CHRISTIANSBURG, Va. – Many people know to beware when buying something from someone online, but what about when you’re the seller?
There’s a warning from an area woman who realized she was being scammed while trying to sell something online. Experts say people can lose around $1,000 or $2,000 from scams like this one.
Someone approached Lisa Lucas-Gardner earlier this month about her motorcycle ad in Christiansburg. She thought something was wrong when the person didn’t want to speak to her over the phone, only through text.
“When he contacted me, he said he was deployed overseas and he was in the military,” Lucas-Gardner said.
She says she was confused as to why this person would want something in the New River Valley if they didn’t live there. Then she says the person made an emotional plea, saying the bike was for his or her son.
“He right away played on my heartstrings,” she said. “He’s in the service, serving our country. He has a son. He wants to make his son so happy on his birthday.”
This person said money would come in the mail from a lawyer and they needed the bike soon.
The check came from Plano, Texas. The bank was based in California. The person’s son allegedly is in New York.
Experts say checks like these may look legitimate. They’re often copies of actual checks, but a bank probably won’t clear them.
“If you're selling something, our guard is down. We're selling. So they're giving us money,” said Julie Wheeler, president of the Better Business Bureau of Western Virginia. “So we don't think about being scammed on that.”
But it happens. The Better Business Bureau warns that the scammer will ask you to pay them some of the money back.
“It could be you're selling something and someone sends you money for $1,000 more than what you're selling it for. 'Oh my gosh, I messed up. Can you wire that back to me?'" Wheeler said.
In this case, the seller might ask to have $1,000 back. That’s the money that was planned for transport for the bike to go to New York.
Out of curiosity, Lucas-Gardner has kept in contact with this buyer. The person now wants her to open a new bank account and deposit a second check.
She isn’t your average online seller. She has a law and law-enforcement background.
“I feel sorry for the people who are taken advantage of, who either don’t have the wisdom or the knowledge to follow up on things,” she said.
She says she still wants to sell that bike.