What Does Refund Of Overpayment From Recovery Mean?

Question

I recently received a deposit into my bank account that I have know idea about. On the bank statement, it states that the deposit is for 11 + thousand dollars for an overpayment from recovery. What is this and should I be free to use this money? I can also recall not receiving my tax refund one year, could this be a back payment?

Answer 1

This could actually be the first step in a scam. If the funds were deposited in your account in error, the bank is required to take the money back and you could be charged with fraud if you have spent any of the money.

If it is a scam, it will work something like this: you will be contacted by someone to explain the money was mistakenly placed in your account. The will ask you to send most of the money to them by Cashiers check, money order or Western Union. You will be offered a percentage for your trouble. As soon as they receive your check, they will inform your bank the money was not intended for you and reclaim the full amount from you account.

There are actually people in prison for spending money placed in there account by mistake. Until you can verify the source of the funds and that the money is actually yours, DO NOT SPEND any of it. If it were me, I would contact your banks Fraud Investigations department and request they verify the transaction. The personnel in your local branch CAN NOT do anything useful in this situation except put you in contact with the fraud investigators. If they think they can, change banks tomorrow.

Answer 2

Sounds like a mistake to me, and a real doozie. May as well go to the bank and ask them about it. Assuming its a mistake they'll figure it out eventually (and come after you if you spend the money), and if it is not a mistake they should be able to tell you what it relates to.