COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A Westerville man learned firsthand that selling something to strangers online comes with a risk.
Every five years, Darren Macron replaces his wife’s wedding ring with a well-deserved upgrade. Knowing her current set was still in good condition, he had it appraised, then listed it for sale on Facebook Marketplace for about half the price — $6,600.
“I thought I will just sell it,” Macron said. “The money that we get, we will actually just go on vacation, have fun.”
Not long after posting, a woman contacted Macron about the ring. Eventually, she agreed to buy it for $6,000.
The buyer was located in the Toledo area, but that wasn’t a problem for Macron. He already had plans to drive to Chicago for business. So, he added a pit stop in Fort Wayne, Indiana to meet the buyer’s brother, to hand off the ring and get the money, which came in the form of a cashier’s check. Macron gave the check a once-over and deposited it into his bank account.
“The check looked good, the county looked good, the names looked good, the foil mark… everything,” Macron said.
But looks aren’t everything.
“It was about eight, nine days later, I open up an envelope in the mail and I’m like, ‘Are you kidding me?'” he said.
It was a letter from Macron’s bank, returning the check, determining it to be “altered” or “fictitious,” meaning the $6,000 Macron thought he pocketed from the sale didn’t exist. And to make matters worse, he no longer had the ring.
“The ring I had doesn’t have a code, doesn’t have a VIN, doesn’t have a SKU number,” Macron said. “I can’t chase it down.”
Macron tried to get ahold of the Facebook buyer.
“I was even trying to play the nice guy,” Macron said. “I had a couple of questions to see if they would even… nothing. Communication was gone. And then the only thing I thought of is, ‘How can I help anyone else not fall for this?'”
Macron started by posting a PSA on Facebook. Then, he called Better Call 4.
“If it opens anyone’s eyes, if I can save one person — go to the bank with the person you’re buying from, get a cashier’s check and then walk away,” Macron said. “I don’t want to be that guy, but I am a totally changed person. I have a vehicle on Facebook Marketplace right now for sale, and… no, am I not taking a cashier’s check. Cash only!”
Unfortunately, there isn’t much recourse for Macron in this situation, since he didn’t lose any of his own money. And this isn’t a new tactic or the only way scammers use cashier’s checks to claim victims.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has a list of common scams and how you can spot them here.
