Fraudulent schemes target millions of people each year leaving many with empty bank accounts. According to the United States Postal Service (USPS) most frauds carry common traits. In keeping with National Consumer protection week the USPS offers its customers helpful tips to spot common scams and prevent fraud.

The first rule of thumb is,  “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is”. Investigate claims of “easy money” before becoming involved in what could be a potential scheme and be informed that foreign lotteries are illegal in the United States.

With many Americans working from home as a convenient alternative for those with children or college students, offers of “easy money” to work from home often sound good. However, work-at–home jobs that involve check processing are not legitimate and other types of work from home jobs might not pan out or deliver what is promised.

Help to transfer money in and out of the United States is not needed. Anyone asking for help to get money in or out of the United States is looking to get personal information from the victim to use in other schemes. Do not send money to an unknown company. If in doubt, check with the Better Business Bureau or a financial advisor.

Never deposit a check from an unknown sender. Examine the check first for authenticity. Criminals are getting better at making checks look genuine. Be wary of accepting checks written for more than what is owed.

In addition, just because your bank account says “funds available” doesn’t mean the check has actually cleared.

Guard all personal information. A reputable bank or business will never email or call asking for a customer’s checking or saving’s account number. With this in mind, always be sure to limit the amount of personal information given over the phone or Internet. When financial statements arrive, be sure to look over them carefully. Dispose of all unwanted personal documents by shredding them.

Be sure to keep track of personal credit reports. Consumers can request a credit report at http://www.annualcreditreport.com. By law this report is available to consumers free of charge each year.

For more information on fraud prevention go to http://www.deliveringtrust.com/.