Chase Manhattan Bank Delaware CraigsList Scam Wilmington, Delaware

It wasn't Chase who noticed the invalid watermark, it was their bank(which they did not name).

This person got lucky.  There was not any indication that their bank knew it was a scam.  This along with the fact that the money order didn't even have the correct routing numbers, would indicate that this person attempted to create the Money Order.  Not doing a very good job.

There are many scams out there where they get a hold of the actual money orders and/or checks.  One of those may have gotten by the same teller because it would have been a real(although stolen) Money Order.

The point is you do have to ask yourself why would a complete stranger ask you to cash a Money Order or Cashiers Check and send them the money through Western Union.  The answer is ALWAYS going to be so that they can scam you.

Unfortunatly there is only so many things that can be done.  As mentioned Craigslist has warnings all over their site, and this person still missed it.  Short of the banks or Western Union asking every single person where they got the funds.  Which won't happen because you will have people coming out of the woodwork complaining about them invading their privacy.  These scams are still going to happen, and the best way to stop them is for people to use common sense.

Many banks would have not noticed or even looked for the watermark. And then you would have been responsible to cover any transactions using this fraudulent check, and any applicable fees. These fees would have gone to the bank. So the Chase teller saved you from a fraud, which if the bank did nothing to prevent, they would have made some profit off the fees incurred.

I have sold items on Craigslist and got the same offer. But I thought to myself..."Self?...why would some stranger trust me with a payment way more then I am asking for an item when I could easily cash it and there would be nothing they could do about it?" So obviously a scam...even Craigslist warns all over the site in huge font not to deal with anyone who requests wire transfers as it is a scam 100% of the time. Not 50%...not 25%, not 10%..but 100% of the time. In short, that means it is always a scam.

This is a typical Craigslist scam. It was not the bank that sent you two fraudulant money orders, it was the person who contacted you. The report should have been against them. The bank really has nothing to do with this scam.

Never wire money to someone you don't know. I am glad you found out before it was too late.

   This is one of the older scams out there.   Anytime someone sends you a check or money order with instructions to then wire money somewhere else, you're being scammed.

   I don't know why you posted a ripoff report against Chase, though.  They did not forge the money orders.  They actually tipped you off before you lost any money.  You should have posted a report on Sandra from Craigslist.