Two Wauwatosa women learned to be wary of easy money and casual acquaintances after they were involved in what they told police was a check-cashing scheme that cost them thousands of dollars. They came to the police station at 7:54 p.m. April 23 to report that they had been had.
According to the Wauwatosa police report:
The women, 20 and 21, were given an offer by an acquaintance to get fast money. The acquaintance told them all they had to do was cash checks for them and they would get a portion of the money.
They cashed three checks for the acquaintances: one for $3,000 for which they got $500, another for $4,000 for which they got $400, and a third for $6,000 that they didn't get any money for.
Throughout the experience, which led them to different banks and credit unions for each check cashed, the two asked their acquaintance if what they were doing was legal. They were told not to worry and that everything was legitimate.
The two were given cause for worry after their credit unions called them saying the checks had bounced. The 21-year-old ended up being $9,000 in debt and the 20-year-old was $4,000 in debt.
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