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NC bill cracks down on fake invoices

It's already illegal, but this bill means to make sure the fine print's not an escape hatch for fraudsters.

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State Sen. Bill Rabon holds a fake invoice that came in the mail, intended for his late father. A reporter points to the fine print that says "not a bill."
By
Travis Fain
, WRAL statehouse reporter
RALEIGH, N.C. — It would be easier to crack down on people who send fake invoices, hoping the recipient will just pay it, under a bill moving forward at the statehouse.

It's already illegal in North Carolina to send a fake invoice. Senate Bill 488 would make it clear that simply including a disclaimer on one, saying that it's not actually a bill, isn't a defense against the crime.

Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick, filed the bill after his late father got what looked like a magazine subscription bill in the mail. At the bottom, in light red type, it said "not a bill," but otherwise, it looked like an invoice for $59.95, or the first installment of $29.98.

"My dad would never have noticed," Rabon said Monday. "My mother would never have noticed the tiny print."

The bill moved easily through committee Monday and will likely be on the Senate floor this week. Honest people need protections from this sort of ruse, Rabon said.

"My momma, by golly, if it came and it looked like a bill, she was going to pay it," he said.

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