Money orders, they are a legitimate lifeline for lost of folks who receive money from abroad. It’s also a safe way to get money because unlike cash sent in the mail – which very often gets stolen – money orders are cashed at the post office by the person it’s made out to. It’s a safer way of sending money but that doesn’t mean it isn’t open to fraud. And that’s what some con artists from the West African country of Togo have been specializing in. The bogus money order scam has come to Belize and Jacqueline Godwin found out how it’s left the Post Office short of a few thousand dollars.

Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
Only two of the eleven postal money orders you see on display are authentic. All those in the amount of five hundred US dollars are fakes. According to Teresa Bradley, the Finance Officer at the Belize Postal Service of the three thousand dollars that were fraudulently cashed, they have recovered two thousand dollars from two of the customers. Two were cashed in Belize City and one in the city of Belmopan.

Teresa Bradley, Finance Officer - Belize Postal Service
“He presented two $500 money order and those were cashed in Belize City and the one in Belmopan, one for $500. We have recovered $1,000 from him and we have recovered $1,000 from the one in Belmopan. He is supposed to bring in the other $1,000 by Friday. We gave him the deadline. If not we told him that the police will be involved in it.”

The Post Office first was alerted to the fraud earlier this week when one of the persons named on the money order came in to cash it.

Teresa Bradley,
“The cashier said that he looked at the money order and he suspected something strange about it but he ended up cashing two in Belize City, one was cashed in Belmopan. These are for two different customers. That was on Monday. On Tuesday the young man came back to the Post Office and brought two more money orders. This was when the casher was very suspicious and he brought them to my attention. As I looked at them I realized that these money orders were fake.”

James Gabourel, Mail Supervisor
“In dealing with postal money orders, there are several security features that one needs to look for. These security features include the watermark of Benjamin Franklin. This can be seen clearly when a postal money order is held up to the light. You will see the watermark of Benjamin Franklin in the upper left hand corner of the postal money order.

Another security feature is the security thread that runs in and out of the money order itself. You need to be careful to ensure that the security thread has the letters USPS clearly written on the thread. A next thing that customer might want to look for is the dollar value. Make sure that the dollar value is clearly written and there is no discoloration around that dollar value. So those are some of the security features that customers should look out for when dealing with postal money orders.”

The money orders are made out to three individuals who claim that they fell prey to an internet scam that originated from Lome, a city in the African nation of Togo.

Teresa Bradley,
“We have an envelope here that’s showing African stamps on it and then also the stamp in the back showing Lome. So this originated from Africa but people think that they are from the United States because the money order has a United States address and name.”

Jacqueline Godwin,
“Do you believe these customers are innocent?”

Teresa Bradley,
“I feel that yes, these ones that we are dealing with right now, they are innocent because one of the guys explained that yes he was in a financial situation but he got caught in this internet scam. So the public needs to be aware that if they are on the internet and they are being offered any job to be very careful because this is the way these people target them. They tell them that they can work at home and they will be paid and then they get them involved in these fraudulent transactions.”

But why would anyone believe that you would be paid a thousand dollars to simply cash postal money orders? To make sure there isn’t a recurrence, the Belize Post Office has tightened security.

Teresa Bradley,
“We have already alerted all the district offices. They know the features in the money order so they know what to look for.”

Today the Belize Postal Service advised the public about the right way to cash an international money order.

Teresa Bradley,
“The customer brings in the money order to the Post Office with an ID, preferably your Social Security or a passport and present it to the cashier. The cashier verifies the information and he cashes the money order for you. In the event that the person that the money order is being sent to cannot come into the post office and he authorizes somebody to cash it on his behalf, that person needs to bring in an ID for the person that authorizes the money order, the money order has to have the authority written on the back of the money, not on a separate paper, authorizing them to cash this money order on their behalf.”

Jacqueline Godwin Reporting for 7News.

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