Re-posting, as I accidentally deleted my previous post

I came across this thread while looking for ESL shops online in Halifax, NS (we're based in Nova Scotia).

OMG!

We too almost fell for this, albeit we really thought it was all a bit of a scam by this point. I got exactly the same e-mails from the 'mother', who now uses the name Meifeng Cheng. Her daughter is 'Lui Cheng'. She asked her contact in Toronto, Tom Park, to arrange the homestay agreement - starting this Saturday for 4 months.

We already thought it was completely odd that the mother didn't seem too interested in finding out much about us. She also never looked at our website (we use Google Analytics so can see website visitor info such as country, language etc.). We also thought it was odd that they wanted to send a cheque instead of a bank transfer. My husband (who spoke to 'Tom Park', after he said he tried to leave a message for us and could we call him back) thought it strange that the guy said he lived in the west end of Toronto, yet when we checked the number later, it came up as a central Toronto suburb. Then the mother didn't reply to any of my e-mails. Then Tom Park didn't know where we were based and got the alleged arrival date mixed up. Lots of strange little things that were sending off warning signals, and then I came across this thread.

Our names and business address are public knowledge as this info is on our website, and we haven't received the cheque yet, so I'm hopeful that no lasting damage has been done, except for the cost of the phone call. We'll send all info to the police anyway.

I can't believe people waste their lives - and ours - with stupid scams like this.