A Henryetta woman thought the postal service priority mail envelope contained a great after Christmas bonus this week.
Inside the envelope was a postal money order for nearly $1,000 as payment for being a Mystery Shopper checking the service at Walmart.
A letter with the money order had instructions to cash the money order at the bank then keep $180 as payment then take another $20 for a shopping spree. The remainder was to be used for payment to the company.
The only problem with that, the Henryettan never signed up as a mystery shopper and the money order was a forgery.
Police said there are several of these scams reported throughout the year. Unfortunately many of those free money mailings and emails are taken as gospel truth and an unwitting individual winds up losing the money they send.
In this case, the letter said money should be sent to an individual at 523 Lincoln Avenue in Calumet City, Illinois.
Investigation on the Internet shows that house is unoccupied and, in fact, is being offered for sale.
Officials from the U.S. Postal Service said forged postal money orders are often cashed under the belief they are "good" if they are  cashed by a bank and are not subject to recourse.
The only problem, that is not the case.
If a person cashes the money order then sends the requested amount to a specified individual, often it is several days before the forged money order is returned and that person charged for the lost funds.
Several security features are on the real money orders similar to the various U.S. currency denominations.
There are several key things to look for when spotting a fake money order. (See the photo)
Check the Dollar Amounts
The dollar amount is discolored. It may have been erased, indicating fraud (see 3).
The dollar amount is not imprinted twice (see 4).
The value of a domestic money order is larger than $1,000 (the maximum value for domestic money orders).
The value for an international money order is larger than $700 ($500 for El Salvador or Guyana).
Examine the Paper
Hold the money order up to the light. You should see:
Watermarks of Ben Franklin repeated on the left side, top to bottom (see 1).
A vertical, multicolored thread with the letters "USPS" that weaves in and out of the paper to the right of the Franklin watermark (see 2).
As a precautiion, Henryetta police urged everyone to report any type of forged documents and not to cash any checks or money orders. If a person has a quesiton about a check or money order, shey should take it to their bank or financial institution.