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What would you do

by Michael Motley
16 replies
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Woman finds $357,959 cashier's check and returns it
LOS ANGELES - As she walked from a post office, Talon Curtis thought she'd found one of those gimmicky sweepstakes offers on the ground that scream something like "$357,959.55" in big bold letters and "This is not a real check" in much smaller type. But just as she was about to do her part for a cleaner planet and deliver the paper from the parking lot to a trash can, she noticed it was a real cashier's check with a real signature.
"I couldn't believe it. I almost passed out," Curtis, who works as a loan negotiator, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "I have never seen a check that big. Not in my possession, anyway."
She immediately set out to find its rightful recipient, but it was Saturday afternoon and the banks were closing. On Monday, with help from KCAL-TV reporter Dave Malkoff, she located the check's owner, who had arrived at her bank in a panic.
"I think she had walked in at the same time the bank manager called me back," Curtis said. "I could hear her walking up to him. and I could hear all this commotion in the background."
Curtis said she spoke briefly with the woman on the phone about a possible meeting, but Pacific Mercantile Bank instructed her to mail the check to them instead.
Not willing to take a chance on the mail, Curtis delivered it personally. A bank employee confirmed it had arrived.
Curtis said she never thought of keeping the check for herself, and she declined the woman's offer of a reward. Still, she's just a little disappointed.
"I just wanted to see her face," Curtis said, laughing. "I just wanted to let her know that there are honest people left in this world."
I'd like to consider myself an honest person...but I dont know if I could stick to that with a 357k check in my hand.
  • Profile picture of the author hugofortin
    Hi,

    That pretty big amount, especially if you are not use to. I think I return the check me too. There definitively honest people left in this world.

    Anyway, the check wasn't at her name, so she won't be able to cash it, right?

    bye

    Hugo
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  • Profile picture of the author Star69
    Might be a different story if it were cash because nobody's name is on it, but the good thing to do is return it.

    And how long could someone live on a few hundred thou? I'd turn it in and hope I'd at least get a reward.

    I returned something as insignificant (to me) as a cell phone. I'm sure the person who lost it valued it a lot more than I did.

    And what goes around really does come around...
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  • Profile picture of the author Patrician
    Without a doubt I would have returned it - not just ethically and morally right, but go figure if you got caught and had to return it and already spent it - or worse got busted.

    Yeh, definitely what goes around comes around either way you go around.

    (I would have accepted the reward though - I am not that goody-two-shoes unfortunately)
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  • Profile picture of the author currencyschool
    you have to turn it in because the day after you deposited (tried to deposit) that check the FBI would be at your door. On a side note my friend found 6 grand in cash in a paper bag that looked like common trash near an ATM in a bank lobby once. He sweated it out for weeks waiting for a knock on the door which never came.
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  • Profile picture of the author Teresa Coppes
    When the autosurf stuff was going on I signed up for an egold account. They have an "I don't care what happen but there's no refunds" policy. About a year after I stopped and hadn't even logged onto my account I got a call. Seems someone was trying to pay someone else with egold and transposed some numbers - $10K hit my account by accident. They asked if I would return it and ofcourse I did without hesitation. I ended up "making" $300 as a reward due to gold prices at that time. But I'd do it again in a heartbeat even though I'm layed off now. No questions.
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    • Profile picture of the author derekwong28
      There is no possible way that the person could have cashed that amount of money without being caught. Therefore I would have returned it whatever the temptation because otherwise I could end up in jail.

      I have my own story to tell as well. A few years ago, a bathroom cabinet fell off in my father's appartment. It revealed a large hole in the wall behind it. The filipino servant who works for my father found a bag in the hole and took it out. She then showed the bag to me.

      I remember distinctly that my father told me that he had hidden a small gold bar in that hole for emergency. The first thing that came out of the bag was a small gold coin minted in the time of Queen Victoria. There was no gold bar to be found and I immediately suspected the servant. But looking deeper in the bag, I found a 2 carat diamond ring and a pair of diamond earrings of around 1.5 carats each!

      Now my father had very poor eyesight and did not remember much at all. It is very likely that the ring and earrings belonged to my deceased grandmother. Obviously, his maid could have took everything without getting caught but she decided otherwise. Of course, it is still possible that there was a gold bar there but I am happy that the ring and earrings had been recovered.


      Derek
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Motley
    From what I read, it was a signed cashiers check.

    I think they could have cashed it.
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  • Profile picture of the author danielgb123
    I guess in the long run, the best thing to do is to have returned it. Honestly, I cannot say what I would of done since people do change their minds in different situations. I would hope I could return it before something stupid happens!
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  • Profile picture of the author derekwong28
    Michael, if you try to cash the cheque, your face will be caught on security cameras. Morover for large amount like this, the bank would know what serial nos. are involved as far as the bank notes are concerned. There is simply on way that the person could have cashed and spent the money without being caught.

    FYI, an amount of around $30,000 GBP was accidentally deposited into my bank account when I was in the UK as a student. I informed the bank immediately. There had been many reported cases where people who spent this "lucky money" on purpose were charged with a crime afterwards.

    Derek
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  • Profile picture of the author andr102
    I think I would behave the same way as this woman, though I wouldn't have declined the woman's offer of a reward
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  • Profile picture of the author bobt57
    Even finding cash can really be a test, in the end, I am a big believer in karma and do need any of the bad kind in my life, I have never found more than change but hope I would do the right thing if I did.
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  • Profile picture of the author ksall
    Banned
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    • Profile picture of the author ShayB
      My son (10 at the time) found a wallet at the arcade - full of money.

      He brought it to me and asked what we should do with it - I said we will find who the owner is.

      The only ID was a Blockbuster card - in another state. It took some doing, but we tracked down the wallet's owner. It was a teenager, and the wallet was full of money he had gotten for his birthday. He was in town visiting his grandparents.

      His grandfather wanted to meet my son. My son came to the door and chatted a bit. He got a nice little reward for returning the wallet. (A surprise for both of us! )

      It is always good to do the right thing - no matter what.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ron Kerr
    I certainly believe honesty is the best policy.

    Some years ago I went to withdraw some cash from an ATM, only to find a couple of hundred dollars already in the cash collection slot. The notes could not be easily seen and seem to have become stuck. I managed to get the notes out and took them inside to the bank to which the ATM was attached.

    As I explained to the bank teller what happened, some people in line for the next teller must have overheard what I was saying and a number of people congratulated me.

    It was a very good feeling to hear these compliments, even though it would never have occurred to me to hang on to the cash. I kept thinking of a family that might not have enough money to pay their bills in the next week or so.

    Honesty can give you such a great feeling that those who might not be honest don't know what they are missing out on.
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    The Gadget News

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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Motley
    but can it give you as good a feeling as over 1/4 of a million dollars?
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    • Profile picture of the author ShayB
      Originally Posted by Michael Motley View Post

      but can it give you as good a feeling as over 1/4 of a million dollars?
      Yes, it can.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Motley
    I'm going to have to disagree on that one.

    People who say 'money can't buy you happiness' arent shopping at the right stores.
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