Western Union provides tips on buying, selling on the internet

Two of the most common Internet scams to be aware of are failure to deliver merchandise, which targets buyers as victims and overpayment using a fake check, which targets sellers as victims.

"Internet scams succeed based on the fraudster's ability to earn their victim's trust," said Joseph Cachey III, acting general counsel & chief compliance officer of Western Union. "Many fraudsters even coach their victims on how to safeguard their funds using a money transfer service, which supports the aura of trust they try to create. Unfortunately, these extremely convincing appeals, combined with a 'once in a lifetime' deal, create a very powerful potion that some people find too difficult to resist. People need to set their emotions aside, understand the facts of the situation and not send the money."

The failure to deliver merchandise scam couldn't be simpler. A buyer (the victim) reaches an agreement to purchase an item from a seller (the fraudster) via the Internet. The seller requires payment through a money transfer service, such as Western Union, and picks up the funds using a professionally produced fake ID. The promised merchandise is never delivered.

Fraudster will try to gain victim's trust

Failure to deliver merchandise scams usually have one or more tell-tale signs such as the merchandise being sold may be offered at a surprisingly low price or the seller will require that payment be made only through a money transfer service; possibly even suggesting ways of safeguarding the funds such as using a "test question" in lieu of an ID. Sometimes the seller will work hard to gain the buyer's trust by being friendly, identifying shared interests and offering convincing explanations as to why a price is so low or for requiring payment only through a money transfer service.

Overpayment using a fake check a seller (the victim) reaches an agreement to sell an item to a buyer (the fraudster). The seller receives what appears to be a legitimate check drawn on a well-known bank for an amount higher than the agreed upon price. The buyer concocts an explanation for the overpayment and instructs the seller to deposit the check into a bank account, withdraw the excess funds and send those funds back using a money transfer service. The fraudster picks up the funds using a fake ID and the victim is left responsible ?for the bounced check.

Fake check fraudsters rely on check clearing lag times to commit their crimes. Fake checks often take much longer to pass through the clearing system and eventually return to the bank unpaid. However, even though the victim has used the funds that were made available by law, the victim is still responsible for any withdrawals or payments made against the returned item.