three times over the course of a couple of weeks. The three checks looked legitimate, but the routing numbers didn't match the bank name.

I got bored after the third check and stopped leading him on. I realized that the money for his overnight postage was probably coming from a hacked account it stolen credit card. I didn't want to make him too angry because he had my real street address.

The scam is simple. They send you a cashier's check for too much. They then ask you to send back the difference in the form of gift cards or some other non reversible payment. People don't realize that the cashier's check is fraudulent until after they've sent irreversible payment the to scammer.

Never accept a cashier's check without first calling the issuing bank and verifying its legitimacy. You still run the risk of being given a counterfeit copy of the original check, but at least you confirm that legitimate cashier's check created and exists somewhere.