A 55-year-old Youngwood man lost $3,100 recently in a truck-buying scam over Craigslist when he reimbursed a Long Island, N.Y., buyer who had “overpaid” him with a worthless check, state police at Greensburg said.

The victim intended to sell his truck for $2,500 on Feb. 26 to a buyer identified as Riley Excavating & Contracting of Bay Shore, N.Y., police said. The buyer who signed the $5,732 check, Patricia Riley, instructed the victim to keep the remainder of the money to pay for shipping the truck to New York, police said.

The victim told police that his bank informed him on March 3 that Riley’s check had cleared. But, after the victim had sent $3,100 in four money orders to an address in the Newark suburb of Union, N.J., he was informed on March 5 that Riley’s check was fraudulent, police said.

The man could not reach the buyer, who already had cashed the money orders, police said.

The Youngwood man did not ship the truck to New York, police said.

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