Scamming At Internet Speed

After that foray into the brave new world of phishing, and knowing that Keith is into EBay, I thought I'd mention the newest scam making the rounds.

Here's how it works:

You advertise an item for sale online and are immediately approached by an eager "buyer," who happens to live in another country. The buyer offers to buy the item and pay for shipping and other related expenses, and ends up sending a check or cashier's check for thousands more than the asking price. The "buyer" then asks you to cash the check and wire the difference back or to a "shipper."

Problem is, the check turns out to be bogus. But by the time you find that out, you've already sent real money abroad and your bank is looking to recover that amount from you because the check was bad.

And lest you think those darn Nigerians aren't innovative:

Joyce, 33, advertised a $500 antique bed, and within three days was contacted by an interested "buyer" in England.

In February, he sent her a cashier's check for $3,500. But he asked that she send $2,900 to a shipper in Lagos, Nigeria, leaving her with $500 for the bed and $100 for her time and trouble.

Joyce said she had her suspicions about the transaction, but felt assured when a local bank cashed the check. With $2,900 in hand, she promptly went to Western Union and wired the money to Nigeria.

Pretty cool, eh? Caveat venditor. (You know, Dad always told me I needed to study Latin, but when I wanted to know what was Latin for "Let the seller beware," all I had to do was type "seller beware latin" into Google).