02/27/2025

Fake check scam targets online car sellers

FTC

Are you selling a car online? If so, know that scammers may target you. They’ll pretend to be a buyer and try to trick you into sending them money. Here’s how the scam works.

It starts with a message from someone who says they’re interested in buying your car. They say they aren’t local and can’t look at it in person. Next, they’ll send you a check as a deposit to hold the car. But the check they send is for more than you expected. The “buyer” says they “accidentally” overpaid and asks you to send the extra money back. But if you do, the buyer and the money will be gone because every bit of this was a lie.

The fake check looks real, and the funds may even show up in your bank account after you deposit it. But it can take the bank weeks to figure out that the check was fake — and when they do, they’ll take the money back.