Deepak Gupta

Shopping and marketplace · Also called overpayment scam, fake payment email, seller scam, fake check to seller

Marketplace fake payment and overpayment

A marketplace overpayment scam targets people selling items online. A buyer sends a fake check or a fake payment notice for more than the price, then asks you to refund the difference or pay a fee. The payment later bounces or never existed, leaving you out of pocket and sometimes without the item.

How it works

A buyer contacts you about an item, often saying they cannot view it in person and will arrange collection or shipping.
They send a check for more than the price, or a fake email that looks like it came from a payment service showing a pending payment.
They ask you to send back the overpayment, pay a fee to release the payment, or hand the item to their courier.
The check bounces weeks later, or no payment ever arrives, and the money you sent is gone.

Red flags

The buyer pays more than the asking price and asks you to send back the difference.
An email says payment is pending until you pay a fee or upgrade your account.
The buyer will not see the item and wants to use their own courier or shipping agent.
The buyer asks you to move the conversation off the marketplace's own messaging or payment system.

If you are targeted

Stop contact and do not send any money back or release the item.
Confirm whether any payment has really arrived by signing in to your bank or payment app directly, not through a link in an email.
If you deposited a check or sent money, tell your bank straight away.
Report it. Our Report a scam page lists where to report in your country, such as ic3.gov and ReportFraud.ftc.gov in the US.
Report the buyer's profile to the marketplace.

Where to report, by country

Prevention

For individuals

Never accept a check for more than the selling price, and never send money back to a buyer who says they overpaid.
Remember that a deposited check can appear in your account and still bounce weeks later.
Keep payment and messages inside the marketplace's own system, and check payments in your own account before handing anything over.

For organisations

Marketplaces can warn sellers in chat when a buyer mentions checks, overpayment, or off-platform payment.
Banks can explain to customers that funds from a deposited check can be reversed if the check later proves fake.

By the numbers

Figures are for the reporting category this scam falls under, not this scam alone.

Overpayment losses reported to the FBI IC3 in 2025

$22.9M

US, 2025, FBI IC3

Real cases

No documented case in the atlas yet. New cases are added as they are sourced.

Delivered through: Email phishing

How official datasets classify it

FBI IC3: Overpayment
Scamwatch: Buying and selling scams

Questions

A buyer overpaid me and wants the difference back. Is it a scam?: Yes. The FTC says that if someone sends you a check for more than the selling price and asks you to send money back, it is a scam.
The money showed up in my account. Does that mean the check is good?: No. The FTC warns that funds from a fake check may show up in your account, but it can take the bank weeks to find out it is fake and take the money back.