True or false: If a check “clears” within the typical one to five business days but later is discovered to be fake, the bank customer who deposited the check and subsequently spends the money cannot be held financially responsible for the fraud.

If you answered false, congratulations. You know something about how the banking system works.

But if you answered true, you could be conned one day.

Just because you may have access to the funds deposited by check does not mean that the check is “good.” Although federal regulations require financial institutions to make funds from a deposit available generally within one to five business days, it actually can take weeks before a bank discovers that a deposited check is worthless.

The National Consumers League recently reported that fake check scams are alarmingly on the rise.

There are a number of ways people end up with fake checks. Leading the way are work-at-home schemes.

In one variation, a person supposedly is hired as an account manager by a foreign company and asked to deposit checks from what turns out to be fake U.S. customers. The person is instructed to deposit the checks and take her pay from the deposited funds. The worker has no idea the checks are fraudulent.

Fake checks also are being sent to people who believe they have won a sweepstakes or lottery.

These victims are told to cash the checks and wire money to supposedly pay taxes or other fees.

In another fake check scheme, someone selling an item either through a newspaper or an online auction is sent a check for far more than the item is being sold for. The seller is asked to wire the difference back to the buyer.

According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., which recently issued tips to avoid being conned by this scheme, a depositor most likely will be held responsible for all the money if a deposited check, cashier’s check or money order comes back later as a fake or counterfeit.

I know what you’re thinking.

Isn’t it the bank’s job to verify checks? A check is only provisionally cleared at first, and you’re responsible if it’s fraudulent.

If you don’t want to be conned in this growing scheme take these precautions offered by the FDIC (www.ftc.gov; search for “fake checks”):

¢ Don’t spend any money received from a stranger until the branch manager of your financial institution says the funds truly have been cleared. “If the other party badgers you at any time about waiting, especially if you are directed to send funds, tear up their check and stop all communications,” says Michael Benardo, manager of the FDIC’s financial crimes section.

¢ Do some detective work to make sure a check is good. If you’re selling something, don’t accept a personal check. Insist on a money order or cashier’s check drawn at a bank with a local branch. If you follow that last directive, you can go to the bank branch to find out if the check is legit.

¢ If you receive a check from a business you’ve never dealt with or from a stranger, ask someone from your financial institution for help in verifying that it’s authentic or that it wasn’t stolen.

To read more about counterfeit check schemes go to these links:

¢ www.usps.com/missingmoneyorders/security.htm

¢ www.fraud.org/tips/ internet/fakecheck.htm

¢ www.lookstoogoodtobetrue.com. On this site take the online test to see if you are at risk for check fraud.

If you want to avoid being a victim of a fake check scam, follow this one piece of advice: Don’t ever accept a check if part of the deal involves your sending or wiring back some of the money.

Just think: When have you ever written a check for more than what is necessary and then asked the recipient to send you the difference? It just doesn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t the person, when discovering the mistake, either put a stop payment on the check or ask you to destroy it and offer to send you a new one for the right amount?

Because it’s a scam, that’s why.