Craigslist scam delivered to Bend family’s door

Internet scams seem to get more complex and more numerous every day.

Often the scam starts with a Craigslist sale.

Then a potential buyer reaches out, and asks for an address to send the check to.

The check arrives and it’s way bigger than the asking amount. Plus it looks very real, said certified fraud examiner, Melissa Goddard.

“They do a very good job of going out and making sure everything looks legitimate to you,” she said.

“You could take this to the bank and they might not even know until it’s deposited in your account,” Goddard said.

In this case, the item was a GoPro, being sold for $250.

When the check showed up, it was written for $2,000.

But according to Goddard, there are signs you can look for.

“There’s no telephone for the number on the bank on here,” she said. “Another thing is it’s missing a memo line. Most checks will say what they’re for.”

This check had the incorrect routing number for the Parkway Bank in Illinois.Typically in this scam, the so-called “buyer” will send a big check, then ask the seller to return the excess money through a money wiring service.

In this specific case, the buyer asked the seller to meet someone with the excess cash.

Experts say the item sold doesn’t matter, just the potential payout.

“It could be anywhere from a luxury boat all the way down to something like a dresser or a GoPro, it doesn’t really matter to them,” Goddard said. “The whole idea is they want your money, and they’re going to do what they can do to take it.”