in the mail after one Erwin woman lost more than $27,000 and another lost her job as a bank teller.
A $35,120 cashier’s check from a federal credit union in Hawaii was mailed to a woman here last week, Unicoi County Sheriff Kent Harris said. After taking the check to a local bank for deposit, it was later discovered to be counterfeit.

The identity of the woman and the name of the bank are being withheld by authorities because of the ongoing investigation.

“The check appeared to be legitimate,” Harris said. “The teller at the bank had run it through one method and did not find anything immediately wrong with it. The woman who made the deposit then wrote some checks and followed some instructions she had received with the check.”

Those instructions included sending some of the funds received in the cashier’s check to a bank in South Korea.

“She later wired $27,120 to a Korean exchange bank located in Seoul and left $5,000 in her account for making the transaction. Ends up the check was counterfeit,” Harris said.

“The woman who put the check into her account is a victim and out $27,120 and the woman teller at the bank is a victim because she lost her job.”

Harris said the check was deposited on Aug. 13 and the wire was processed on Tuesday. After that, the bank’s investigator contacted the sheriff about the scam. He said it appeared the wire was processed before the local bank was notified the check was bad.

“Because it was a counterfeit check we called the Secret Service,” Harris said. He said the agency has assigned an investigator to the case.

The sheriff said this was not the first incident of a scam involving a foreign country.

“Another lady here recently received a check for winning a lottery in Canada that was also bogus. People need to use caution and report to us any checks or lottery winnings they may receive in the mail.”

Authorities also said there have been a large amount of fraudulent mail and e-mail scams involving people who say they have connections with Nigeria.

To report suspicious mail or possible scams, call the Unicoi County Sheriff’s

Please be real cautious about things like this!!! :mad: