Help Me Hank: Help Me Hank! Fraudulent funds

Shayne is quite a handful and has taught mom Cara plenty about kids! To make some money with her mommy skills, Cara was looking into nannying. She posted her profile on a website connecting nannies with families. And soon after she got an e-mail titled "we need nanny immediately".

Cara Mastrangelo, Shayne's mom
"I was excited I got a job."

The e-mail, apparently from Missouri, explained that the mother and her new baby were still in the hospital. And the father was "out of the country", so they needed Cara's help paying the hospital bill. Here's the clincher: it asked, could Cara cash some money orders and wire those funds to the hospital?

Cara Mastrangelo, Shayne's mom
"That kind of made it a little weird."

Even weirder: four money orders totaling $3,400 soon arrived in Cara's mailbox. Cara and her mom couldn't believe it.

Lori Balestrier, Cara's mom
"As real as they looked, it was just too...too shaky for me."

Mother and daughter knew exactly what to do next.

Cara Mastrangelo, Shayne's mom
"Help me Hank."

Postal Inspector Joe Kleinberg instantly knew Cara's money orders were bogus. In fact he showed us evidence bags containing hundreds of similar fake checks and money orders all seized from airports and post offices.

Joe Kleinberg, U.S. Postal Inspector
"The average person sees these and assumes that they're legitimate."

Con artists scour the Internet for job-hunters like Cara, apartment renters, and people with items to sell. They send back authentic-looking but fake checks and money orders asking you to cash them and send some of the money back. Don't do it!

Hank Phillippi Ryan, Investigative Reporter
"Is there ever a reason to cash a check from someone you don't know and send them back money?"

Joe Kleinberg, U.S. Postal Inspector
"I honestly can't think of one."

The thing is it can take the bank two weeks to determine whether a check is fake. By that time the con artist will have vanished and you'll be responsible for the money.

Joe Kleinberg, U.S. Postal Inspector
"Most people are surprised. They assume if it's fraudulent that the bank is responsible."

So who's going to put these bad guys out of business? You are by just saying no. Because law enforcement knows they're often impossible to catch.

So good call, mom, these money orders are fakes and could have left your daughter in deep trouble.

Lori Balestrier, mom
"You can't be too sure, you really can't."

Hank Phillippi Ryan, Investigative Reporter
"Why would you ever cash a check from someone you don't know and then send them the money? It makes no sense, but people have lost billions of dollars a year to these scams. So, one more time, don't do it!"

(Copyright 2007 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)