You list a car on Craigslist, and get a check for almost twice the asking price. Are you suspicious? You should be. This scam has been around for a long time. As reported by The Times and Democrat (Orangeburg, South Carolina):
The victim said Thursday she listed her vehicle [on CraigsList] back in December. She said she was contacted online and via cell phone.
On Dec. 5, she received a check from someone in Cleveland for $2,200 for the vehicle. She was only asking $1,200, the report said.
HUGE RED FLAG!
The victim said she was instructed to deposit the check and then send the buyer $1,000 of it to pay for the towing, the incident report said.
Don’t do it! It’s a …
She said she sent $1,000 through Western Union to a woman in California on Dec. 16.
… scam!
The callers are still trying to scam her for more towing expenses, the victim said.
And why wouldn’t they? That’s what they do.