DAVID TIMS TERESA BOSQUE Sales scam using phoney check & 3rd-party mailing address COLUMBIA SOUTH CAROLINA

My wife and I are trying to sell a bar-height table and (4) bar stools.  My wife placed an ad through Craig’s List on 5/28/19.  We got an “interested buyer” the following day, asking if we would take less than the original $300 asking price; we agreed to lower the price to $250.  There was one Email, but most communication had been through instant messenger.  The “buyer” claimed they were “local”, but were away for a funeral, and said they would send a cashier’s check for the amount and we could hold the furniture until the check cleared.  I thought this was a little weird, since cashier’s checks are generally payable upon presentation (I’ve since learned this isn’t always the case). 

At 3:01 AM (ET), on 6/6/19 my wife received a text message from the “buyer” “Hey”, and at 3:33 AM received another text stating the check had been mailed and gave a USPS tracking number.  The text went on to also say that “my financial made a little error and added shippers money alongside your total amount on the check.”  At this point we’re feeling this is a scam and my wife told the buyer: “this sale is void”.

On June 7, I received a USPS Priority Mail envelope with a return address for a Cato Store in Austin, TX.  Enclosed was an “OFFICIAL CHECK”, drawn from First Financial Bank, and made payable to my wife, in the amount of $1,750; $1,500 more than our agreed upon price.  I checked the tracking number and the envelope was mailed from Columbia, SC, on June 5.  I also scanned the check and no “VOID” watermark appears – as it should whenever you try to copy/duplicate an otherwise legitimate check.  Finally, I went to the website for First Financial Bank (in Ohio) and the logo on the website doesn’t match the logo on the check.