Sellers beware—scammers are buying!

The latest scam in Mesa County targets people trying to sell their stuff through an ad in the paper, on Craigslist or even on Facebook.

How it works

Scammers buy the item by sending a check, but the amount is usually hundreds of dollars more than the item costs.

Sellers are instructed to deposit the check, keep the appropriate amount and forward the remaining amount to a third party. In some cases, that third party is described as a friend, associate or moving company—all of whom “will be picking up the item soon.”

Oftentimes, scammers will say, “Keep an extra $200 or so for your inconvenience.”

Sounds too good to be true, right? Correct! This is a scam!

The scam

Sellers become victims when they deposit the too-good-to-be-true check in their account, then wire the “extra” money as instructed. The problem is that the check was fake. Once the bank processes it in a day or two, it bounces. Guess who is responsible for the money that was just wired to the scammer? That’s right—the seller actually sends the scammer their own money.

To make matters worse, if the sellers don’t have the money in their account to cover the funds, they also inadvertently commit bank fraud.

What happens to the money?

The money is likely not to be located or reimbursed after being sent off. The checks are usually cashed and the money forwarded immediately, because the scammers threaten the victims by claiming they are stealing if the instructions aren’t followed quickly. The reality is that scammers are trying to get the money before the victims realize the check is fake.

Don’t fall victim

• When selling or buying items online or on Craigslist, purchase locally.

• Meet in a public location during the daytime and use cash.

• When purchasing items, pay the exact amount owed.

• Know that when wiring money, even to a specific address or location, those funds can be accessed at any wire store around the world. Just because the wire was sent to an address in Los Angeles, for example, doesn’t mean the scammer didn’t pick up the funds in Southeast Asia.