2008 Woodie Awards
Online check scandal hits close to home
Jessica Medeiros
Issue date: 1/25/08 Section: Campus
1/25/08 - With rapid advances in technology happening every day, more people are beginning to use the Internet to communicate, pay bills and store personal data. The efficiency and convenience of this trend, however, can come at a high price.
Connecticut resident Armida Crowley had a firsthand encounter with the potential dangers of cyberspace when she posted an advertisement for her Narragansett apartment on the Graduate Student Association's Apartment for Rent Web site last Thanksgiving.
Crowley received an e-mail expressing interest in the apartment from "Melissa Bowan", a 26-year-old graduate student from Canada, only a few days later. Crowley was surprised, but pleased at the quick response. She replied, answering Bowan's questions regarding rent and utilities, and also offered her cell phone number, asking Bowan to call her.
Instead of a phone call, Crowley received another e-mail from Bowan.
"It might interest you to know that the payment check will be issued by me just to show my genuine interest," Bowan wrote. "Also, the payment check will be arriving to you in an amount slightly above the normal payment and therefore you are required to get back to me with a refund after you must have received, cashed, and deduct your dues, because [this money] is meant for my flight ticket, furniture allowances, food and other miscellaneous expenses."
This was when Crowley began to suspect a scam. "I thought maybe she was getting a grant or something where she was receiving money, depending on where and what she was renting," she said.
Despite this, Crowley's son, who is in his twenties, only needed to glance at the e-mails to discover that it was a scam.
Crowley e-mailed Bowan back, inquiring about the unorthodox payment method, but instead of receiving a response, she received a $5,000 check sent by Melissa Bowan. While Crowley disregarded the check, she said the situation has made her hesitant to sell anything over the Internet.
Connecticut resident Armida Crowley had a firsthand encounter with the potential dangers of cyberspace when she posted an advertisement for her Narragansett apartment on the Graduate Student Association's Apartment for Rent Web site last Thanksgiving.
Crowley received an e-mail expressing interest in the apartment from "Melissa Bowan", a 26-year-old graduate student from Canada, only a few days later. Crowley was surprised, but pleased at the quick response. She replied, answering Bowan's questions regarding rent and utilities, and also offered her cell phone number, asking Bowan to call her.
Instead of a phone call, Crowley received another e-mail from Bowan.
"It might interest you to know that the payment check will be issued by me just to show my genuine interest," Bowan wrote. "Also, the payment check will be arriving to you in an amount slightly above the normal payment and therefore you are required to get back to me with a refund after you must have received, cashed, and deduct your dues, because [this money] is meant for my flight ticket, furniture allowances, food and other miscellaneous expenses."
This was when Crowley began to suspect a scam. "I thought maybe she was getting a grant or something where she was receiving money, depending on where and what she was renting," she said.
Despite this, Crowley's son, who is in his twenties, only needed to glance at the e-mails to discover that it was a scam.
Crowley e-mailed Bowan back, inquiring about the unorthodox payment method, but instead of receiving a response, she received a $5,000 check sent by Melissa Bowan. While Crowley disregarded the check, she said the situation has made her hesitant to sell anything over the Internet.