The scammee became the scammer Wednesday as an Andalusia woman passed a bogus check at a local business, knowing the check was a fake and allegedly fleecing a business out of more than $3,000.

Sheriff’s Office investigator Greg Jackson said Frances Denise Carr, 52, received a $3,370 check in the mail with the “usual instructions to cash it and send the company half and she keep half.”

While the incident sounds like a typical mail scam, it turned out to be anything but, Jackson said.

“First we got a report from a local business that took the check who were led to believe it was a legitimate check for $3,370,” he said. “It wasn’t. It was a scam check. Investigators were able to determine who passed the check. Another investigator determined that Ms. Carr had already been to a local business and tried to cash the check. The owner told her it was a scam and even made a copy of the check.

“Normally, we get reports of people who lose money because they get fooled,” he said. “In this case, Ms. Carr attempted to first cash the check at another business but was told it was a fake check — a scam — so she knew it was a fake. She then went to another business who cashed it for her.

“To (law enforcement) that’s a crime,” he said.

Carr is charged with first-degree theft by deception and was held on a $20,000 bond.