Arthur Kass Reports & Reviews (1)
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SCAMPULSE
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SCAMPULSE
If you know any contact information for Arthur Kass, help other victims by adding it!
Scammer's address 7945 San Miguel Canyon Road, Salinas, CA 93907, USA
Country United States
Victim Location NY 10009, USA
Type of a scam Fake Check/Money Order
This buyer said he was out of town but would send me a cashier’s check and have movers come to pick up the table. He would pay me an additional $50 to hold the table and the check would include additional funds to pay the movers. This arrangement seemed odd to me, but I elected to proceed with the sale.
The check did arrive, in the amount of $1,750. This implied the movers would cost a relatively unreasonable $1,350 ($1,750 less $400). The check was from US Alliance Financial of 411 Theodore Fremd Avenue, Suite 350, Rye, NY 10580-1426. The return address on the envelope was that for an Arthur Kass of 7945 San Miguel Canyon Rd, Salinas CA 93907-1243.
I immediately texted the buyer to express my shock about the odd amount. He confirmed the movers did cost that much. I figured since the return address was for California that perhaps he was shipping the table across country, naively thinking that Craigslist attracted all types of buyers for all types of purposes. Who was I to judge? If there was something wrong with the check, then surely the bank would reject it.
Bank of America did deposit the check, which at the time I considered to be verification. I deposited $400 into my checking account for the table and took $1,350 cash for the movers. I didn’t think to ask the teller if it was actually a cashier’s check, which it was not, as it was made to appear, and I wasn't thinking at the time about how upon deposit the bank extends a credit until the check is verified, which can take anywhere from 2-7 business days.
I confirmed with the buyer I had cashed the check. He then asked me to transfer the $1,350 electronically to the movers because they had to be prepaid before they could dispatch the team, either through Venmo, Quick Pay, or Zelle. This last request was unacceptable and I refused; I had the cash in hand. He then said I could also deposit the cash directly into a TD Bank account (account name: KPN Data LLC / account number: 4336369114).
At this point I was feeling uncomfortable, but I live next door to a TD Bank, so I thought I’d walk over and speak with a teller there. Meanwhile, I was finally feeling anxious enough to stop. I checked my Bank of America account and noted the “counter credit,” which made me realize it was not a cashiers check I had deposited. Then I Googled Arthur Kass of California and found hits related to check schemes with similar transaction circumstances. I worked with a TD Bank teller and the branch manager to report the suspected fraud, including flagging the account for KPN Data. I also called Bank of America and explained the situation, telling them I may have just deposited a counterfeit check.
I then texted the buyer again, explaining that I would not be taking further steps in our business until my bank verified the check. He would continue to try to contact me over the upcoming days, trying to persuade me to send him money back. On Saturday, July 20, my suspicions were confirmed when Bank of America rejected the check and withdrew $1,750 from my account. I informed the culprit that the check had been rejected, asked him to stop trying to contact me and then blocked his number.