There’s an overpayment scam circulating in the Comox Valley.
The scammer sends an unexpectedly large cheque which the victim deposits into their account.
Subsequently, the scammer says they accidentally paid too much and asks for the difference to be sent back or sent to a third party – all before the victim realizes the cheque has bounced.
In this case, the would-be victim was selling items online when a buyer contacted him and sent a cheque for much more than the asking price.
The buyer then requested that the seller send back the difference.
The seller saw that this is a scam and never cashed the cheque.
This is a common scam which has been seen all over Canada.
The Comox Valley RCMP says that, to avoid overpayment scams, never accept a cheque for more than the agreed upon price, consider an alternate method of payment, know who you are dealing with, and never agree to wire funds back to a buyer.
