Years ago my then 15 year old daughter was looking for work. She reported to me that she found a guy on Craigslist who was going to pay her to do a one-time cleaning his grandmother's apartment, while he was out of the country on business.
I don't remember the numbers, but I think he was going to pay her $500, but was sending her a check for $3500, and asked that she take $3000 and give it to the landlord to cover the rent.
So, she wanted me to cash the check and bring her there.
I had to set her straight on what was going on. At first she didn't believe me, but I asked her; why would he pay you $500 to clean an apartment instead of calling a professional, who would do it for $100 to $150? Whey would he trust you, who he doesn't know, with a $3500 check, trusting that you will do the right thing, rather than send it to the landlord, who he does know?
She was disappointed, because she had already mentally spent that money.
Then she let me know that the guy had our address and was sending the check.
It did come, was written on a bank I believe, in Indiana. I called the bank, and they verified it was fraud but weren't interested in pursuing it. They said it happens all the time and there was nothing they could do about it.
My memory is a bit fuzzy, but believe the guy emailed and asked if she'd received the check, and she wrote back that her dad told her it was a scam and tore it up. He never replied.