A 73-year-old Arnold woman was a recent victim of a common scam that occurs all across the country, Arnold Police Detective Lt. James Jones said.
He said the woman listed some furniture for sale online, asking $100 for it, and a scammer responded to the listing, offering to pay more than the asking price and arranging a strange payment method, Jones said.
The scammer sent a $1,340 check to the victim and asked for the victim to wire $1,200 to a third party in Houston, Texas. After the victim wired the money, her bank notified her that the $1,340 check was no good, so she lost $1,200, Jones said.
Jones said it’s not uncommon for scammers to contact people with items listed for sale online and arrange odd payment methods like the one in this transaction, and he advises people to be wary of such deals.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is,” he said.