Five months after graduating from SUNY New Paltz, Syed Hussain was searching for jobs in the same place many other young people do – on the internet. When he came across a job post describing a part-time work-from-home position as a personal assistant to a manager of an interior design company, he thought he’d found the perfect opportunity.

"When I saw the salary that she had in there, the rate, it was $700 per week," Hussain said.

He applied.

"A week later, I received an email from her saying that she has received my email," he explained.

The correspondence described a tryout period would replace a traditional interview.

"She said this is a test, she’s going to see if I’m trustworthy, if I'm loyal," he explained. "So if I do great, I'm hired."    

Hussain and his potential boss never met in person. Instead, instructions were provided over email and communication over text messages.

His potential boss explained Hussain would receive a check to cover his weekly salary of $700 plus some additional funds to be donated help pay for medical attention for kids in foster care.

One Saturday morning, a check for nearly $2,500 arrived at Hussain's home. He deposited it through his mobile banking app.

Hours later, his phone pinged with text messages from his potential boss.

"I need you to do something for me…,"she wrote. "The foster home was supposed to be getting about 300 [sic] today [sic]do you have up to that in you to send to them [sic] and once the funds comes [sic] up first Monday morning you will get reimbursed back."

Hussain had deposited the check only hours before and knew it could be days before the check cleared and funds were available in his account.

But, eager to land the job, Hussain borrowed $300 from his father and sent the funds through Moneygram to his potential boss's contact.

By Monday morning, the check still had not cleared. Hussain visited his bank in-person to learn the funds would not be deposited. He said he learned the check was a fake. He wouldn't get back the $300 he sent to the alleged foster care.

"And, of course, that money is really going back the fraudsters themselves," said Steve Baker, International Investigations Specialist for the Better Business Bureau.

According to a recent report issued by the Bureau, incidences of check fraud, like the one that happened to Hussain, are on the rise. It's estimated that approximately 500,000 people fell victim to a counterfeit check in 2017 alone.

The scenarios the scammers invent may offer varying narratives, explained Claire Rosenzweig, President & CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Metro New York. Scammers may say the person targeted is being considered for a job, won the lottery, or will pose as a mystery shopper. But all of the stories will have one element in common: The scammer will give the target a check and then almost immediately ask that cash from the check be wired back to them or to a contact.

"When the scammer wants you to immediately turn around and buy money orders or gift cards, that's a red flag," explained Rosenzweig. "These are all ways of you taking money out of your bank account in sort of non-traceable ways. It's like sending cash. The money is gone. The scammer runs away with your money. The bank tells you the check is fake and you end up holding bag."

Data from the Federal Trade Commission’s Consumer Sentinel shows that people ages 20 to 29 filed the most complaints about check fraud between 2015 to 2017. Experts believe that declining knowledge and experience with working with checks.

"What's really important for people to understand is that just because a check has cleared doesn't mean that it’s a good check," explained Nessa Feddis, Senior Vice President at the American Bankers Association.

"By law, and for consumer convenience, banks must provide access to people's check deposits before the bank can know that the check is good," Feddis said.

Laws that typically provide quick access to money for people who are living paycheck to paycheck are exploited by scammers. When the check is revealed to be fake, the banks turn to the person who deposited it, the consumer, to repay the money to the bank.

Experts advise consumers to never immediately send money from the check to anyone and visit the bank in person when making the deposit. That way, the consumer can talk to a banker in person, and that could help stop fraud before money is lost.

Hussain realized that he will never get back his father's $300 but hopes that sharing his experience will stop others from falling victim.

"I mean, I've felt stupid, but I know it as these guys have fooled a while lot of people," he said.