£58k cheque fiddle is blocked

Staffordshire trading standards officers seized £58,000 worth of counterfeit travellers cheques.

The county council' department was told of the racket by a woman who had been seeking a job on the internet.

She got a reply saying she was successful and could expect to receive 2,000 dollars worth of American Express travellers cheques which she should process before wiring cash back to the sender via Western Union.

Officers tracked down 115,000 dollars – approximately £58,000 – at a Brighton address where a man was arrested. He is helping with inquiries.

Cheques appear to be a good comparison to the real thing but on closer inspection, they are more distinguishable, given the poor quality hologram and the weakened watermark.

It is believed larger operations are based in Nigeria and South Africa and that this may well be going on in other areas of Britain.

Anyone who suspects they have been targeted by a similar operation to this one should contact the special trading standards hotline on 01785 330356.