This is a personal story about an internet scam.  My son was attending college a few years back.  He wanted to sell some of his music equipment as he needed extra cash so ran an ad on Craigslist. 

I’ll Take It!

Much faster than expected, my son received an email and then a call from a person who insisted he wanted to buy the equipment.  The only problem was he didn’t have transportation and wouldn’t be able to come to pick it up himself.  This buyer said he’d send a cashier’s check and instructions where to send the goods.  After taking my son’s address, the buyer hung up.  Just a day or two later, my son received a cashier’s check.  As he looked at the amount, he discovered it was several hundred dollars more than it should be.

Suck ‘Em In

Now being honest, my son emailed the buyer to tell him about the extra money.  The buyer emailed right back and started to explain.  He apologized and said the check actually came from his uncle who must have messed up on the amount.  He then pleaded for my son to deposit the check and send him the difference.  All was good, or so my son thought…

It’s Got To Clear

The bank was only too happy to deposit the cashier’s check.  It went straight into my son’s account, but my son was told it would take a few days to clear.  Now, since my son didn’t have extra money in the account he decided to wait to send the “extra” money back to his buyer—a good and naturally cautious approach.

Where’s My Money?

A day or so later, my son got another email asking if he’d sent the money back yet.  My son said he was waiting for the check to clear, but would send it as soon as that happened.  The buyer seemed a little put off, but said he’d wait.  However, something at this point got my son thinking about the whole situation and he called me.  I was immediately suspicious and jumped on the internet to search on scams.  Thank goodness!

They Look Real, But…

Hey, this isn't right.

It turns out this is a common scam.  The cashiers checks used for this scam are faked.  However they look real enough the banks will deposit them.  Unfortunately, even if a bank supposedly “clears” the check in 3 days, the bank can still turn around weeks later and pull the funds from your account—long after you’ve already spent the money.  In other words, if you deposit the fake money, the bank will eventually discover it and then charge your account.  That means you’ll take the hit.

Lucked Out

My son’s scammer almost got away with stealing hundreds of dollars from my son.  My son was lucky.  Had he sent funds right away or not mentioned this transaction to me, he would have been out his money—money he never had to begin with.

It’s Easy To Get Caught Up

The reason this scam works (or any scam for that matter) is there is an element of believability to the story.  In this case, my son received what looked like a real cashier’s check and then he got what sounded like a reasonable explanation for a foul up.  There was also an implied obligation on my son’s part once he’d received the check and deposited it.  That made the scam more convincing.

Happen To You?

If you or someone you know has been the victim of an internet scam, we’d love to hear your story.  Why not comment below?

If you would like additional information on the different types of internet scams, see this page at Craigslist or this one at Wikipedia.

By Bob Anderson
© 2011 Javabird LLC.  All rights reserved.

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