April 10, 2008
Purdue police warn of possible transaction scam
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University police are warning of a potential scam involving the online purchase of personal items.According to police, a student advertised a DVD player for sale for $175 on his Facebook account. A short time later, the student received an e-mail from a person who wanted to buy it and send payment by mail.
"The e-mailer told the student he would receive a check for $2,850, and that the student was to deposit the check, take $175 out for the purchase of the DVD player and an extra $30 for himself," Lt. Fred Davis said. "When he received the check, the student deposited it into his checking account, then sent $2,400 via Western Union to where he was told to do so."
Afterward, the student checked his bank account and noticed he was overdrawn, Davis said.
"In these types of cases, the bank will determine that the original check was bogus in about 24 hours, and the person who made the bank transaction then becomes liable for the full amount of the bad check" Davis said.
Davis said people should never take part in a transaction involving an overage payment.
"Anytime a seller receives a check for more than the purchase price, that should be a big tip of a scam,” he said.
Davis said anyone who suspects a scam can go online to the Internet Crime Complaint Center Web site https://ic3.gov to report it and for information on current scams taking place.
Anyone who has been contacted about making such a transaction should report it to Purdue police at (765) 494-8221.Writer: Jim Bush, (765) 494-2077, jsbush@purdue.edu
Source: Fred Davis, (765) 494-8221, fvdavis@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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