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Is taking a certified check risky?

So I'm selling my motorbike on craigslist, and somebody came to see it and decided they want it. They seemed really nice and showed good knowledge of what they were buying and everything went well. When asked if I want cash or certified check I said they're both fine and so we made plans as to when to arrange the deal. (they also wrote out a receipt and put $100 down in cash).
This morning they email me and say that they got a certified check in my name.

Should I be concerned? or am I just being paranoid? The people were really nice and it seems to me that just carrying a wad of cash spells trouble.
I know it's not a nigerian scam because they're local. I talked to them personally and they had local liscence plates on their car. They also called from local numbers.

According to the famous Consumer Advocate "Clark Howard" 80% of all money orders, cashiers checks and certified checks are forgeries!

And think about it for a minute... if someone is willing to go through all the trouble to go to a bank and convert cash to a certified check - why not just give you the cash?

Certified checks are usually ok if used at a RE closing and many title co's insist on certified or cashiers checks. Money order's are ok if you are making a car payment and don't have a checking account (who wants to send cash through the mail).

But if you are selling something on ebay and someone asks to send you a MO - say sure, but you will have to wait 6 weeks so i can make sure the MO is legit before I ship your merchandise! if they want it sooner then tell them to use Paypal - never give them your bank info either as one of the scams out there is "I'll be happy to deposit the $$ right into your BofA account since they have branches all over the country - this is BS and they just want your bank account#.

If you are selling on Craig's list then insist on cash and if the merchandise is high dollar then perform the transaction at a bank or other public place in order to keep from getting ripped off.

Here is a site that tells about a few scams re certified/cashiers checks

http://www.dcu.org/streetwise/march2005.html

Here is Clark Howards page on Cashiers, Certified Checks and money Orders

http://clarkhoward.com/query/results.html?cx=014368166379998286206%3A-7q-kycmcak&cof=FORID%3A11&q=cashiers+checks&submit.x=20&submit.y=11#1177

- Good Luck!

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