Editing Internet fraud (section)

==Counterfeit postal money orders==

According to the [[FBI]], on April 26, 2005 [[Tom Zeller Jr.]] wrote an article in ''[[The New York Times]]''<ref name="frd-time">{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9907EED81231F935A15757C0A9639C8B63&n=...&smid=pl-share|title=A Common Currency for Online Fraud: Forgers of U.S. Postal Money Orders Grow|author=Tom Zeller Jr|work=New York Times|date=April 26, 2005}}</ref> regarding a surge in the quantity and quality of the forging of U.S. postal money orders, and its use to commit online fraud. Counterfeiters will conduct these scams through emails or chat rooms. If a person is trying to sell or give away an item of theirs, counterfeiters will make them believe that they are related to auction sites such as eBay. As of right now, there is no way to figure out how much money is being taken through these fake orders, the United States Postal Service believes that it is in the millions. The people who are targeted the most are those who are smaller retailers who operate through the internet or everyday people who sell or pay for items on the web. Owing to the lack of rules or warning signs about counterfeiters, more and more people will be affected.

Many companies like UPS and Federal Express have started to collaborate with the United States Postal Service to begin surveilling money postal orders. This way they can spot the real from the fake, however this is easier said then done, so they advocate users to be cautious when making a money postal orders. Arrests have taken place, between 2004 and 2005, 160 counterfeiters were arrested. Many of these arrested were caught in the process of cashing in the money they have stolen.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2017-09-07|title=Counterfeit Money Orders: The Ultimate Guide|url=https://www.fraudguides.com/internet/counterfeit-money-orders/|access-date=2021-04-22|website=Fraud Guides|language=en-US}}</ref> In the [[United States of America]], the penalty for making or using counterfeit postal money orders is up to ten years in jail and/or a $25,000 fine.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cybercops.com/counterfeit_postal_money_orders.php|title=CyberCops.com - Counterfeit Postal Money Orders|website=www.cybercops.com|access-date=23 May 2017|archive-date=9 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809173217/https://cybercops.com/counterfeit_postal_money_orders.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>