WTAE Call 4 Action reporter Susan Koeppen says an international scheme recently affected an Allegheny County man.

Koeppen has the details in the following report, which aired Nov. 8 on Action News at 5 p.m.

---

If you're trying to sell something and you have ads in the paper or on the Internet, be very leery if you see interest from a buyer living in Africa.

Dave Kriger was trying to sell his classic car. A buyer in africa wanted it, and had a unique payment plan involving a middleman.

Kriger: "He said he had a client in the United States that owed him $9,500. What he wanted to do was have him send me a check. I could take out my $4,000 and Western Union him the rest in Africa."

The deal for the car sounded fishy. The guy in Africa was trusting Kriger to send him the leftover cash.

Kriger received a cashier's check in the mail for $9,500. He brought it to a National City Bank teller.

Kriger: "I said a couple times, 'Is this guaranteed, good money? Because this is being sent out of the country.' And she kept saying, 'It's a guaranteed check.' "

So Kriger took his $4,000 for the car and got $5,500 in cash to send to his buyer in Africa. About two weeks later, National City had bad news -- that guaranteed cashier's check was counterfeit.

Kriger: "Then the bank says I'm responsible. The money that's in the bank is in the bank, but the other money that I sent is lost, and they're holding me responsible for it."

Kriger and his family have been in contact with several other victims across the U.S. They all received bogus checks after trying to deal with someone in Africa.

In most cases, the burden is on the customer if a check turns out to be bad.