Don't Get Scammed

LEESBURG, Va. (WUSA) -- A local couple is speaking out after a scam that nearly cost them several thousand dollars.

It all began with a classified ad, touting an offer that seemed too good to pass up.

"It looked very intriguing, the amount of money they said you could make," recalls Melissa Dinardo.

The ad in the Washington Times was offering applicants $2500-9000 a month for a few hours of bookkeeping. When Melissa Dinardo answered the ad by e-mail, she was informed the job was actually as a payment processor.

"They said I would have to, I would receive a check and then once I get the funds, I would cash it, take 10 percent commission,"and then wire the remaining funds to a third party, she recalls.

But there was one stipulation. The money had to be turned around within 24 hours.

"I used to work at a bank so I know the process, it takes at least a week to clear the other bank," Dinardo says.

She and her husband were well aware that if the check that was overnighted to their Leesburg home turned out to be bogus they would be out the 32-hundred dollars.

Dinardo says, "people are losing thousands and thousands of dollars. And they're being held accountable."

Eduard Bartholme of Call for Actions says, "they're becoming very sophisticated. They'll replicate company logos."

He says beware of any job offers without a face to face meeting and companies who ask for too much personal or financial information. Do your homework.

"Try to research the company. Try to find independent contact information from other sources aside from the e-mail you were sent or the phone number that you were given over the phone and follow up and verify through those independent numbers you found if you're offered a position," he advises.

And if you suspect you've been scammed, contact the police or your State Attorney General's office. The reality is, the scam artists are often hard to trace or find.

9NEWS NOW tried to get some answers for the Dinardo's. We called the person who supposedly signed their check and we traced it back to an immigration attorney in Seattle, Washington. A person who claimed to be his secretary appeared to have no knowledge of a any business involving processing checks.