I was contacted by a fellow forum member. He told me more about how one type of scam works. I was actually contacted by something very similar. This is what he told me:
saw your forum entry "Is this A Scam" on the AAW site and wanted to let you know that, yes it is a scam. My wife has an online gallery of her artwork and received the exact same message from "Steve Thomas". When we agreed to sell him two pieces for $2250, he sent a check for $4260 with instructions to pay his shipping agent the difference when the artwork was picked up. Like you and the others on the forum this raised all kinds of red flags for me. The check he sent me was drawn on the account of Carol Wright Gifts of Edison, NJ and sent from a residential address in Orlando, FL. I took the check to the bank and they ran a verification on it and determined that it was indeed bogus. I agreed to let them retain the check and all of my documentation to send to their security center.
I tried to reply to your forum entry but the AAW site wouldn't allow that so I am using this method to contact you. Feel free to share this information as you see fit.