Woman Receives Fake Check From Craigslist Buyer - Spokane, North Idaho News & Weather KHQ.com

RICHLAND, Wash. - A Richland woman was the target of a Craigslist scam but trusted her instincts when something did not seem right.

Sharon Pangelinan placed an ad on Craigslist to sell her brother's piano. When an interested buyer contacted her she knew the numbers did not add up.

The buyer said he would send her a cashiers check for the asking price of $200 plus an additional amount for a person that would pick up the piano to ship it to him. The check that arrived in the mail was made out for over $1,900.

Sharon called the bank listed on the check to find out if it was fraudulent and found out it was a fake.

"You're being offered a certain amount of money for a thing, but the person is out of town or out of the state and oh they'd be happy to ship it. Just cash the check and give the shippers the money. That right there is an absolute flag that it's a scam," she said.

The bank told Pangelinan not to cash the check because she could end up on the hook for it.

She says the police officer she filed a report with said he dealt with a similar scam a few years ago.