There was no suspicious link, no Nigerian prince, no call from someone claiming to be a grandchild in trouble. This scam was new to me, and in the end I didn’t fall for it — but there were several red flags that could have saved me some time. Maybe they’ll save you some time, heartache or money.

Long story short: A person emailed me through my website and booked distant Let Animals Lead® animal Reiki sessions for her dogs, for which she said she’d pay by check. I normally don’t take checks for my animal work, especially from new clients. However, there was enough time to cancel if the check didn’t arrive, so I reluctantly agreed. Then she said she’d accidentally cut the check for $4,300 instead of the $430 she owed. Would I please deposit the check and send her back the difference? After asking my partner if this sounded suspicious – and her saying yes – I told the person no.

Now let’s look at the many red flags here:

1) The person contacted me through my website asking about my services, when that information was easy to find on said website.

2) She said she’d be paying by check. Even if she had asked if I take checks instead of telling me that’s how she was paying, I should have politely refused.

3) She emailed me an hour or two later to say she’d mistakenly cut a check for a much larger amount than what she owed. Since she “couldn’t write another check for a while,” would I deposit the check and send back the difference? Evidently this is known as a check overpayment scam; the check will be fake, but by the time the bank discovers it’s fake, the scammer already has the money you sent. Then you’re on the hook repaying the bank.

4) When I said I wouldn’t do that, and again asked her to pay through PayPal, she said she wasn’t permitted to use any third party apps because of a charge back dispute. If that was supposed to get me to let my guard down, she needs to go back to Scammer School.

5) She then dug in, saying she really wanted these sessions for her dogs: “So please once you receive the check, you’re going to deduct your fee from it and send the balance.” Again, a legitimate client — or at least a client I would want to work with — would not say this.

That’s when I repeated my “no,” cancelled the sessions and ended the interaction.

I have to admit wondering why anyone would bother to scam me and not someone more “scamworthy.”

But, sadly, it makes sense that scammers would go after solo practitioners, especially in service-oriented fields. We do this work because we want to help animals and the people who love them, and we’re on our own. My administrative staff, accountant and IT department? They’re all me.

You may want to give someone the benefit of the doubt, but your doubt is a valuable tool. Use it.

At the very least, see it as a sign to pause and ask more questions.