Five Things to Know About Fake Check Scams

Fake check scams are nothing new. In fact, they remain one of the most common types of fraud, so two consumer advocacy groups have joined forces to help educate Americans on how to avoid being taken in by this old yet effective con.

Scams that hoodwink consumers into accepting plausible but phony checks and sending cash to con artists in return abound in various forms, but experts from the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the National Consumers League (NCL) say they're easy to identify and avoid -- provided you know how to spot them.