JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. -- A Jacksonville Beach woman learned the hard way the danger of doing business online, when she almost lost $6,000 to a scam artist.

Sam Waters (pictured, left) wanted to sell her 2002 Harley Davidson bike online for $4,200. A man in Canada, who said he was buying the bike for an out-of-town client, offered her the asking price -- with one catch.

"He said the client has purchased a motorcycle for $10,400, but that didn't go through," explained Waters.

The buyer said he wanted to send Sam the cashier's check from the original purchase, totaling $10,400, and she could just send him the difference.

The cashier's check arrived via FedEx and appeared to be genuine.

"It looks legitimate. [It has a] check routing number, Citibank on the back," Waters said.

She cashed the check and then went to a Western Union branch to wire the $6,000 difference to the buyer.

Waters had no idea anything was amiss until she received a call from a Western Union representative, telling her they were required to check on large sums of money going into Canada and that the situation might be a scam. Further investigation revealed the check was bogus.

Waters, who constantly deals with checks in her job at a home mortgage company, was fooled by the phony check. So was her bank, which accepted the cashier's check the same as cash, as many banks do. This is why the scam is often successful.

Ultimately, Waters got to keep her money and said she thinks the scammer must have been looking for someone vulnerable.