The Overpayment Approach:
This is when individual intending to rip you off order your product or service and pay you with a check to cover the cost.  But, instead of writing the check for the exact amount they write the check for more than what it cost (let’s say $200 more).  You being the nice person that you are, write them a check for the over paid amount.  Only later you find out that their check was from a bank account that had been closed years earlier.  Not only did they get your product or service for free, they also get some cash out of it. Perpetrators of this scheme will often emphasize the need for the item in a hurry, prompting haste over sound judgment.