SUNDRE — In a twist on the old cautionary saying “buyer beware,” people posting items for sale in online market places are advised to be wary of a recurring scam.
“These frauds aren’t new but always resurface,” reads a portion of a press release issued on Nov. 29 by Sgt. Trent Sperlie, the Sundre RCMP detachment’s commander.
In this instance, a fraudster poses as a buyer who expresses interest for an item listed through sites such as Kijiji and Facebook Buy and Sell pages. They’ll proceed to send the seller a message in an attempt to make arrangements for the purchase, he said.
Once a deal is struck, the scammer sends the seller a fraudulent cheque in an amount greater than the negotiated price. The con artist will then either claim the surplus balance is for a shipping company or simply that the cheque was mistakenly made out for more money than the price that had been agreed upon.
“At this point, the fraudster asks the seller to send the extra money back to the buyer or to send the money to a shipping company,” Sperlie said.
One way or another, the sergeant said the seller will be provided with an e-transfer address. If the seller proceeds to send the money as directed by the fraudster, by the time the cheque is exposed as fake it will be too late to try and recover the funds.
“If a buyer ever asks that you send some money back to them during a transaction, it is likely a scam,” he said. “Take the time to ensure what is going on isn’t a scam before sending the money back.”
Should the supposed buyer insist that using a cheque is the only way to proceed, always ensure the cheque clears prior to finishing the transaction, he said.
“If that can’t be done, consider other methods such as e-transfer," he said.
People are encouraged to be patient and to listen to their intuition. So, if they have any doubts or a seller or buyer is pressuring them to send money, they should take the time to verify the transaction is legitimate. That could involve seeking advice from family, friends, financial institutions or even the RCMP, he said.
“Taking this time could save you a lot of money," he said.
Responding to a follow-up inquiry, Sperlie wrote by email that someone in the Sundre area had recently been targetted by the scam.
"The person ended up being out the amount of money that was charged for the (non-sufficient funds) cheque, but no other money," he said.
