Kristi Redden put Southpole clothing her children had outgrown for sale on Craigslist. She never expected her bank account to be frozen. Kristi says, “I let my guard down and this is what happened.”

A buyer by e-mail made an offer of $120 for the clothes and sent Kristi a check that looked real to her. Kristi says, “It even had a water mark like a money order.”

There was a catch. The check was for $950 and the buyer told Kristi to wire the $800 difference and keep the rest.

Postal inspector Dave Margritz says that’s a red flag. Margritz says, “The bank deposits it and it will look like your account has that money in there. But when it bounces the bank comes back after you.”

Kristi’s bank discovered the check was counterfeit before she wired money to the scam artist. However she had withdrawn the $120 for the sale of the clothes. Kristi says she spent four days on the phone with her bank to straighten out the mess.

The postal inspectors provide a website with tips on how to recognize a check scam before you become a victim. To visit the site click here.