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Information about a popular scam on the internet today.
We hate scammers. A user of ours notified of an “interested buyer” that was trying to scam her. The “buyer” sent her an email saying he was interested in her item listed online. He then said he would send her a check for $800 more than what her item was listed for on the condition she would cash the check then send it to a far away company. He then said that company would take that money and arrange for the pick-up of her item. She was so smart to realize that this was a scam.
By OVERPAYING you in a cashiers check, here is how these scamming scums work you:
You decide to sell your wonderful items on the Internet.
The scammer emails you about buying the item and tells you they will pay with a cashier’s check or corporate check from a bank. The scammer will then send a check for much more than the selling price of the item.
You might wonder why the so called “buyer” will send you a check for so much and they will make up a story. Don’t believe them! They want you to deposit the check and return the rest of the money.
Even if the bank cashes the check that does not mean the transaction was good! Shortly after you send the extra money off to the “buyer,” the bank will find out the check is a counterfeit and will hold YOU responsible.
The worst part of this deal is that the bank will demand that YOU pay them back the money for the check. Now you have sent your item AND all of that money away.
DON’T GET SCAMMED LIKE THIS! Be careful when you deal with someone who does not live in your area and you can not deal with them in person. Trust your instincts. Even if the story the person is telling you might sound convincing, NEVER cash a check and wire money for someone. We want our users to have the best experience possible by using our site. We will do everything we can to prevent scammers and spammers but sometimes they slip through our fingers.
Here is more information on crimes like this so that you can protect yourself against scamming scum.
http://www.snopes.com/crime/fraud/cashier.asp
http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/ADVISORY/2007-1.html
