Overpayment and fake-check scams

This scam has been around for years because it keeps working. A "buyer" pays you more than your asking price, then asks you to send the extra back. The original payment turns out to be fake, but the money you returned is real, and gone.

How it works

Someone contacts you, often through your contact form, wanting to buy a piece. The story is frequently a heartfelt one, like a surprise gift for a spouse. They agree to your price without much fuss. Then they send a cashier's check or other payment for more than the amount, and ask you to refund the difference, often urgently, by wire, a separate check, or a money transfer.

Here is the catch your bank will not warn you about in time: when you deposit a check, the bank usually makes the funds "available" within a day or two, but that is not the same as the check clearing. A counterfeit check can take weeks to bounce. By then you have already sent back real money, or shipped the art, and the bank holds you responsible for the full amount.

Warning signs

• A payment for more than your asking price, with a request to refund or forward the difference.
• Pressure to send the difference quickly, before the payment has had time to clear.
• A buyer who insists on overpaying "to cover shipping" or "for your trouble."
• A request to send the refund by wire transfer or money transfer, which is fast and hard to reverse.

How to stay safe

• Never accept a payment for more than your price. Ask for a corrected payment for the exact amount instead.
• Never refund or wire back a difference to a buyer. A real buyer will not pressure you to.
• Let every payment fully and irreversibly clear before you ship anything or send any money back. Ask your bank to confirm a check has truly settled, which can take a week or more, not just that the funds are "available."
• If anything feels rushed or off, slow down. There is no real deal that falls apart because you waited for a check to clear.

If you've already responded

Move fast, the first hours matter most.

1. Call your bank or credit union's fraud department now. If you deposited a check or shared account details, they may be able to stop or reverse it.
2. If you sent a wire or money transfer, call the company's fraud line right away and ask them to stop it. Western Union fraud: 800-448-1492. MoneyGram: 1-800-926-9400.
3. If you paid by card, ask your card issuer to dispute the charge.
4. If you wrote a check, ask your bank for a stop payment before it clears.
5. If you paid with gift cards, contact the card company's fraud line and keep the cards and receipts.
6. Change the password and turn on two-step verification for any affected account, and report the message to the platform. Forward phishing emails to [email protected] or [email protected].
7. Report it to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov, and report online fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov.
8. Save everything: screenshots, messages, and receipts.

Be careful of "recovery" services that ask for a fee to get your money back. Those are scams too.