Sounds like a scam. I was contacted by somebody wanting to buy one of my paintings a few years back.

Here's how my situation went (this is from a posting I made online back then describing what happened):

I'm sure the type of scam I'm going to outline here has been discussed before, but I think it bears repeating.

I have several paintings displayed on our local art association's website, of which I am webmaster. My e-mail address is on the page showing my work.

Last week I received an e-mail from "Morris White" (an alias, I'm certain) telling me he was interested in buying a particular painting of mine. He asked how much I wanted for it and I told him, initially wary due to the fact that his command of the English language reminded me of the typical "help me move fifty-kazillion dollars out of my country" letters that we all get.

I Googled one of the odd phrases he used in his letter and found that this same guy has been pulling this scam for several years. Typically, he will get someone to agree to sell him something by contacting them by e-mail. He requests a mailing address to deliver a check--mine came by UPS. He will send a check for several times more than the cost agreed to--on the premise that it is to cover shipping costs. In my case, I agreed to sell him my painting for $500. He sent me a check for $2,300.

Next, he contacts me and instructs me to deposit the funds immediately and then he will give me shipping instructions "once the funds clear". The only problem is that the check is a fraudulent check written on a real account that belongs to a real business who is also a victim.

The scammer, "Morris White" plans to wait a few days, have me ship my painting off and then tell me it's urgent that I wire him the remaining funds. Of course if I do this, I'm out my painting and whatever I wire him once the legitimate business reports the fraudulent check and it gets charged back to me. Most checks "clear" within a few days, but it can take weeks to learn that a check you took in payment for an item was fraudulent.

That is how the scam is supposed to work, but I figured out early on that "Morris White" was a lying thief, so I decided to string him along as far as I can. I've contacted the company that is being victimized by having their account used and they told me that they've had no less than 50 such fraudulent checks turn up in the past week alone, one of them for over $20,000. And, mine wasn't the only one used to purchase artwork.

Stay alert. If it seems to good to be true, it most likely is.