419 Overpayment Scam

The RedWeek.com Difference

At RedWeek we do several things to defend against scams like this.

• All communication comes from paying members, which means we've received a good credit card or check. Our site is unique in this, and most thieves will simply find an easier site to target.
• We encourage the use of our vacation escrow service which holds the funds safely for you until the transaction is completed.learn more »

The essence of this scam is that a purported renter or buyer sends you a cashier's check for more than you agreed on and has you wire the difference back. Some time later, however, the bank discovers the check was counterfeit and holds you responsible for the entire amount.

Related Links:

• Foreign scams target U.S. residents with counterfeit postal money orders
• New version of old scam

U.S. Postal Service tips:

• Be skeptical of anyone asking you to wire money to overseas bank accounts, or to cash money orders or checks, on their behalf.
• Know who you're dealing with—never give out personal or financial information to anyone you don't know.
• Familiarize yourself with postal money order security features.
• Never accept money orders or checks for more than the selling price.
• Never agree to wire funds to a buyer—legitimate buyers won't pressure you to do so, and you have limited recourse if there's a problem.
• Never wire funds to anyone unless you're sure the money order or check they gave you was cleared by your bank and the funds released.

Also, you will be safer using an escrow service. Our friends at First American Title have provided our members a special escrow process for renting and selling timeshares.learn more »

If you believe you're a victim of this fraud and are from the U.S., contact your local Secret Service field office. The 419 Coalition Website has reporting instructions for other countries. If this happened while using RedWeek.com, please let us know as well.