Denver police are advising there’s a new internet scam in town. Be careful about answering ads for jobs in check-processing. Here’s how it works:

…. victims are usually contacted over the Internet in response to a job inquiry. The initial contact notifies people of a job opportunity involving check processing. People who respond then receive several checks by mail and are instructed to deposit the checks into their own account, police say. The victims are then instructed to forward the funds overseas, usually using Western Union or Money Gram. The most common destination for the money is Africa routed through locations including Florida, California, Holland and England. The original checks are later returned as forgeries and the victim’s account is drained, often putting them into debt.

Ouch.