Seller Beware!

We have become aware of a new fraud scheme that victimizes individuals selling items online or through classified advertisements. These schemes can cost members thousands of dollars if they become a victim.

The scheme works something like this:

The scammer poses as a potential buyer and contacts the individual selling the merchandise.
Once a price has been negotiated for the item in question, the scammer then sends a check or money order for an amount larger that the sale price saying it will cover shipping costs, etc…
The seller then deposits these checks into their account.
The scammer persuades the seller to withdraw the excess funds and wire it back to them.
The checks or money orders that were deposited are returned as counterfeit.
The seller is out the item he or she sold, the funds deposited into the account and the excess amount he or she wired back to the scammer.

Here are some tips that the U.S. Postal Service offers for detecting these schemes:

Be skeptical of anyone asking you to wire money to overseas bank accounts, or to cash money orders or checks, on their behalf.
Know who you're dealing with--never give out personal or financial information to anyone you don't know.
Familiarize yourself with postal money order security features.
Never wire funds to anyone unless you're sure the money order or check they gave you was cleared by your bank and the funds released.

Click here for more information on how to detect counterfeit money orders.