New Hampshire Attorney General Urges Caution When Selling Products Over the Internet

August 20, 2007 -- New Hampshire Attorney General Kelly A. Ayotte urges the public to use caution and common sense when selling items over the Internet. The Consumer Protection Bureau has received complaints from New Hampshire residents who have been scammed out of thousands of dollars through transactions whereby the purchaser sends you, the seller, a check or money order for considerably more money than the purchase price of your item.

The purchaser is usually from far away or is in the process of moving out of the country. He requests that the seller accept and deposit the entire check, then send a portion of the overage to another person. The purchaser usually requests that the funds are sent via Western Union. Frequently the purchaser will tell the seller that someone will come to your home to pick up the sale item for him.

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Some of the “red flags” to look for in these scams are: receipt of a check or money order that is considerably more than the selling price; a request to mail a portion of that overage to another person; and an assurance that “someone will pick the item up” because the purchaser is leaving town or leaving the country. These scam artists use poor grammar and their spelling and diction is incorrect. They often speak or write in broken English.

Attorney General Ayotte says, “If you are selling an item over the Internet, and you have any doubt as to the legitimacy of an offer to buy, please call the Attorney General’s Office, Consumer Protection Bureau at 1-888-468-4454 or (603) 271-3641. We would rather hear from you before the ‘deal’ questioning it, than after the sale when you have lost a significant amount of money.”

Source: New Hampshire Attorney General