Buyer Beware

I posted my sofa on craigslist and had an interested buyer within one day. The guy was to send me a certified check for $300. Well the next day he tells me that his secretary has messed up and wrote the check for $3300 and asked if I would wire the excess money back to him. Hmmmm. I received the check over the weekend via UPS next day service and deposited it into my account today. I went onto westernunion.com and found this story... ah, a bit familiar... I told the buyer that I need to wait a solid week to verify the funds have posted before wiring him the excess. I haven't heard back from him yet. Shocker.

I think it was all those Dateline episodes that my Mother watches and tells me about that finally paid off. Nice work Bobbie. ;)

It’s No “Accident”
After failing to sell your bike through a local newspaper ad, you place an advertisement for your
barely used, 1980 Harley-Davidson on a specialized web site. Just hours after placing the ad, you
are contacted by a buyer claiming to specialize in purchasing quality used bikes to resell to
collectors.
Everything appears legitimate. You even receive a cashier’s check overnight. The only problem is
that the check is written for $5,000 over the sale price. The buyer explains that there was some
error and advises you to deposit the check and refund the overpayment using a money transfer
service. In good faith, you transfer the overpayment and ship the merchandise.
Just over a week later, your bank informs you the check was fraudulent and, therefore, no funds
have been deposited into your account. Unfortunately, the Harley-Davidson has already been
sent, along with $5,000 in cash, leaving you without the bike, without the cash and without
recourse.