In the 111130 MMD Don Barton asked, "What's the scam?"

What the scammers do is look for expensive items to purchase online
(like pianos) that presumably have a high resale value.  They then ask
the purchase price, sight unseen, as well as any shipping costs.  Then
they send a money order or cashier's check that looks legitimate, but
is fake.  Sometimes they'll use a real bank's name, but fake an account
number; sometimes they'll fake the bank's name, especially if it is a
foreign (or foreign sounding) bank.

The idea is that the seller will ship the item before the payment
clears, in which case the "buyer" (thief) makes off with thousands of
dollars worth of saleable merchandise.

Some scammers are more obvious than others.  I had a caller once
inquire about a piano advertised online.  However, the caller was deaf,
and using a TDD phone.  Beyond the questionable nature of a deaf person
wishing to purchase a piano, he asked none of the right questions
beyond how much the costs were.

Caveat Exigo!

Bryan Cather

  [ Similar explanations of the scam were also sent in by Nelson Denton,
  [ Dave Haibach, and David Schroeder.
  [ --Relief Editor