I unfortunately know this scam very well. I too was affected by it, but in a different way. Several years back, at work, I had to make a payment to a Canadian supplier which was sent to a PO box. The box got broken into, and the check that I sent was stolen. It was never cashed, so I voided it and then sent a replacement one.

A month or so later, I got a call from a bank verifying a check that was being presented. The teller thought it looked suspicious. She was right. The person who stole my original check produced others, copied my signatures and used them to send the “fee and tax money.” We found that about 20 people fell victim to the scam. We didn’t lose any money, but had to close our bank account. It cost me hours and hours of work…