This post may contain affiliate links. You can find the full disclosure here.
Have you thought about car wrap advertising? Let me talk to you first about the car wrap scam, including ACTUAL emails (yes, they tried to get us!).
Let me introduce you to an internet car scam in the hopes that you will not fall for it.
I specifically want to go over this one because I have mentioned before that you can make money by having your vehicle wrapped in an advertisement.
In fact, my husband and I signed ourselves onto a legitimate vehicle wrapping company several years ago in the hopes that they would choose us.
It turned out to be a complete car advertising scam, and I played along until the end so that I could show you what this looks like.
Our Car Wrap Scam Experience
Which is probably why the initial email I received from the scammer did not raise alarms for me:
From: harriettk@hotmail.com, 10/24/13: "would you like to earn $300.00 weekly for wrapping your vehicle in an Ad?"
Even though the email looked rather informal, I replied, “Yes”, thinking that this was someone working for the vehicle wrap company which I had signed up for.
On 10/25/2013, I received the following reply from Harry Peterson, dcspatterson@hotmail.com (I realize this is a lot of copying and pasting to read through; however, I believe this will help others who are searching online to determine whether or not the email they have received is a scam; also, I included grammatical and spelling errors from them):
"Wrap advertising is the marketing practice of completely or partially covering (wrapping) a vehicle in an advertisement or livery, thus turning it into a mobile billboard. This can be achieved by simply painting the vehicle surface, but it is becoming more common today to use large vinyl sheets as decals. These can be removed with relative ease, making it much less expensive to change from one advertisement to another. Vehicles with large, flat surfaces, such as buses and light-rail carriages, are fairly easy to work with, though smaller vehicles with curved surfaces can also be wrapped in this manner. Wrap advertising is available to anybody irrespective of the vehicle you drive.
We are currently seeking to employ individuals world wide as we look to expand our market thus, introducing ( Kronik Energy Drink) to every nooks and crannies especially in the USA. How would you like to make money by simply driving your vehicle or banner wrapped for Kronik Energy Drink®
How it works?
Here's the basic premise of the "paid to drive" concept: Kronik Energy Drink® seeks people -- regular citizens, professional drivers to go about their normal routine as they usually do - 'which means there are no OBLIGATIONS whatsoever as to how many miles you have to cover' only with a big advert for " Kronik Energy Drink®" plastered on your vehicle. The ads are typically vinyl decals, also known as "auto wraps,"that almost seem to be painted on the vehicle, and which will cover any portion of your vehicle's exterior surface.Don't Have a vehicle?
If you don't have a vehicle, you can also participate if you have a bike or scooter.What does the company get out of this type of ad strategy?
Lots of exposure and awareness. The auto wraps tend to be colorful, eye-catching and attract lots of attention. Plus, it's a form of advertising with a captive audience,meaning people who are stuck in traffic can't avoid seeing the wrapped vehicle alongside them. This program will last for 3 months and the minimum you can participate is a month.What is the Contract Duration?
Once the wrap has been installed, minimum term is 4 weeks and maximum is 12 weeks.Would the wrap/decal damage the paint of my vehicle?
The decal doesn't damage the paint of the vehicle and will be removed by our representative once the contract expires. We will be responsible for installation and removal of the wrap.You will be compensated with $300.00 per week which is essentially a "rental"payment for letting our company use the exterior space(excludes your windows and windscreens) on your vehicle and no fee is required from you. Kronik Energy Drink® shall provide experts that would handle the advert placing on your vehicle and also the removal. You will receive an upfront payment of $300.00 check via courier service for accepting to carry this advert on your vehicle…
Best Regards,
Harry Petterson
Hiring Manager
Kronik Energy Drink®Ph:+1 702-605-3372
Fax: +1 702-537-5695"
At this point, I did not pick up on the fact that Harry Peterson had signed his email with two “t’s” in his name. But I did smell a rat. In the email response I received on 10/26/2013, I knew something was wrong for sure:
"1) The first payment will come as a check in the mail.It will include both the installation and removal fee and also the $300.00 accrued to you. You are to cash the check payment as soon as you receive it for the decal wrapping of your vehicle and also deduct $300.00 accrued to you as your up-front payment. However, the rest of the funds would be paid to the Graphic artist that will install the decal on your vehicle. Method of payment will be related to you as soon as you receive the check payment. Nevertheless, it is paramount for you to confirm the acceptance and understanding of this email. Please note that the graphic artist payment covers the installation and removal of the wrap on your vehicle. The installation and removal will be done at your address and it will only take up to 2-3hrs. Subsequent payment of $300.00 accrued to you will come in the mail every Tuesday of the week."
I mean, why would I have to pay the graphics person and not them? A quick internet search resulted in finding the following forum where this very scam was unraveled.
Pssst: You'll also want to learn how to identify a craiglist scammer, as car wrap scams occur on that site.
How Car Wrap Advertising Scams Work
Basically, the check I was to receive in the mail (and actually did, to the tune of $2,450) came with instructions to cash it.
I was to take out $300 for myself, and then wire the remaining $2,150 to a specific address and person who would then design the vinyl advertising wrap for my car.
This kind of scam happens for all sorts of vehicle scams.
Some current ones (car wrap scams 2022) reported to me by people like YOU include:
- Cadbury USA Car Sticker scam: The scammers have said "Cadbury will pay you $400 weekly" for putting a Cadbury chocolate sticker on your car.
- AutoZone decal scam
- Oral B advertising campaign scam
- Verve energy drink car wrap scam
- Aspire energy drink car wrap advertising scam
- Ben & Jerry's car wrap scam
In fact, that is what Harry asked me to do on 12/5/2013:
"Report has it that the check payment for the decal wrapping of your vehicle will be delivered to your address via USPS today. Kindly confirm via usps.com with the tracking number 9470101699320004911554. kindly proceed to deposit the check into your bank account as soon as you receive it today and funds will be available for withdrawal 24hrs after the check has been deposited. I will be waiting for a confirmation message immediately the check is deposited. As soon as the cash is cleared you are to deduct $300.00 which is accrued to you and forward the balance to the graphic artist that will be wrapping the decal on your vehicle via WESTERN UNION transfer. The same graphic artist will also be responsible for removing the decal when the program is completed."
The person I was to send it to was Brigido B Bellhouse, Laverne CA, 91750.
Checks take several days to clear a bank, and the scammers frantically attempted to contact me after the check was sent to my house to ensure that I would wire this money. If I had not already known it was a scam, then I would have been out to the tune of $2,150.
When I asked Harry Petterson why I would have to pay the graphics person, he responded:
“Payments are issued to our respective applicants through our corporate sponsor. However the payment covers both the installation fee, removal fee and the weekly $300.00 accrued to you.”
Right.
Psst: do you have Netflix? I just watched a documentary about scams, and it was really good to explain them! Check out Money, Explained Episode 1: Get Rich Quick if you're curious.
Clues that Set Off My Gut Instinct
In case you ever find yourself with an email offer that looks too good to be true, check out these clues that set my own gut instinct off:
- Clue #1: The name changed from Harry Peterson to Harry Petterson at some point in the email transactions.
- Clue #2: It made no sense that the company was sending money through me to pay the decal wrapping person, instead of paying the decal wrapping person themselves.
- Clue #3#: The company did not already have my address and information (which they should have had if they were one of the companies where I registered).
- Clue #4: The emails were riddled with grammatical mistakes, such as lowercase letters at the beginning of sentences and missed spacing.
- Clue #5: They did not care that my vehicle was old, and dirty and that I was self-employed (i.e. I hardly drive at all). BIG red flag.
- Clue #6: My gut did not feel easy about this transaction. Gut instinct should not be discounted!
Oral B Car Wrap Scam - Real Example
I get emails and comments about the oral b scam all the time. You guys are receiving text messages, emails, and sometimes, even checks, from Oral B (or supposedly), and you need to know: is oral b legit (as far as car wraps are concerned)?
No. Oral B does not have a car wrap advertising campaign.
Fortunately, to show you how this particular vehicle wrap scam works, Chad offered to share his text message, email, and experience dealing with the Oral B car wrap scam.
Chad says,
"I received a text message to my phone, which I took a screen shot of. I will attach. It also has a link to follow where you fill out an application, type of vehicle how far you drive etc etc. then a week or so later I got the “acceptance” letter."
He also asked that I share the following text message and email he received, verbatim, from the scammer.
Oral B Scam Text Message:
Oral B's Scam Acceptance Letter:
From: Oral-B®
To:
Sent: April 13, 2019 at 2:22 PM
Subject: Car Wrap Acceptance Letter.Hello,
(ID NUMBER ORB/806/1218)
We will like to Thank you and Congratulate you for signifying your interest to partake in our Survey brand car wrap advert program. Your information as been kept private. This program will last for 3 months, in which the minimum you can participate is 8 weeks (contract renewable at the end of the 8th week).
Per our offer letter, I would like to restate your hiring agreement.
* You will begin your position as our brand representative.
* I understand your starting salary will be $200 per week with performance reviews per month.
* You read & agreed to our part-time scheme.
Are you Able, Willing & Capable of this position in a timely manner ? Kindly REPLY to validate your Interest, As soon as you receive this Mail.
Yours Sincerely,
Tony Gardner
Hiring Manager,
Oral-B®
The Check Chad received from Oral-B:
Oral B Scam Text Message
How to Report Car Wrap Scam Emails and Text Messages
Before we get into finding LEGITIMATE car wrap advertising opportunities, I want to give you resources so that you can report car wrap scam emails and auto-wrap spam text messages.
How to Report an Auto Wrap Scam:
- Forward Your Emails to the FTC: Did you receive unsolicited e-mail offers or spam? Forward your messages to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov.
- File a Complaint with the FBI: You'll want to file an official complaint with the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (ITC3). They'll process them, and may or may not refer the complaint to federal, state, local, or even international law enforcement agencies for investigation.
- Report Phone Scammers: Phone scammers try to offer free grants, lotteries, product samples/trials, ask you to invest your money, and they can come in the form of actual people calling you or robocalls and even text messages. If they ask for your credit card information or social security information, then you're likely dealing with a scam. You'll want to report these by submitting a complaint to the FTC. To protect yourself for the future, place your phone number on the national DoNotCall list. Then, if you receive marketing calls still, you can submit a claim through the DoNotCall.gov site (these are different from scams, though. They might just be people trying to sell you something, which is not a scam).
- Report to Your State's Consumer Protection Agency: You can search here and find your state's consumer protection agency. They can help!
- Report Scam Checks Received to US Postal Service: If you receive an actual scam check in the mail, then you'll want to also file a complaint with the U.S. Postal Service.
- Report Scam to TruthinAdvertising.org: You can also alert this site, which routinely publishes scams (marketing and advertising scams) to help warn others before they go down the scam rabbit hole.
Here's more info on what to do after being scammed.
How Do You Find Legitimate Car Wrap Advertising?
You might be happy (and surprised, at this point) to learn that there ARE some legitimate car wrap advertising opportunities out there.
I mean, there has to be – otherwise, why would we drive by cars wrapped in advertising on the highway?
Typical signs that you’re dealing with a reputable company:
- You’ve already registered with them, and they’re sending you an offer.
- You have to tell them your driving history, and it has to be clean.
- They require you to have car insurance.
- They don’t ask YOU for any money.
- They require you to have a decent car (model year, what shape it’s in, paint job is still good, etc.)
- They are accredited by the BBB (Better Business Bureau)
List of Legitimate Car Wrap Advertising Companies – Get Paid to Wrap Your Car
Vehicle Wrap Company #1: Carvertise
BBB Rating: A
Years in Business: 6 years
Average Customer Review: 4.5 stars
Customer Complaints: there have been 3 customer complaints, each of which was closed (meaning, resolved) within the BBB
This company has placed over 6,000 car advertisements. They have a network of 425,000 drivers nationally and have paid out $1,500,000 to drivers across the U.S. Also, they're growing their driver base, with a goal to get up to 600,000 drivers in their network.
To qualify, you must drive at least 30 miles/day, and have a clean driving record. Also, your car must be a 2008 model or newer, and you will need a factory finish job (advertisers wouldn’t want to put their advertisement on a beater car!).
Payouts are typically $100 – $150/month per campaign with occasional opportunities to earn extra by doing things like parking your car in a specific location ($30/hour), posting photos, and getting your wrapping done quickly.
Here's how their wrapping process works,
"We wrap cars in-house with a team of expert detailers. We also work with a network of wrap shops across the U.S. for drivers located outside of Delaware. We work with only the highest quality wrap shops to ensure consistent quality no matter where the driver is. There is no cost to the driver for putting on/taking off the car wrap."
Wondering how you can tell if someone is scamming you by pretending to BE carvertise?
Here's their answer:
"Carvertise only sends emails from Carvertise.com – never reply to an email or message from anyone claiming to be a Carvertise representative if they are sending emails from yahoo, AOL, Gmail, or any other similar provider). We have a team of dedicated tech support, so you can also call us to speak with a live rep."
Have you received any email scams lately? Care to share to alert the rest of us?
Amanda L. Grossman is a writer and Certified Financial Education Instructor (CFEI®), Plutus Foundation Grant Recipient, and founder of Frugal Confessions. Over the last 17 years, her money work has helped people with how to save money and how to manage money.
She's been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Kiplinger, Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, Business Insider, LifeHacker, Real Simple Magazine, Woman's World, Woman's Day, ABC 13 Houston, Keybank, and more. Read more here or on LinkedIn.
I got an offer from a company and it's Folger's coffee but I cut me his hand and get they set me a check for 2008. $188 I deposited it cleared now. I'm waiting for the rest of the money $500 a week cleared deposit. It went to the counter had the bank manager. Look at it and put it in my account and I have cash in it today. Can you explain that if this is a scam
I'm almost certain this is a scam (look at Liz's comment with Folgers as well). Please wait several weeks to a month before doing anything. What will likely happen is the bank will catch up with it being a scam check and take the money back out. Please update us with what happens.
I just got one of these for Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream thru text message with a link to click on - did not click on the link....will report this. Thanks!!
You are most welcome - I'm so glad you found this information! Thanks for the heads up on the email address - I'll check for an updated one.
@Debbie,
I received the same kind of text just a few days ago. I assumed it was a scam so I texted them back and asked how they got my information. No response.
Good Evening:
I rec'd a text tonite at 5:34 est asking if I was willing to wrap my car for "POLAND SPRINGS," water company. It was sent to to others as well. I deleted b4 I found this website. I nlocked all 3 numbers then researched car wrapping scams. Going forward, I will report as aforementioned in this article.
Tx you for the information on all of the above, re: scams etc.
DeBora Gross
Thanks so much for sharing, DeBora - and for reporting this!
Just received a scam check in the mail today from supposedly Dr Pepper. New it was a scam before I even received check. 3 different names and they want me to keep $400 and immediately go out and buy$2,150 worth of Apple Gift Cards and overnight them to the installer at yet another address. Yeah, not happening. Turned everything over to the FBI via digital downloading. Thanks for your article.
Can you imagine a legit business asking to be paid in Apple Gift Cards? Ridiculous. Good on you for knowing it was a scam, and you're most welcome!
I received a text early this week about advertising for a Steak house for $600 a week to wrap my car. Received the big check today so I could pay installer also, almost 3K. Glad my son in law said research it. Found your site and attaching the info I sent the FBI internet crime folks. That is if I can figure out how to attach it. Check wrote by Bio-Response Columbus Ohio, supposedly.
Wow - I'm SO thankful you listened to your son-in-law and found this article. Great going on reporting the crime to the FBI.
I received a text message in form of a picture message for dennys. It said the following:
Promotion Program
Denny’s will pay you ($400) weekly for driving around with our company 3M decal on your Car/Truck/Van/SUV. The decal is very easy to remove without damaging your vehicles paint. This will make vehicle owner side income while driving your normal route ad it’s a marketing tools, no milage is required, you will be getting paid via check ($400) weekly. Kindly provide the following information to get started.
Full Name:
Address including street & Apt #:
City, State & zip code:
Car/Truck/Van/SUV Model& color:
Occupation:
Phone Number:
Email:
Do you have active Bank Acc?:
Thanks
When I seen this I knew it was a scam because I’ve never applied for anything like that and it came thru my phone via text message but the senders address was an email. It seemed really suspicious so I just ignored it but just commenting to put another one on there so everyone now knows of another car decal scam. I wanted to post a picture of it on here but I couldn’t figure out how to add an attachment.
-Sara F
Great job on quickly seeing those red flags, and on showing everyone else by posting it here! Thank you.
Here’s another scam for Horizon Milk received via text from: +1 (305) 429-1696
Hello!!! would you like to campaign for our new product and get paid $800 weekly? read more https://forms.gle/bgMYYmqJavP2zdPR6
Yuck - thank you Shari, for sharing this in case someone else gets the same text (which I'm sure they will!).
@Shari, I got one just like this and it is March/April 2023. I am going to report them, it is not right. I noticed that the check was from a nursing home and that clued me in! Plus their letterhead was not professional.
@Shari, I also got that one in March 2023. It went to my spam folder and I was just cleaning that up when I found it.
It came from "Crystal Colvin", of Horizon Organic Dairy.
I have been inundated w/these car wrap scams, ever since the first big data breach. I’m getting text msgs on a daily basis. B&G Products was the most recent car wrap text. I’ve also received one for Starbucks.
This isn’t ac car wrap scheme, but another one I get a lot of. Hi, I’m, “John Hancock”, I won the lottery and have chosen you to kindly give some of my winnings to. I think I got five of these in one week. I finally text them back and said, “I must be the luckiest person alive, right? I mean there are 5 different lottery winners and they all want to spread the wealth and I’m the one they ALL WANT TO HELP, even though it was RANDOM!” They replied, “So you know it’sa scam…” I replied, “Obviously and you people never give up! You should lose my number. I’m really sick and tired of getting text msgs, only to find out, it’s n a He scam, or the same scam 15x’s” I wish there was a way to find and sue them, for time lost, for getting people’s hopes up. That aren’t in great situations, like my own. Abuse of a disabled individual. I don’t know. I wish there were some way to get them back. Although, I may not have taken for there scams, as you see here, several people have. My thoughts and prayers are with you. If I fell into something like this, it would take my income for two full months, not to mention everything I’d lose, being unable to pay for anything. It would wipe out my bank account and then some.
I’m apologize, Ik this is about car wrap scams, but I have to mention the 3rd most frequently used scam text msg I receive. That’s the, I found your info on another platform, but I’m in need of a personal assistant. This can be a companion or business personal assistant, every time I’ve received any type of text msg, eluding to the fact, they need a personal assistant, has turned out to be fraud. I guess you can always remember, “if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is too good to be true “. Thank you for shining a spotlight on these ppl and what they do! Hopefully, it will stop more ppl from being scammed by them, in the future!
Kristie M.
Ooohh Kristie - I'm so sorry you've been receiving many of these fraudulent scams over the last months and years. You've done a great job at vetting them and listening to your gut, and thank you for sharing about your experience to hopefully help others (I hadn't heard of the personal assistant scam!).
@Amanda L Grossman, I too have received the same “Personal Assistant” email. Ever since my info got hacked in the Equifax mess I have been getting hundreds of emails and texts on a daily basis!
Ooohhh no, Dion!
I'm having trouble convincing my roommate that the car wrap program he has signed up for is a scam. It had all the same red flags: promise of large payment ($500 per week), grammatical oddities and mistakes, no requests for car model/year or insurance, check for large amount with instructions to send part of that money to an installer, etc.
The moment he received the initial solicitation I warned him that it was a scam. But he went ahead and applied. He has since received a check for over $2400 and has deposited it in his account. He said he asked the teller about the legitimacy of the check. I was surprised to hear that the teller said the check appeared to be legitimate. He asked the teller if there was a time limit for cancelling the check. In other words, how long after depositing the check, could the company cancel the check and have the funds withdrawn. The teller said they were unaware of a specific deadline. I find that hard to believe. If there were no deadline then anyone could cancel a check weeks or months after sending it, which would wreak havoc on the banking system.
At this point, he has notified the sender that the check has been deposited. One thing he did to protect himself was to deposit the check in person at the bank. The sender had asked that he use a special app to make the deposit. That request alone was a HUGE red flag. If he had used the app to deposit the check, he would have willingly given all his bank account information to the scam company.
I don't know how far he is going to allow this scam to go. He has not sent any money to anyone yet. And the money is sill in his savings account. But I'm sure it will be just a matter of days before the check is cancelled and those funds disappear from his account. He lost his job a few weeks ago, and has been doing gig work to pay rent, etc. But he is desperate for money and apparently ready to fall for just about any get-rich-quick scam.
I have sent him links to this site and several others that warn of scams like these. I can only hope he doesn't try to use the money before it gets withdrawn from his account and ends up putting his account in the negative.
Thanks for sharing your experience and offering a forum for others to share their experiences as well.
Oh dear, Harry - you're being a very good friend. I'm happy to hear that he hasn't sent anyone money yet (and hopefully, that still stands). You're most welcome - I'm so glad you were able to show him this article and everyone's experiences.
@Harry, did the check end up being canceled
I almost fell for this!
For Dasani. I got a text with a link that took me to a VERY legitimate looking "Dasani" website but I noticed the web address was
https://dasanibottlewater.ga/! I then googled Dasani's official website. It's at https://www.dasani.com. Red flag!!
Gah, Nadine! Total red flag - I'm so glad you didn't fall for it, and thank you for sharing with everyone else.
I just received a text message for the car wrap for Kellogg. I did proceed because I knew it was to good to be true also what let me know it was a scam is when it stated that they would send me a check and I had to wire the rest of the check to pay the installer. Also I noticed grammer mistakes that really alerted me.
Soooo glad to hear you didn't fall for it, Levita! Thanks for sharing.
I am currently emailing with a company to advertise the womens World Cup. I am doubting it’s legit but I cannot I’d information about it. How do I see if it is legitimate?
Hi Kelley! Did you reach out to them, or did they reach out to you?
I only went back to June and didn't see anyone say this one but I'm supposed to receive a check tomorrow to get a wrap for the Whole Foods store...ugh why didn't I see it, I mean I guess I kinda did cuz here I am googling if it's a scam....
@Mandy Manning, I also received text messages from B&G foods asking me to look for a check I would be receiving in the mail for car wrap advertisement. That one I know is a scam I’m unsure about the one you mentioned. I hope you do uncover the truth.
Good morning yes I found an ad on Craigslist in my local website in Canada they said they need 10 people to do display on your car for a whopping 600 a week all I had to do is cash a 4000 dollar check Wait for it to clear then send them 3000 to the sticker guy keep 1200 and when I get the stickers take a picture of it on my car so I played along but sent an email stating that i would only do it if the checks were certified i just sent the email so i don't expect a response
Good thinking on your part, Don. Thanks for sharing your experience and how you handled it.
I almost fell for it too. I got a text to advertise for the Monster Energy Drink Company. And since my husband drink that we thought it would be nice to have a little extra cash since the kids are starting school soon. I got a check for $2,800. Check looked real from bank of america. They text me 2 days after I received the check say "This is Mr Miller from monster energy drink company, here is to inform you that the check has been delivered to you mailbox, am sure you received it? I responded yes and they texted back on how to deposit and send the $400 thru zelle. The $400 was to pay the installer and then the next day send them $1,800 more. An unfortunately i did send them $400. They gave me a name and email address and they said ok we will talk tomorrow. Next morning they texted asking for the $1,800 i told then ok say email address rite they said no we will send you the name and email address in a minute. When i got the email address it was for a completely different person. RED FLAG. so i told they that i could send the money thru zelle. if there was a way i can take the car to a shop or pay cash when the installer arrives to the home to do the installation. They said no that the installer needs to buy the supplies need for the installation. 2nd red flag, wouldn't they have the supplies already. they proceeded with ok go to the store and buy a apple gift card for $1,000 and you can pay us that way. That was the 3rd red flag why would i pay with an apple gift card. I went to the bank and asked questions about the check and they said don't touch the money mostly like it's a scam. Next day they texted again asking if the funds were available and i told them my bank account was locked and i was at a negative due to an investigation of fraudulent activities. and i haven't heard from them after that.
How can people do this. Can't trust anybody anymore and it sucks cause they are using real company names.
Ooohh no, Maria - I'm so sorry to hear that you sent them $400 through zelle. Thank goodness you listened to your gut and the red flags, and did not send them any other money. Very shady to pay someone with an apple gift card (not to mention, the other signs).
@Maria Carter, so sorry to hear I just started doing my own investigation because I Signed up to do the very same thing for Frito-Lay somethings on it too good to be true they sent me a check for over $4000 I still have it I asked them what should I do for the rap and then I came across a video saying that there’s scams out there so I immediately told them I will not be cashing the check and that it’s fraudulent and I’m sending it to the Better Business Bureau and never have I heard back from them but I’m glad that I didn’t cash it! I was so mad and my heart sank when I found out that the very same thing happen to me but for $4000 I get it if I cashed it and would have of had to pay back a bunch of money if I didn’t do my research before cashing the check that they sent to me. Thank goodness I figured it out before then..!