This number contacted my husband about a AD he placed on craiglist to do residential and commercial  painting jobs out of our area.  The man text and said he wanted his new he painted 2 rooms before he moved to Arkansas. My husband text back and forth a few times then told him to call him on the phone.  The man says he can't because he's deaf. My husband  tried to call him and it was a texting app phone number. The man tells him come paint and his Realtor will meet him there and the check will then be in the mail for the job out if his disability money.  My husband told him half the money up front the rest at end of job NO CHECKS in the mail CASH ONLY the man hasnt text a word back. Not sure what this Scam is other than getting free work or our info for the check to be mailed like full names and addresses. Very strange I must say.  We have had a few strange calls and text from 281 and 832 area codes all Houston Bay Area numbers from call. Apps so beware.

The check will be no good.  They will send much more than the job is worth and ask you to send the difference by untraceable means to someone for something.  Since most people don't understand that the funds being available and the check clearing are two different things, they take the money out, send it, the check bounces and then they are out the money and the bank fees.  They don't want to talk on the phone because they are foreigners, probably Nigerian.  If you do get a check take it and the envelope it came in to the post office and have them forward it to the postal inspectors.

One note of caution here......the funds may be in the bank when you call! But as you said when you get the "provisional" credit from your bank and withdraw the money, they will time it so that they withdraw the money from their bank before the check hits and it will bounce......very clever. But they can't do that with a cashier's checkI IF you call the bank it is drawn on and the funds have already been removed by the certifying cashier.

While that is certainly true, I doubt most people would know that.  Very few people today have even the smallest concept of how banking works.  I see it time and time again where they simply don't know enough to call the bank and file a fraud dispute on credit card or debit card charges, or to dispute checks when nothing on the check matches except the routing and account numbers.

Yes!!! It's a scam! I have the same craigslist ad and same phone call and everything.  Your husband was smart to accept only cash. Never send money to someone you haven't met and you are only 50% likely to get scammed. A cashiers/certified check will work too IF you call the bank on the check to see if the funds are certified at the bank the check is drawn on. If the check isn't a fraud, then the funds will be there and you get paid.