Order for 1,000 cupcakes at LA bakery turns out to be part of major counterfeit check scam

The whole "we overpaid you, please refund the money" scam is an old one. The best thing to do is set some requirements at different levels of price or complexity. If they amount is higher, you require more from the "customer" before engaging. In our clients, we basically tell them to work with their bank to set dollar amounts where an A/P staffer must escalate to an executive to send that much money or make a change to an existing supplier/vendor. The little stuff can still go through without much effort, but the loss is minimal if it's fraudulent. The larger stuff requires more scrutiny because of the higher liability.

Also, it's always good to play out the scenario or what could be the scenario. That can be difficult, though, if you aren't exposed to this stuff daily.

Good afternoon LTC Eugene Chu. Excellent post. Thank you for sharing this Sir.

Justice is a chimera. We may approximate it but never achieve it, not truly. Sadly, scams are not. They are all too real and scammers target the most vulnerable among us; the small business and the elderly are their most common targets. Even sadder, this victim was cautious and did everything to protect herself and yet, will never find justice. Even if the perpetrator is caught, it is unlikely that she will recoup her loss. I suppose that the only advice is the old wisdom, "If it sounds too good to be true, it isn't."