Overpayment scam.
In plain English
An overpayment scam pairs a fake payment with a request for a refund. A buyer, employer, or client sends you a check or payment for more than the agreed amount, claims it was a mistake or covers extra costs, and asks you to send back the difference. The original payment is fake or will be reversed, but your refund is real money, so when the payment bounces you lose what you sent plus any goods. It shows up in online-marketplace sales, fake job offers, and rental deposits. The safe rule is never to refund an overpayment until the original payment has truly and finally cleared.
01Why it matters
The refund you send in an overpayment scam is real even though the payment you received is not, so knowing to wait for a payment to fully clear before refunding anything closes the trap.
02The math, step by step
A buyer for something you listed sends a check for more than the price and asks you to wire back the extra. The check looks good and funds appear, so you refund the difference, then the check bounces and the bank reclaims it all. Your wired refund is gone. Waiting for the check to truly clear prevents it.
03What this is NOT
It is not a genuine error. A real accidental overpayment can be sorted out once the original payment clears. The scam depends on your refunding the difference before the fake payment bounces, so any rush to refund is the warning sign.
04Receipts
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