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So a real life example, I was trying to sublet an apartment in an area near a university. I put the apartment on Craigslist. I got a response with interest, t

So a real life example, I was trying to sublet an apartment in an area near a university. I put the apartment on Craigslist. I got a response with interest, then after a couple of emails... This person claimed to be an international student with a stipend. He would give me his stipend check from the university and then I would send back the rest, I could wait until it cleared in my account to send it. This is a textbook nigerian check scam, but if I did not know about it or was more desperate to sublet, I absolutely would have fallen for it. The suspicious person that is not aware, assumes when it clears it has cleared, but they are ignorant, this is not the case.

VancouverMan 3y ago
Pretty much every sentence describing that situation involves what should be pretty obvious risk or blatant red flags. Renting anything to others involves obvious risk. Subletting apartments involves obvious risk. Financial dealings with university students involves obvious risk. Classified ads involve obvious risk. Financial dealings with foreigners involves obvious risk. Accepting payment by check involves obvious risk. Back-and-forth payment shenanigans involve obvious risk. Dealing with financial institutions involves obvious risk. All parties involved with such an obviously risk-filled situation should inherently know to be on high alert at all times, no matter how desperate they might be. The involvement of desperation itself should raise even more red flags. It's hard to feel sympathy for somebody who has somehow managed to overlook one obvious risk after another in such a situation.