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(Date Posted:03/12/2007 7:02 PM)
from http://www.argusobserver.com/articles/2007/03/12/news/news03.txtSeller beware By Andy Gates argus observer Monday, March 12, 2007 3:18 PM PDT PAYETTE - A Payette woman recently outwitted a scam connected to a newspaper advertisement she placed to sell a puppy. The scam involved a "buyer" who sent an inflated, counterfeit cashier's check for the animal and then asked the seller, Harmony Parks, to cash the check and send back the difference, Parks said. Similar scams have been reported recently throughout Payette, Payette Police Capt. David Platt said. Platt himself also averted a comparable scheme in October when he placed an advertisement with a classifeds Web site to sell a camper, he said. The "buyer," Platt said, communicated by e-mail and wanted the camper to be shipped out of the area in exchange for a cashier's check. "I told him I was aware of fraudulent cashier's checks and I never heard back," Platt said. Some people fall into the scam and then lose money, though, and Payette police have taken reports of that, Platt said. Parks said she and the "buyer" communicated by e-mail and by IP Relay, which is a service for deaf people where operators communicate calls for someone. Parks received a $4,500 cashier's check for the animal, which was being sold for $200, and Parks said she was instructed to send back a cashier's check for the difference. During an IP Relay conversation Friday, the operator told Parks that the situation was a scam and the call was disconnected. "They said to send the money immediately. They really freaked me out," Parks said. Parks said she never cashed the fraudulent check, and she believed the "buyer" was from outside of the United States. Most scams like the ones that Platt and Parks encountered involve people from out of the area or overseas, Platt said, and prosecuting the cases is difficult. Platt said the public should beware of "buyers" who want to purchase items without seeing them and do not intend to pick up the items. Also, if payment for the item is by a cashier's check made out for more than the sale price, sellers should not proceed, Platt said. Platt said people should not give out their bank account numbers. People who experience similar scams can notify police, but Platt said they should be advised that options in terms of prosecution are limited.
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Informations about Internet Scams: Fraudwatchers.org - Fake Bank Killing: aa419.org
Guidance about Love Scams: Internet-Love-Scams.org - Discussion about Pyramid-/Ponzi-schemes, HYIPs et al: Cattyshaq.com
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