Learn about check overpayment scams

Be aware of check overpayment scams, which involve fake checks that say they're from the Department of Revenue.

Please be aware of check overpayment scams involving fraudulent checks identified as coming from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts/Department of Revenue.

To date, about 100 phony DOR checks have been reported from states all across the country, including: 

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Massachusetts
• Missouri
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• Ohio
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Wisconsin

How the scam works

If you're selling items through ads or online auction postings on websites such as Craigslist, you may receive a check overpayment scam in response. Here is how it usually works:

1. You, the seller, are contacted by an alleged buyer. 
2. The "buyer" offers to pay with a cashier's personal, government, or corporate check.
3. The check may have the "Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Revenue" name and address on them, and will be made out for more than the item's price.
4. At the last minute, the "buyer" will give you a reason for writing the check for more than the purchase price, and then asks you to send or wire back a real check that covers the difference to a Post Office box after you've deposited the check.
5. In most cases, the checks are counterfeit. While the checks might initially clear, they will eventually bounce, which leave you responsible for the bad check.
6. As a result, you wind up depositing a bad check you're responsible for, send money to the scammer, and may have also shipped the item before realizing the scam.

Do not deposit these bad checks. 

If you receive a check from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts/Department of Revenue for the purchase of items that you're selling, either from an advertisement or online auction posting, immediately contact our Office of Internal Affairs at [phone].