Don't let it happen to you...

Check from a scammer bounces victim into jail

This story comes from SFGate, the San Francisco Chronicle website. It's a great example of why you should avoid checks when completing online transactions. In this case, an unwitting seller accepted a check for an item he was selling through craigslist. Though suspicious, he decided to try and cash the check. As it turns out, the check was bad and he found himself in jail for nearly 12 hours.

There's plenty of blame to go around in this case. Obviously, the person who wrote the bad check deserves the bulk of it, but the seller also ignored a key warning sign; the check was written far in excess of the agreed amount. The buyer said this was "for your trouble" and that always spells trouble for the seller. Of course, the bank probably overreacted as well, calling the police before being sure that this wasn't simply an innocent victim.

The moral of this story is that, for online transactions, especially those between individuals, you should never use nor accept a check. Protect yourself by only accepting or paying with PayPal or Google Checkout. It's fast, simple and safe.