Last year I got victimized in a scam at http://www.roommates.com/. Like an idiot, I took a $3,000 check from a hot chick and planned to wire her the remainder of the funds after the check cleared. After doing everything I knew to do to make sure the check was legit, I deposited it.
As you might have guessed, the check was counterfeit. My bank, Bank Of America, chose to stop doing business with me and closed the account. That didn't really bother me. You expect things like that.
Several overdue months later, I applied for an account at a new bank. Bank of America, however, placed a mark with checksys or similar that basically says I'm a fraud. I called BOA. They will not remove the mark, and it will stay there for 5 years total.
Meanwhile, I still don't have a bank account and don't quite know how to get one.
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

KP

File for a Tin Number with the IRS, with this you can open a new abank account without the use of your social security number

An ITIN, or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number, is a tax processing number only available for certain nonresident and resident aliens, their spouses, and dependents who cannot get a Social Security Number (SSN). It is a 9-digit number, beginning with the number "9", formatted like an SSN (NNN-NN-NNNN).

I am a resident citizen. Thank you for your reply.

I am a resident citizen. Thank you for your reply.


I think what they were referring to was the EIN, Employee Identification Number. I have a church account using that number, we also have a business and a business account that uses our business EIN for accounting purpose.

Also many factors, if you have not cleared the money with the BOA yet, but still owe them your account will be showing a non sufficient fund, thus you would most likely not be able to get another checking or bank account until you get that solved.

You may look into getting an ATM card from one of the ATM card companies, many make them available if you direct deposit you payroll check, no matter what your credit. It does not give you checks but you can use the ATM card everywhere that accepts VISA and to withdraw cash

Also try going to the very smallest home time bank in town, tell them what happened and explain it to them. Basically while it was not fruad on your part, it was a bank fraud, you withdrew money from the bank based on a bad check which you are liable for, until you make good the bad check it will be very hard to get a new account.

If you have already paid it off, they should take that off your account

Kind of curious, what kind of scam was it? My son has signed up on that website looking for a room mate, I want to be able to give him a little warning

Thanks

What I don't get is why would the marker be on your file when you honestlly didn't know it was a forgery cheque?

Fraud Warning:
It has come to our attention that a scam is being perpetrated on this website (as well as our competitor's), most commonly directed towards those with a room available for rent. The scammers are typically foreign (many are from Nigeria). They will send an overpayment for a rent deposit in the form of a cashier's check. The scammer will then ask for a partial refund (their overpayment minus the deposit). After the money has been refunded, the victim finds that the cashier's check was counterfeit.

Victims have lost thousands of dollars as a result of this scam. Please be cautious when receiving deposits. If someone writes you a check and later asks for a refund, call your bank to make sure the funds are securely in your account before returning payment.

While the majority of our members have honest intentions, there are always a few "bad apples". If you believe you are being scammed by a Roommates.com member, please contact [email protected] with the nickname and/or email address of the potential scammer. We will do our best to stop them in their tracks.

Thank you,

Roommates.com Customer Care