The Greene County Sheriff’s office wants to make sure everyone is aware of the growing number of online scams.

Sheriff Steve Haupert says one such incident happened earlier this month when a Paton resident was selling an appliance on Craigslist and someone mailed her a check for four times the amount she was asking for.

A letter told the woman to cash the check, keep the amount she wanted for the appliance and give the rest of the money, plus the appliance, to someone who was going to pick it up.  Haupert notes that the resident contacted the Sheriff’s office and they told her not to cash the check because it was bogus.  He explains the consequences of what could happen if you cash a suspicious check.

“You go cash the check for that amount and if in fact you give them whatever you are selling and the extra cash, basically you are out that amount of money because the funds for that check that you received are not good.”

Haupert urges everyone to be aware of any scams that could be out there this time of year and suggests that if anyone has questions about a suspicious situation to contact the Law Enforcement Center at 386-2136.