The Scam that Almost Happened

Scams, flim-flams, bamboozles. These are nothing new. For as long as there has been trade there have been people looking to separate others from their money.

I recently became aware of a scam (see also, fraud) on Craigslist. A person lists an item for sale as a local pick-up. A buyer contacts him and insists that he must have the item. He will even pay more than the listed price to ensure that he gets it. The problem is that the buyer is out of town. The solution is that the buyer will pay for the shipping cost. Said buyer sends a cashier check, so it looks legitimate, asks the seller to cash it and send the money via Western Union to the mover who will come and pick it up. Our very happy seller cashes that check, sends the money and waits. And waits. Three to four weeks later, our unfortunate seller is contacted by his bank. It seems that he cashed a bad check, and now owes that money, plus a bad check fee. To add insult to injury, he has also lost the money he sent via Western Union. And the mover? No such person ever shows up, and probably never existed in the first place.

My Story

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