Several old scams are making a return. The first targets sellers on E-Bay or Craig’s List. They are contacted or “win” an item up for auction but then the buyer asks for a very unusual favor. Omaha Police Officer Michelle Bang says a person will send them a check for larger than the purchase price. For example, you are selling a dresser for 100-dollars. They will send a check for two-thousand dollars. They say to keep four-hundred of that amount if they cash that check and then send them the remainder, usually by money wire or some other method, to another account. However, no good deed goes unpunished. The check or money order is a fake and the seller is out that money.
There is also a scam that targets buyers of internet auction sites. Lt. Bang says people are asked to wire money for an item but it turns out there is no item. Omaha police receive four or five reports of internet fraud each month.
