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8 Acton/Georgetown, Friday, February 22, 2008 price of the merchandise. The buyer then asks the seller to cash the cheque and wire the excess funds to either the buyer or a third party. The seller, believing the cheque to be genuine, deposits the cheque and then wires the amount of the overpayment as directed. It is usually after the funds have been wired that the cashiers cheque or money order comes back as being counterfeit. The bank then holds the seller responsible for the amount of the fraud- ulent cheque, which leaves the seller defrauded both of the money and the product. Halton Police have issued some guidelines to assist in minimizing a persons vulnerability against fraud. Be suspicious if the cheque received is greater than the agreed upon price for the mer- chandise. Consider an online payment service. Current technology has improved the quality of counterfeit cheques and therefore makes them difficult to detect. Be wary if the cheque is drawn on an out of country bank as it may take a month before the counterfeit is realized. Never agree to accept a cheque for an inflat- ed amount and to reimburse the balance. Never agree to wire funds back to the buyer or to forward the funds to a third party. The buyer will have several seemingly legitimate rea- sons for wanting this done, but all should be met with skepticism. The buyer may even offer an incentive to compensate the seller trouble by per- mitting you to keep an additional portion of the cheque as a tip. People should know who they are dealing with when conducting transactions over the internet and confirm the personal information of the buyer. People should not succumb to any pressure at the hands of the buyer or feel they have to complete a transaction when they are not com- fortable. As much as a person may be tempted to make the sale, they will regret not taking the time at the beginning to ensure they are dealing with a legitimate purchase. Police say the jeopardy with this type of scam is that the person who deposits the fraudulent cheque into their bank account have become a party to the offence and could not only be held liable by their bank, but may also face criminal prosecution. Anyone who falls victim to a fraudulent scam or requires further information should contact Halton Regional Police at 905-878-5511 ext. 2368. Police alerting residents to be wary of sellling items on the Net Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local #73 and the Town of Halton Hills have reached a settlement in principle in their contract negotiations. Union president Andy Garbutt said the union membership about 42 outside employees such as snowplow drivers and roads and parks work- ers and facility attendants gave majority sup- port to a Town contract offer in a vote on February 11. Town of Halton Hills Human Resources man- ager Jackie Kerr said council members would vote on the deal at their meeting Monday night. If approved by council, Garbutt said the Town and union would sign the deal on March 3. Negotiations had stalled in January over wages and benefits, and the union signaled it would ask a provincially-appointed conciliator to settle the dispute. However, Garbutt said it did not get to that stage after the Town called the union leadership back to the table with a new offer. They came up with the money and some ben- efits, said Garbutt. No further details were available on the deal, which covers the period, June 1, 2007 to May 31, 2010. Halton Police are cautioning people about frauds that have been occurring in relation to items being sold on the Internet. Police say this is how the fraud occurs. The seller posts an item for sale on the Internet. The buyer contacts the seller and arrangements are made to purchase the product. The buyer sends the seller a cashiers cheque or money order for an amount greater than the Town, CUPE reach deal