Overpayment Scams, Checks

Scams come in many shapes and sizes, and they don’t always need tech to be effective. An emerging scam targeting online sellers doesn’t use any hacks or phishing sites to take money from victims — just good old fashioned social engineering.

If one of these scammers contacts you, they’ll offer to buy an item you’re selling online for a fair price. When they send you a payment, the numbers won’t add up. Sound fishy, yet?

Then the scammer will ask you to send the money they overpaid back to them. If you do it, the scammer could drain hundreds of dollars from your bank account in a flash. Here’s how you can spot the scam before it’s too late.

As soon as Carol opened the envelope, she couldn’t believe what she saw: A check for $3,000.23! The buyer, Carol said, had agreed to pay $275 for the chair. After contacting them, the buyer asked Carol to send the balance to a “shipper” by bank transfer.

That’s when Carol realized something was wrong. Carol said she suspected the buyer was a scammer. As it turns out, she was right on the money. The check was no good, and she would have lost thousands of dollars if she had sent the balance.

How to avoid this scam.

1. Know who you are dealing with.
2. Never accept a higher payment than what you agreed on.
3. Never agree to wire back funds to a buyer.
4. Beware high-pressure language.
5. If you accept payment by check, ask for a check drawn from a local bank or a bank with a local branch.
6. Consider an alternative method of payment.