President of the BVI Bank Association, Joycelyn Murraine

She said that some advertisements which appear in the newspapers from time to time offer home-based work opportunities which seem to be legitimate and are not.

Ms. Murraine also added that banks have seen some people easily sucked in and experience losses due to this. She went on to say that the most popular of the scam is where a person receives money from an overseas company or individual after having applied for a job that they saw in the newspapers.

According to Ms. Murraine, once the individual has responded to the advertisement, they receive a check in the mail as advanced payment for a work-from-home job, usually for several thousand dollars.

The check looks authentic, it has your correct name, address, an official bank name -- everything. You may even call and verify that the bank is real -- and it may be. You may even be asked to call a number to verify/authenticate/get further instructions.

Once they get you on the phone, they'll tell you to deposit the check and once it is “cleared”, ask that you wire some of the funds back to them, giving a reason for such a request.

Ms Murraine said that a “hold” might be placed on the customer’s account by the bank pending clearance of the check, and that the check very well may "clear", but only, not for long. By the time you've wired them the funds she says, "you get a call from your bank saying that the check bounced; that it was a fraud. And you're on the hook for the money."

The President of the BVI Bank wants everyone to remember that there is no legitimate reason for any employer to give you a check or money order, then ask you to wire money anywhere in return.

She ended by saying to remember what one’s parents told them “if it seems too good to be true, it usually is too good to be true."