A friend whom you haven’t seen or spoken to in a long time reaches out to you randomly. After a quick catch-up, they offer you a sum of money as a loan. Is the money legitimate?

Questions to ask yourself when someone is offering “free” money: WHY?

Why, would this person randomly reach out to freely give money to a person they haven’t seen in a long time?

Second, always look at where the money is coming from. Is it a personal check? Is it made off a business the friend didn’t even mention? Did you sign any sort of loan documents regarding when these funds would have to be paid back or the interest rate you agreed to? 

If you are ever skeptical of a check or funds arriving in the mail you weren’t expecting, you can always bring them to your local financial institution and ask the teller to help you gain more information regarding the check and its funds.