Scam Watch: The Overpayment Scam

How the scam works:

The scammer:

• Reaches out to purchase your products or services
• Pays you via cheque, money order, or credit card for an amount exceeding the agreed price
• Requests that you refund the excess payment, often asking you to send the money to a different bank account, credit card, or even to a shipping company.

The scammer’s aim is to get you to send money back to them before you realise their payment cheque, money order, or credit card is fake. In another version, they ask for money to cover taxes or fees. Some scammers also create fake payment websites.

How can you protect yourself from this scam?

• Ensure payment has cleared before issuing refunds or shipping products.
• Be cautious of customers with urgent orders, particularly overseas customers, especially if they’re ordering an unusual amount of items.
• Watch out for complex orders, especially those using multiple credit cards.

You can read more about this scam on the Consumer Affairs site, here.