Here is some important information about two different scams involving checks.
Internet Sales
We have had several customers make a sale over the Internet. The person buying from them sends several thousand dollars more than the agreed upon price. The buyer asks the seller to just send the extra amount back to them via Western Union or Official Check. The buyer gets his money immediately and shortly thereafter the original check from the buyer is returned to us marked "counterfeit" or "account closed’. In this scenario, you the customer are out the amount you sent to the buyer.
Sweepstakes
Another scam that has victimized some of our customers recently, is the sweepstakes scam. In this scam, the customer is notified that they have won a sweepstakes and would be receiving a check for $3,000. When they actually received the check, it was for $7,500. They immediately were notified that the check was sent in error and that they should return the extra $4,500. Similar to the Internet Scam, they returned the $4,500 via Western Union and soon thereafter the original check was returned "counterfeit". They have now lost $4,500.
Please be extremely cautious when dealing with someone you do not know or trust, especially if they initiated the contact. We encourage you to verify the authenticity of any check (even if it is marked "official"), before responding to a request to return funds.
National Penn will never ask you to update your account information via email by clicking on a link or through telephone contact. Should you receive an email with such a request, consider it fraud. DO NOT RESPOND to it and IMMEDIATELY DELETE it from your inbox. Additionally, we will never initiate a call to you and ask you to provide personal or financial information over the phone. If you mistakenly respond to a fraudulent email or phone call, please call us immediately at 1.800.822.3321.