To those of you (sellers in particular) who are not familliar with the common check scam:

If you list an item with the Buy it Now option you are at risk.  This commonly happens on high priced items:

You list your item.  Someone uses the buy it now option (Usually a bidder with a 0 feedback rating).  You will receive an e-mail from them (usually outside of e-bay).  They tell you they bought your item and will be sending you a money order for an amount that well exceeds the asking value.  They will say that the extra money is for their shipping company.  They will ask for your address and phone number.  Also they will request that you go to the bank the same day you receive the check, cash it and quickly head to a local Western Union and send the money to their "Shipper", which is ususlly in some other country.  If you actually give them your phone number be prepared!  You will be getting many phone calls, which will become harassing after a short time.

If you do follow their process you will find that you have been scammed out of  lots of money.  For some reason the banks don't reconize the fake checks until it's too late.  After the money has been sent to the scammer, your bank will notify you that the check was bad.  Too late now!  The scammer won. 

This scam has been around for a while, but not until recently have I seen it on E-bay.  Unfortunatly there is nothing that can be done to stop these people.  The law enforcement agencies get calls on this matter all of the time.  It is up to you to protect yourself.

Please be careful when selling your items, and whatever you do, don't fall for these dishonest scams.