# I Pit Bank Of America!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bank-of-america/373817>\
**Category:** The BBQ Pit\
**Created:** [September 23, 2006, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bank-of-america/373817 "2006-09-23T04:48:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 3

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**Author:** ![cerberus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cerberus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cerberus)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bank-of-america/373817/41 "2006-09-26T00:38:30Z")

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From the linked article:

> [@](#):
>
> Shinnick, 38, told me he’d received an e-mail in December from someone who said he was in Canada and was willing to pay a total of $600 for the two bikes offered on Craigslist.
> 
> “We never talked in person,” Shinnick said. “We just corresponded by e-mail over a series of weeks.”
> 
> The buyer finally said he was going to cut a check on his company’s Bank of America business account and arrange to have the bikes shipped north. Shinnick said he received a check for $2,000 shortly after Christmas and was informed that the extra cash was to cover shipping costs “and for my trouble.”
> 
> Shinnick, it appears, was a victim of the classic “Nigerian 419” scam, adapted in this case to sucker in unwary Craigslist users.
> 
> Typically, the scam involves a bogus check being sent by a fraudster as a part of a transaction. The transaction is subsequently canceled and, before the bank has spotted the check as a phony, the fraudster requests some or all of his money back – money that the victim unknowingly pays out of his own pocket.
> 
> Shinnick said he wasn’t aware of the scam while he was negotiating to sell his bikes – his first foray onto Craigslist. But he was made suspicious by the unexpectedly large payment.
> 
> “That was kind of a red flag because it’s a lot of money,” he said. “I didn’t want to deposit it into my account because I didn’t want it to bounce.”

So he’s expecting a checque for ~$600, and gets one for ~$2,000 … a 200%+ “tip” for “hassles and such.” His red flag goes up. He cashes the checque anyway. The bank reports the questionable checque to the police, who then pursue a case. The police and prosecutor pursue charges.

The bank reports a questionable transaction to the ploice. The customer, suspecting something odd is afoot, proceeds to cash the checque anyway.

So the bank is at fault?

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**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\
**Post date:** [September 26, 2006, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-bank-of-america/373817/42 "2006-09-26T21:37:01Z")

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Minor, I know, but I posted this before there even was an ‘I Pit Bank of America’ thread:

> [@](#):
>
> "In my defense, the ATM reciepts … will come in handy some day. There’s always a stall somewhere w/o TP, and when you’re sitting there and realize that, its nice to know you can say,
> 
> “$2 ATM fee? To get My Own Money…? Ha…! Take That, Bank of America…!”  
> _wipe-wipe_

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