There are scams out there that are cloning themselves to look like PayPal, C2it, etc. The funds end up going out of the country. Some of these are very good, I know because I have seen them.

All of us must be very alert to NEVER, EVER give out account number, card number, PIN code, etc. when someone calls or emails us. If the person calling or emailing you is legit, they will already have this information. Additionally, do not call the bank, credit card company etc. based on a phone number that they gave you. Call the number that you have always called or look the number up.

I can understand that the very large banks may not want to deal with POPI wires and just can't because of their size. However, we get many wires that are going to the attention of an officer -- they may be loan payments, or something else that he is working on, like closing a mortgage loan, where we need to know that the funds have arrived in order to proceed. I think there may be times when someone may be able to talk to their banker and make this kind of arrangement, for example, when selling a car long distance.

The eBay escrow program works well. It's going to cost the seller or buyer, depending on how it's listed, but it's a safe alternative for large items that protects them both.

Who takes the loss if a counterfeit check is sent to EBay and the funds are released to the seller, then EBay discovers the check was bad? Just curious.

The eBay payment systems - as best I know - do not use physical checks.

The buyer electronically transfers funds, a la wire transfer. There is a suitable hold, typically 6 business days.