Handyman issue / scam

[Brett James Zabawa]

Hi, I’m Brett zabawa. I’m a handyman and I work with a few rental properties and do some projects that range to the small stuff like hanging doors, repair trim and drywall to new flooring installs, painting, appliance repair, yard work and repairing your usual leaky faucet..

The issue I’m having currently is I have just gotten into contact a couple days ago about a flooring job. Owner is investing out of state and I just got the mail today for a good check. I have been told to deposit it, take my part for labor and the rest of the check will go to their supplier. And I will have to either pay them through Zell or CashApp. 

I'm confident I can do the job in a couple days and make it look great, but the issue is I’m weary the check will bounce after I do the work. And the money I would pay to the “supplier” would get his money and I would be out 2k+. The owner would end up getting free materials and labor for the install.

Is this something normal that investors do? Is this a scam or am I okay? Is there a way to protect myself against this type of scam?

[Bruce Woodruff]

What @Jay Hinrichs said ^^^. This sounds fishy. They should pay the supplier directly if they insist on buying materials (which they should not be doing)

Even waiting for the check to clear is a bit risky nowadays, because I believe they can still stop the funds (like people do with the Certified Check scam). Wiring is the best, I don't know if using Venmo or similar has risks too....?