State police at Watertown are keeping their eye on a check-cashing scheme being used by scam artists through the Web site Craigslist.

People looking for a job on the site will be asked by the scammer for their full name, telephone number and address. The job seeker is told he'll receive an advance payment, and the check turns out to be larger than the recipient is expecting. The scammer then wants the victim to send the extra amount back to where it came from, police said.

The check will bounce, forcing the victim to pay back the money and additional penalties.

"The individuals running these scams purport themselves to be very busy men and usually on a business trip in the United Kingdom or South Africa," a police press release says. "As in any computer generated scam, the e-mails themselves do not read properly. This is generally due to the creator not having English as his primary language."

Anyone who believes he is the victim of this scam can call the state police at 782-2112.