FRAUD NEW CHECK SCAMS

Youre ready to sell your boat. Using an online classified service, you find a buyer, agree on a price, and he sends you a check.

But when the check shows up, its for $200 more than the price you agreed to. An honest mistake, the buyer says. Can you just wire me back the extra?

Being a helpful person by nature, you cash your check and wire the money as requested. Except the check bounces -- it was fake -- and money sent by wire transfers is irretrievable.

Youre out $200, you must pay back the rest of the money, and could be facing criminal charges and possibly jail time.

Even smart, conscientious people can fall for a scenario like this, an example of sophisticated check scams hitting our area, bank and law enforcement officials say. But with todays picture-perfect printing technology and the anonymity of the Internet, fraud like this is on the rise.

"If it looks too good to be true, it probably is," said Quint Ocker, bank security officer at South Louisiana Bank. "Nothing in life is free."