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[ceebeegee]

In the Washington Post today, there's an article (well, blog article) about how scammers will float cashier's checks and fool even normally savvy people. Here's another. This almost happened to me--last spring I was selling a makeup kit on eBay and was contacted by someone in Eastern Europe who said they wanted to buy it for a bridal shower--they also wanted to include cash (as part of the shower gift) so I should include an extra $200 in the package, for which I would be reimbursed by cashier's check. (And they would pay me an extra $200 for my trouble.) I'm thinking "how can you fake a cashier's check? If the bank says it's cleared, it's cleared." Very luckily, I happened to mention this to Doug, who immediately knew something was up. I forwarded the email to him and he wrote the eBayer who contacted me a blistering response--if I were at home, I could quote it because it was quite funny, something along the lines of "Hi there, asshole! You tried to rip off my girlfriend, and as a result you've just won a free investigation by the FBI! Have a nice day!" I didn't hear anything more from the scammer and I definitely dodged a bullet.

Anyway, my point is that even someone fairly internet- and scam-savvy can be fooled. All my eBay auctions are for smaller items--less than $100--so if someone from overseas contacts me again who seems to be even slightly suspicious, it's cash or nothing.