possible scam? Help me out please!

[FantasiaWHT]

Somebody offered to do the Buy It Now on my Lunar auction ($400) as long as I would accept a foreign certified cheque. I wrote back that I would, and this is the response he sent me-


Hi,Thanks for your urgent response.I am very happy
that you accepted the offer.I have been thinking on
how I can get the payment out to you soonest because I
am located in Holland,and it may take time for a
cheque drawn on Dutch Bank to clear in your bank so I
have asked my associate to issue the cheque to you.

The cheque will get to you in $2,500 this amount is
due to an earlier order I made which was not
successful due to late shipping arrangement.I want you
to deduct the money for the sale of your item when the
cheque gets to you and send the balance of the money
on the cheque via WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER to my
shipping agent who will contact you as soon as the
transaction is in progress.

I want you to provide the following details for the
payment to get to you:NAME,ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER.I
will be expecting your mail incase you have any
question.

Thanks.


Sounds extremely suspicious to me...

If I'm able to cash the cheque and mail out a portion of it back in a money transfer, why wouldn't he be able to do that?

Also, it originally was a question on the item itself, but after I answered it, it disapeared...

Anybody seen anything similar? I'm telling him no for now, but there's about 2 hours left lol

[FantasiaWHT]

Finally found his EBay ID... 0 feedback. No big surprise lol

[GarrettCRW]

I would use extreme caution here, because this sounds excessively not right...

[norkusa]

I don't understand why the buyer wants to make it so complicated unless he's trying to pull a scam. It almost sounds like he's asking you to launder money for him ("I'll send you check for $2500. You keep the $400 for the auction and send me the rest in WU money transfer").

Just tell him you want an international postal money order. If he can't do that, I wouldn't deal with him.

[ig88vsbobafett]

Dont do it this is a old scam. the check wont clear

[Tritoch]

Dont do it this is a old scam. the check wont clear

Bingo. Anytime someone tries to send you MORE than the amount owed it's a scam.

[Ed Oscuro]

Seconded. Report this fgteer and tell him(her) to make his own money machine.

Plus you should be a bit embarassed you've dealt with him this far after seeing so many warning signals. Ten to one this guy keeps trying to bother you after you overly politely tell him off.

[AnAngel]

They are all right; think reasonably here: If there were any mistakes with the check, they could easily have it amended. NO ONE in his or her right mind would send you an amount more than what is owed, especially 6x more than what it's worth. Besides, if the check they wrote was for a previous order, they could trash it, correct? Furthermore, wouldn't someone else's name be the payee of it since it was originally for something else?


In my opinion, don't do it whatsoever.

[Flack]

Yup. Scam.

For those who don't "get it", what happens is you cash the check for $2500 and send him the item and the change. A week later, the cheque bounces, and you're out the money and the item.

[pixelsnpolygons]

That is the most crooked thing I've ever heard.

[AnAngel]

Yup. Scam.

For those who don't "get it", what happens is you cash the check for $2500 and send him the item and the change. A week later, the cheque bounces, and you're out the money and the item.


Yes, and because you'd Western Union them back a payment, it CANNOT be reversed or canceled once picked up - leaving an almost "clean" trace for the defrauder, nor would you have recourse if you used a credit card to send them the money.

[Videogamerdaryll]

SCAM!!!


Reminds me of those Constant Emails I get like the below..
I get two or three of these a day..

FROM PAUL JOHNSON
BP12 COCODY ESTATE
ABIDJAN COTE D'IVOIRE


MY SECURED AND DIRECT E MAIL ADDRES

( paul_johnson11@terra.com.mx )

AND ALSO CALL ME URGENTLY NOW ON THIS MY DIRECT PHONE NUMBER (+225 0599
6286) THANKS

DEAR ,

PERMIT ME TO INFORM YOU OF MY DESIRE OF GOING INTO BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP
WITH YOU. I GOT YOUR NAME AND CONTACT THROUGH IVOIRIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
AND INDUSTRY I PRAYED OVER IT AND SELECTED YOUR NAME AMONG OTHER NAMES DUE
TO IT'S ESTEEMING NATURE AND THE RECOMMENDATIONS GIVEN TO ME AS A REPUTABLE
AND TRUST WORTHY PERSON I CAN DO BUSINESS WITH AND BY THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS
I MUST NOT HESISTATE TO CONFIDE IN YOU FOR THIS SIMPLE AND SINCERE BUSINESS.


I AM PAUL JOHNSON , THE ONLY SON OF LATE MR AND MRS ABUMA JOHNSON , MY
FATHER HAD ANOTHER WIFE WITH ONE CHILD AFTER THE DEATH OF MY MOTHER MY FATHER
WAS A VERY WEALTHY COCOA MERCHANT BASED IN ABIDJAN, THE ECONOMIC CAPITAL
OF IVORY COAST BEFORE HE WAS POISONED TO DEATH BY HIS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES
ON ONE OF THEIR OUTING TO DISCUSS ON A BUSINESS DEAL. WHEN MY MOTHER DIED
ON THE 21ST OCTOMBER 2002, MY FATHER TOOK ME SO SPECIAL BECAUSE I AM MOTHERLESS.


BEFORE THE DEATH OF MY FATHER ON 24TH NOVEMBER 2003 IN APRIVATE HOSPITAL
HERE IN ABIDJAN. HE SECRETLY CALLED ME ON HIS BEDSIDE AND TOLD ME THAT HE
HAS A SUM OF (US$12,500,000.00 TWELVE MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND UNITED
STATES DOLLARS) LEFT IN A SUSPENSE ACCOUNT IN A LOCAL BANK HERE IN ABIDJAN,
THAT HE USED MY NAME AS HIS ONLY SON FOR THE NEXT OF KIN IN DEPOSIT OF THE
FUND.

HE ALSO EXPLAINED TO ME THAT IT WAS BECAUSE OF THIS WEALTH THAT HE WAS POISONED
BY HIS BUSINESS ASSOCIATES, THAT I SHOULD SEEK FOR A FOREIGN PARTNER IN
A COUNTRY OF MY CHOICE WHERE I WILL TRANSFER THIS MONEY AND USE IT FOR INVESTMENT
PURPOSE ,(SUCH AS REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT).

DEAR,I AM HONOURABLY SEEKING YOUR ASSISTANCE IN THE FOLLOWING WAYS.

1) TO PROVIDE A BANK ACCOUNT WHERE THIS MONEY WOULD BE TRANSFERED

2) TO SERVE AS THE GUARDIAN OF THIS FUND.

3) TO MAKE ARRANGEMENT FOR ME AND MY STEP MOTHER TO COME OVER TO YOUR COUNTRY
TO FURTHER MY EDUCATION AND TO SECURE A RESIDENTIAL PERMIT FOR US IN YOUR
COUNTRY.

MOREOVER, DEAR, I AM WILLING TO OFFER YOU 20% OF THE TOTAL FUND AS COMPENSATION
FOR YOUR EFFORT INPUT AFTER THE SUCCESSFUL TRANSFER OF THIS FUND TO YOUR
NOMINATED ACCOUNT OVERSEA.

FURTHERMORE, YOU CAN INDICATE YOUR OPTION TOWARDS ASSISTING ME AS I BELIEVE
THAT THIS TRANSACTION WOULD BE CONCLUDED WITHIN FORTEEN (21) DAYS YOU SIGNIFY
INTEREST TO ASSIST ME.

ANTICIPATING HEARING FROM YOU SOON.

THANKS AND GOD BLESS.

BEST REGARDS.

PAUL JOHNSON



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[Neil Koch]

I saw something similar to this on 60 Minutes... the report said about 60-70% of all of Western Union's buisness is fradualent in some way.

[Oobgarm]

Same kind of thing almost happened to a friend of mine. He was selling an upright bass for $400, some guy from overseas offered him a check for $3000. Told him to send the guitar to a friend in the US, who would then send it to this guy, who was in the UK IIRC. Rest of the funds were for my friend to keep.

I told him the deal reeked of bullshit, luckily he listened and didn't cash it.

[Ed Oscuro]

I saw something similar to this on 60 Minutes... the report said about 60-70% of all of Western Union's buisness is fradualent in some way.
Wow, that's a huge number. The US Post Office prides itself on having advanced methods to detect fraud via Money Orders, but even there the number of fraudulent deals going through is terribly high.

I'm sure it's a relatively small number of hardcore criminals doing this, since even $3-$5K a pop is only going to take you so far on costs of living, and as we see from the many video game sale frauds that many of these folks will debase themselves for as little as $50 (not to say that some of that isn't honest - but we have seen many folks like this, and that's a fact).

[racecar]

should pass up this deal...you don't want any legal issues !!!

[Neil Koch]

I'm sure it's a relatively small number of hardcore criminals doing this, since even $3-$5K a pop is only going to take you so far on costs of living, and as we see from the many video game sale frauds that many of these folks will debase themselves for as little as $50 (not to say that some of that isn't honest - but we have seen many folks like this, and that's a fact).

I'm not sure about video games, but the story was about how scammers in Canada are using Ebay and Western Union to get hundreds of thousands of dollars from people. Unsurpsingly, they usually preyed on elderly people... one lady got hit for about $300,000.

[Ed Oscuro]

Unsurpsingly, they usually preyed on elderly people... one lady got hit for about $300,000.
That would definitely be one of the scare stories...but it takes quite a while to build up to something like that. That'd keep THAT scammer good for a while, but after that, it's back to their old tricks.

Must be a hell of a way to make your way in the world, I guess.

[Griking]

Don't most sellers wait until a buyer's checks clears before they ship the product to the buyer?

[sisko]

Scams like this are the reason I use the "immediate payment required" on my auctions.

Fortunately, you caught it, and can at least get your final value fees back. Maybe fire a quick email to ebay and see if you can get a free relisting too :)

[SoulBlazer]

The reason the scam works is because the banks are obligated to put the money into your account within 48 hours. However, international checks can take up to 30 days for them actually clear and the money to come out of the buyer's account. So if the check is bad, then it takes that long before the bank tells you that and takes the funds back out -- and by then, it's too late.

Snoops has a great recent article on this and related scams.

[Iron Draggon]

OK, so open a new account, cash the check, and disappear forever with the money! Why would you just leave it in the bank, knowing it'll bounce later?

[Ed Oscuro]

The bank will track you down and you'll be sorry, that's why. Never take money from a bank you're not entitled to! It never works out.

[FantasiaWHT]

Luckily the guy didn't actually buy it.

My item did sell and I have already been paid via paypal yaaaaaaaaay

on a related note, I got an email from "ebay" sending me to a site where I had to enter all my personal information such as CC#, bank account #, etc. and I looked at the address bar and it was just an ###.###.#.# address lol.

Unfortunately I had already put my password in on the page before so I had to go change that.

Probably the same loser.

[ddockery]

I'm not sure how many times this has been siad, but obviously it need sto again... eBay and PayPal will NEVER send you an email with a link to their site like that. They'll ask you to log in and let you do it yourself. They will never want the info. that scam asked for.

[thehistorian]

Just so you know it can take as long as 6 months for a certified check or cashiers check to come back as unpaid... Long after you have cashed the check and sent the "extra" money it will come back and bite your a$$...

The banking industry is extremely way behind on these types of transactions..