Woman narrowly escapes Craigslist Internet scam
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Updated: October 19, 2009 11:19 AM
A Penticton woman was close to losing $3,700 in an internet scam last week.
After placing an ad on the internet site Craigslist, the woman was contacted about renting the unit. The man inquiring told her he was from overseas and would send her the first and last months rent totaling $1,200.
"The next day the man again contacted the woman and advised her that he had drafted a cheque too large, in the amount of $3,700 and had sent it to her," said Sgt. Rick Dellebuur. "He asked that she cash the check and send the over payment amount of 2500.00 to a shipper in London for payment to send the man’s effects to Penticton. The check arrived and the woman took it to the bank to deposit it."
Luckily, the bank advised her that it was a scam before it was too late and her money disappeared.
"The local woman was quite shocked that this almost happened to her and the ramifications it could have had on her. Penticton RCMP want to remind everyone to be aware of these types of scams," said Dellebuur.
He added, anytime anyone overpays on anything it is normally a scam. Had the woman cashed the check and forwarded the excess money, the original check would have been returned as no funds or no account and the woman would have been out the $2,500 she had forwarded.
"There is usually no chance of recovering money that has been lost through these type of scams. Remember, you get nothing for nothing and if it sounds too good to be true — it usually is."
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