DAVID TIMS TERESA BOSQUE Sales scam using phoney check & 3rd-party mailing address COLUMBIA SOUTH CAROLINA
My wife and I are trying to sell a bar-height table and (4) bar stools. My wife placed an ad through Craig’s List on 5/28/19. We got an “interested buyer” the following day, asking if we would take less than the original $300 asking price; we agreed to lower the price to $250. There was one Email, but most communication had been through instant messenger. The “buyer” claimed they were “local”, but were away for a funeral, and said they would send a cashier’s check for the amount and we could hold the furniture until the check cleared. I thought this was a little weird, since cashier’s checks are generally payable upon presentation (I’ve since learned this isn’t always the case).
At 3:01 AM (ET), on 6/6/19 my wife received a text message from the “buyer” “Hey”, and at 3:33 AM received another text stating the check had been mailed and gave a USPS tracking number. The text went on to also say that “my financial made a little error and added shippers money alongside your total amount on the check.” At this point we’re feeling this is a scam and my wife told the buyer: “this sale is void”.
On June 7, I received a USPS Priority Mail envelope with a return address for a Cato Store in Austin, TX. Enclosed was an “OFFICIAL CHECK”, drawn from First Financial Bank, and made payable to my wife, in the amount of $1,750; $1,500 more than our agreed upon price. I checked the tracking number and the envelope was mailed from Columbia, SC, on June 5. I also scanned the check and no “VOID” watermark appears – as it should whenever you try to copy/duplicate an otherwise legitimate check. Finally, I went to the website for First Financial Bank (in Ohio) and the logo on the website doesn’t match the logo on the check.