[klayfish]

I fight fraud for a living too, and I'd be concerned about it. Yes, I give my account number out when I write a check, but I'd be more concerned about giving the account number on the phone to someone I don't know (usually I only write checks to banks, etc...).

There is, or at least used to be, a service called escrow.com. I think that is what it was. I used them a few years ago when I sold my '80 Corvette. They charge a small fee (which can be paid either by the buyer or seller). But they will take the money from the buyer and hold it. The seller then sends the merchandise. The buyer has 48 hours from receipt to accept or reject it. If he accepts it, the money is given to the seller. If he rejects it, the buyer must send it back, at his cost, in the condition it was sent in. As a failsafe, if the buyer just never responds, the money is automatically released to the seller. It worked great and gave me piece of mind.

Steve