STOP! 'Tis the season to be scammed!
	In the last week we have been notified by several people of an attempt to defraud them. While each attempt has varied slightly, the basic concept is the same. Several instances involve customers selling merchandise on the Internet. An eager buyer, often agreeing to purchase the item at the asking price without seeing a photo, will send a "Cashier's Check" far in excess of the agreed upon amount. Following this, a request is made to send the excess back to the remitter, often by Western Union. THESE CASHIER'S CHECKS ARE COUNTERFEIT. A variation on this theme is the Lottery Scam. In this scenario, a letter is sent with a "Cashier's Check" advising the addressee that he/she has won a huge sum of money in the lottery (usually Canadian). The addressee is asked to deposit the check and, as soon as the funds are available, to send them, via Western Union, to an "agent" who will then send the balance of the lottery winnings to the addressee. No additional winnings are sent and, again, the original check proves to be a counterfeit. First Bank & Trust generally makes funds available the first business day after a check is deposited (the second business day after the date of deposit on a business account). THIS DOES NOT MEAN THE CHECK IS "GOOD". THIS DOES NOT MEAN THE CHECK CANNOT BE RETURNED FOR SOME REASON. If it does, the depositor is responsible. If you have ANY questions about the validity of a check, please call one of our Personal Bankers. If something seems "fishy", it probably is.