Lookout for the old scam if you are selling
 

we have had a couple of threads on this already but as I know some of you have listed bikes under Autobike you should be aware of this type of e-mail that I have just received.

----- Original Message -----
From: <nictective_inc@juno.com>
Sent: Tuesday, September 30, 2003 7:21 PM
Subject: Your AutoBike Ad: 11107


> Good day,
>
> I am a U.S base in West Africa. I deal in all kinds of cars and trucks.
Also deal on boat parts and motor cycle. Right now, I have a customer who is
interested in purchasing your Bike.
>
> I would like you to get back to me with your last offering price for the
Bike.
>
> I look forward to hear from you.
>
> Thanks,
> Mike Sean.
>

Still can't believe people fall for this kind of thing its so obvious :o

I personally wouldn't touch a request like this anyway, but what is the catch. Can anyone explain?

He sends you a cheque drawn on some wierd bank somewhere hoping that you will send the goods before you find out that the bank doesnt exist.
My mate had one turn up the other day for a microlight he was selling.

test reply, - please ignore,

Webteam (not Duncan)

Cheers R hopper, but I can't believe that someone would package up and ship their bike abroad before making sure the money was in their account!!


Or are there?

I think the idea is that they fire off several hundred cheques, there are bound to be one or two that slip through.

Yep...And coz I'm so trusting of dodgy geezers that ride bikes it probably would be me!!!:P

read this
 

my mate had the same email!! This is how he lost £4000 !!!!! the gezza made contact with him for his R1 . Then the gezza sent him a cheque for £9000 my thick mate emailed him to say the money this gezza had sent was £4000 to much !!! the gezza then said he had sent the wrong cheque to the wrong person but to save messing about would my mate wire the difference to him for the sum of £4000 . (so far) so my thick mate gets his bank to wire the money and then banks the £9ooo chegue and you guessed it cheque bounces !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thats how it works! My mate was selling a microlite and some bloke from overseas emailed hm and rang him about it. he appeared to know what he was talking about as well. Anyhow they didnt do a deal but a week or so later a cheque turned up drawn on some obscure african bank. My mate wasnt going to sell but he banked it anyhow just to see what happened. His UK bank told him it had cleared but a couple of weeks later they told him it has bounced, the bank it was drawn on didnt exist but it had passed through the UK clearing system with no problems.

Another mate lost two jet skis when someone paid for them with a stolen building society cheque.

Madmav - Ouch! Ive had a lot of those emails asking for my address for a cheque to be sent and wondered exactly what they were upto. Thought it was a process of obtaining personal information but now see its much more simple.

A lot of people are getting cought out with releasing the goods after their bank tells them the cheque has cleared after three or four days. There have been a few horror stories in the press recently about people releasing cars on the strength of 'cleared cheques' only to see them bounce a week later (or forged bankers drafts which 'clear' then get sent back by the supposed issuing bank). Each time the banks have refused to be liable for any losses as they say it is normal procedure to confirm a cheque has 'cleared' if you ask - but this does not mean it cant still bounce. It just means at this point the cheque exists to attract interest payment.

I told the story on the VisorDown Motard page and received one reply which unfortunately sounds to good to work.

Open a second bank account to pay the cheque into, when it has `cleared`transfer the money into your normal account. If it then bounces the bank picks up the tab for being careless.
I would love to think this would work but feel that somehow the bank will always win.

Very interesting reading guys thanks I shall be watching out for them..

There's a very cheap (£2400) 748 on Bike Trader at the moment.
I'm not sure this is 100% dodgy, however having had a few email exchanges, here's what he said:

1) He's selling the bike cheap to pay for something for his brother
2) He's deaf and so cannot speak on the phone
3) The bikes in Ireland and he would arrange shipping etc if I paid whilst it was in transit (with a full money back guarantee etc).
4) When I said I'd collect it he asked for a small deposit
5) When I said I'd collect it the following day so a deposit was not required he said 'OK'
6) When asked for the reg plate and dealer name he went all quiet on me.

So, looks dodgy to me - be careful out there!

D

i know of a mates work mate who sold a tl100r for £6500 with a bankers draught that he thought would be fine, so he paid into the abnk on the monday and gave the keys to the new owner and he even gave him his spare helmet as the guy left his on the train !!!!!!!!!!!!


on the saturady he went to buy a brand new cbr6rr and pay for it by switch knowing he had the draught in the bank only to find it was a fake ( a good fake ) that had cleared and then bounced which left him looking rather stupid in the dealers with the keys to a rr in his hand but no cash in account

he ended up £6500 out of pocket and taking the 6rr on finance out of frustartion and anger just so he could get home

scumbags the lot of them

did you see mcn this week about the guy in the post office uniform, watch out guys their getitng cleverer:mad:

Chaps

Yes be VERY careful there are scammers everywhere. Which brings me to this, not quite the same but related to these scams are African money scammers. Check out this site though, www.419scammers.com, these guys have actually managed to 'scam the scammers!' Its priceless...:sing:

duuuhhhh....too much tea drunk, it's not 419scammers, its 419eaters.com. Sorry! :D

Anything to do with any part of Africa should be looked at with great caution. You folks must have been swamped with the Nigeria Letter Scam and this is just another iteration.

Scamming scammers is an heroic pasttime!!

I always err on the side of caution, if it sounds to good to be true it's normally not true.

Did you know that Tony Blair's surname is an anagram of B Liar, says it all don't it.

just been contacted by a guy called Jason from dont know where asking about my KTM which is for sale. Apparantly he is happy with the pictures i sent him and wants to go ahead with the purchase. said his mate will pick up the bike once he has sent the cheque. yeh right. glad i read this post. I wouldnt have let the bike go but i may have given my address, could have been a bad move.

i replied to the guy and told him i will only accept cash, hey presto, no more replies. Result

This is worrying, I dont think I will settle for anything other than cash when selling items of great value. I have only handled a few bankers drafts in my lifetime (34) and to be honest couldnt be sure if one was fake or not... Makes using a dealer for part ex seem very safe.

even if someone turns up with a bankers draft you should still not release your goods until it has been cleared by your bank.
Cash is KING

cash in my hand then walk straight to the bank, soon find out if it is fake, if ok let the bike go. if not knock the beans out of the theiving sod. or better still get the feds onto them.

Tim, it will be pound notes ill be handing over for the R. then there will be two happy faces.

[Edited on 3-1-2005 by adam]

There are always concerns over anything but cash, but even with cash, you have to check each note carefully.

I've attempted to eliminate and derisk as much as possible recently when I've recently bought and sold cars.

It can get a bit messy (and dangerous) with having to carry large amounts of cash around, but I got around this by contacting the branch of my bank that was local to where the car was and arranging for the branch to hold the right amount of cash for me.

Use the drive to the bank as a test drive and if you agree the deal, get the bank to issue the correct amount of cash, get the other party to agree this, sign the necessary documnets (V5, receipt etc) in the bank and then its sorted.

You don't have such great issues of carrying cash around, you know the cash is good etc, etc..... and the deal will be done in full view of the security cameras in the bank should there be any comeback!! - Sorted!!

Tim:frog:

Thats a really good idea Tim, makes us all feel better about this sort of thing.

I recently bought a car privately for a 5-figure sum, left the guy £100 deposit and he wanted rest by electronic transer, when money in his bank he released car. Good but what if he the fake, got my money and I got no car !!!

Andy

i have bought a car by wire transfering the money into the guys account while he was stood next to me. He then called his bank to confirm the money was there and then he handed over the keys etc. No worries on either part.

If you are accepting a bankers draft, ask for issuing banks tel number, get all numbers/details etc off the actual draft and ring the issuning branch and get them to confirm the details on the draft.
Do this before they turn up with it and check all the details on again when you actually see it!
just my 2p

I would only be happy with a bacs transfer, if they are genuine they will pay this way if you request it!

Just noticed this thread on scams and I'd like to make known my mate's experiences on eBay so (hopefully) no-one else will get caught out.

The idea is that PayPal is a safe, conveneient, way of doing business. It's convenient, but far from safe. My mate sold 2 things last year, a mobile phone (more like a mobile pc really than a phone, the one that flips open to reveal a keyboard) and a pair of concert tickets.

The phone - someone bought it and paid through PayPal. PayPal confirmed that the money had been paid and so matey sent the phone off. Some time later (several weeks) PayPal contact him saying that he owed them £300 because the buyer had paid using a stolen credit card. PayPal have no system for stopping this kind of fraud and so they chase the "easy target". They have no idea who the buyer really was now, so they are suing my mate for the money instead. Maybe they don't really stand a chance, but they are giving him grief anyway and he iwll ahve to defned himself in court.

On the concert tickets (worth £100 or so), he posted those and got a certificate of posting. No idea why he did not send them recorded delivery, I think I would have. Anyway, a couple of days before the concet date the buyer claimed that they had not arrived. PayPal INSTANTLY refunded him the money and then sent a claim to matey for the £100. The assumption was that the seller had ripped off the buyer, not considering the possibility that it was the other way around.

That's my 4 penneth worth anyway. :saint:

a mate of mine bought a rolex watch on ebay, he paid £2500.00 for it by going into his bank and transfering the money into the guys account. no watch arrived so he tryed to contact the seller but no luck he asked paypal to refund but they said no as it was a) over there limit and b) an unconfirmed address. so buggeritt he goes to five o. only to be told by plod that there was nothing they could do as he had "voluntarily paid the money into the guys account". !!! be carefull boys and girls. and while iam here does anyone wont a m reg 916 strada (single seat) with 5000 miles genuine. updated electrics. totally standard for £3000.00 if so call me on 07971 628450. chris

hows this one
 

A few years agao a mate of mine was selling his tv in the local paper. This bloke rand up and said he wanted to look at it so along he comes and said yes the tv looks great hed have it. Then he says the video player looks good was it for sale my mate said as he does everthings for sale so the chap says how about the sterio so he done the deal £300
The chap askes for a hand to carry the things to his car where his girl friend is sat. He says to her pay this chap £300 so out comes a wad of cash and she counts out £300 my mate couldnt believe his eyes there must of been about 5 grand in this wad.
The chap thanks him and drives off. NOW FOR THE FUNNY BIT.
My mate then think yipee lets go down the pub. so he and his girl go down the pub this was where i am.
He orders his drinks and one for me and gives the barman a £20.00 note the barman gives it a look and then checks it under a ultra violet lamp and low and behold its a fake. My mate cant belive it hes got another 14 of these. he some how bluffs his way out of this one and i give him some money for the drinks to keep the barman happy.
He was as sad as a pig all night knowing he had been conned, he admited his eyes were transfixed on all the dosh the girl in the car had and didnt think about checking it the money was real.

look out for this scam, I did it myself once and never realised until the guy contacted me..... Read on....

okay, I had a cheque book which I thought I had lost so I contacted the bank for a new one. Ive written about 3 cheques all my life, so When I needed to write one I just grabbed the 1st cheque book I could find( it was my old one, looked exactly the same as the new one). so I write out the cheque and sent it off. It cleared. everone was happy, I had my ebay items, he had his money. then I get a letter from the bank about 4 weeks later saying that the cheque I had written was from my old book, that the money would be returned to me, with no charge, and they would take the money back out of the other guys account!!

Completely an accident on my behalf, but people could use this to great effect....

Dont say I didnt warn you!!

paolo!

I had the same skam when I tried to sell my bike on ebay, the guy sent me a cheque, I was not fooled at all and wound the guy up for days, it must have cost him some money on the phone and I kept the cheque, one less to get someone else with,
if you get this scam tell them your pc is on the blink and to phone you, and keep them on the phone as long as poss, call it cheap justice
:flame::burn::burn:

So far I've been lucky with e-bay, PayPal etc ...

but, did get an e-mail the other day from PayPal confirming my payment of £850 for an engine out of a Honda car.

Intstant reaction is to think what the F*** I have not bought an engine. The e-mail looks 100% genuine. On the bottom of the e-mail is a link syaing "if you did not authorise this transaction click here and report this".

When you click on the link it takes you to the "PayPal" site and ask's you to log in. The e-mail is bogus, the site you go to is bogus. Once you have logged in to the bogus site they have your paypal account details and take over control, change delivery address, order stuff using your credit card etc etc

i bid on a full termi system on ebay .i went in at £800 and some one bid £820 i didnt think any more of it but the next day i got a email saying second chance offer i thought the guy that had won the item had pulled out .then i got a email from a guy that had bid under me saying ive contacted all the people that have put a bid in for the termi not to send any money to the address because its a scam checked it all out and yes it was close call or what always check second chance offers out email the guy that is selling the item :mad:

Hi guys.. am new here.. I thought I should add a few more scams to this list..
UK banks, by law, have to clear all cheques within 3 working days.. whether they are overseas or domestic. A mate of mine had a cheque sent over from the US for some old parts he was selling and the money obviously cleared. He shipped the stuff off.. and then about a week later the bank called and explained that the cheque had bounced (and he owed them some money cuz he'd blown the money on a new bike!!)
Second scam. beware of people on ebay who don't have a paypal account. They will want payment by Western union and this again is not secure.. its like going to a bank and entering the money in his account.. probably worse. ebay nor western union advice it. I desperately needed a part from NZ and i sent the money off (plus WU fees & postage) and havn't seen it since last year!!

[quote=vfactory]Hi guys.. am new here.. I thought I should add a few more scams to this list..
UK banks, by law, have to clear all cheques within 3 working days.. whether they are overseas or domestic. QUOTE]

UK Banks are not governed by UK civil law, they are governed by the FSA. Clear a cheque in 3 days ? :lol: :lol: :lol:

but surely you send the bike to an address, police turn up at that address, got him...No?????

Hi all

Good job im a genuine ebay seller.Ive recieved wire transfers from US for over £1500 for WSB parts,western union payment of over £500 from a guy in Germany and loads of people in the Uk have put cash straight into my bank account.

Am i right in thinking BACS payments cannot be returned or cancelled.What about wire transfers??

Dont think i will be accepting cheques for much longer.Trouble is all this limits buyers method of payment.I DONT USE PAYPAL SERVICE because of there rip off fees and if scammers claim items were not recieved paypal takes there side and takes money from sellers bank account even if they have proof of postage.

As for buying check there feedback and ask a few questions first.

or... take payment by magic beans.

These are an international currency accepted everywhere. Their value is not altered by fluctuating global economic strengths/weaknesses.

Actually, i have some here. Anyone wanna swap for a 1098?