GREENSBORO, N.C. — A local grass roots non-profit said it nearly got scammed out of thousands of dollars.
The Greensboro based non-profit The Green Team Helping Hands Inc. has been around since 2015.
CEO Ashley Benton shared her story in an effort to help others. She hopes no one else falls victim to check scams.
"I don't even have the words to explain how traumatizing this was for me," Benton said, "I feel very violated."
She said she got a friendly email from a man asking how he could give $2,000 to her non-profit. After she let him know how he could donate, he decided to send a check in the mail.
"I opened it up and it was more than I had expected and more than he had said. It's not abnormal for me to get a check from a donor that's more," Benton recalled.
The check was more than double what was promised.
Benton said she took the check to the bank, deposited it, and started spending some of the money.
But then she said the donor triggered some red flags by asking her to wire some money back.
"I got an email saying that they had made a huge error and I needed to refund $2,500 back to them," Benton said.
She then contacted her bank who then found out the check was fraudulent.
Now, she is left with her heart and pockets empty.
"For somebody to be so mean and evil to use my non-profit as a way to gain... it is very hurtful." Benton exclaimed.
The Better Business Bureau said if you get a check. It can take up to two weeks for it to clear. The bank is not responsible if you start spending the money.
"It can be really hard for a bank to know if a check is a good or bad check on face value. Scammers steal checks all of the time and they do photoshop magic and send out real checks," BBB Director of Communications Lechelle Yates said shared, "So when the bank receives it, they look at it and deposit it."
The BBB also said this type of check scam is not uncommon, but it happening to a non-profit is rare and concerning.
"This is the first time that we are hearing about a fake scam check happening with a non-profit. I do think non-profits do need to be aware that this has happened to at least one because if it’s happened once, it’s going to start happening more," Yates warned.
Benton said she cut off all communication with the donor.
WFMY News 2 confirmed that her bank is looking into the incident.
Benton said she continues to rely on her faith to keep her non-profit running.