ROMULUS, Mich. – Morse Moving and Storage, a family-owned-and-operated Romulus-based company, has fallen victim to a new twist on mail fraud.
Owner Dave Morse said someone stole the company's FedEx account number and has been running a scam on unsuspecting Craigslist sellers.
"Sounds like somebody took our FedEx number and they have a fraud scheme going where they are mailing and it looks like it's coming from us," Morse said.
The company's director of finance, Chris Zombor, said this scam is a new one to him.
"This is a new twist on the scam of, 'I'll send you excess money, you return the difference," Zombor said.
FedEx has linked more than 100 cases nationwide to the Romulus company's account, mostly from Craigslist sellers.
For example, one check was sent to a man in Missouri who was selling a computer. The check is signed for $3,450, way above the asking price.
"The Craigslist sellers are sending me their emails of what this potential buyer sent, and (the buyer) is telling them, 'Hey, I sent you this extra money, here is my Western Union account. Send me the excess money, but keep $100 on top of that for yourself,'" Zombor said.
In the case of the Missouri seller, he lost more than $1,400. The checks, of course, appear to be from a legitimate account.