Is this a scam waiting to happen??????

[AAP]

Ok, regarding the ebay transaction I am/have been doing...

Put the ad online for 5 days. 3rd day now. I had a minimum reserve of $2400 and a Buy It Now price of $2700.

A man bought it at the Buy It Now price of $2700.

Here is what worries me:

1 - he is in United Kingdom.
2 - he opened his Ebay account on July 27th 2007. Very recently.
3 - He has zero feedback.
4 - Shipping/Insurance charges on this is ridiculous.
5 - he said he would send me a US cashiers check for $4350.00 to cover the price of the item and shipping charges.
6 - I am suppose to take the extra $$ and wire it to his shipping agency's account (which he has not given me yet.)

Ok, why would he not wire the $$ to his shipping agency himself?

The item here is a 1991 Mercury Capri convertible. Not mine, but it belongs to my head outbound sales girl. The car is in great condition but she didn't have an ebay account and if she opened one... well she has zero feedback. (read : risk)

Below is a copy of the last email exchange from this buyer. Am I just paranoid? I mean, if he does send a US cashiers check and it cashes, then that should be settled right???? But why am I picking up leery vibes like this? Run the scenario through your mind and help pick out possible scam tactics.

--------------

> On 7/29/07, darrent benson wrote:
> > Hello,
> > Thanks for your prompt response, like I mentioned earlier I will be
> sending
> > you US Cashier's Check worth of $4350 which is cashable same day at your
> > bank, it's include the shipper's charges and the Item charges.And i will
> > like to know if i can trust you with my money. I have to use the BUY IT
> NOW
> > option to prevent other buyers. I will like you to wire transfer the
> excess
> > funds to the shipper after you must have cashed the payment in your bank
> so
> > that they can come for the pickup of the item as soon as possible.
> > If this is okay by you, Send me the name, address and telephone number
> where
> > the US Cashier's Check will be mailed to you, hope to hear back from you
> as
> > soon as possible. Also email me and let me know if you understand and I
> will
> > make sure the payment is out with immediate effect.
> > If you have any questions feel free to contact me through email. I will be
> > waiting to read from you soon. It's a pleasure doing business with you.
> > Warmest Regards
> > Benson

 

[swole]

lmfao, typical scam

 

[ortiz34]

It does sound fishy, but I would accept the payment, make sure it clears (very important. Then release the rest of the funds and the car. MAKE SURE THE CHECK CLEARS FIRST!

 

[crazyjoe]

go with your gut feeling. sounds fishy to me.

 

[AAP]

lmfao, typical scam

I need more info besides this dazzling piece you type. Care to tell me why and what to be on the look out for?

 

[puddlemonkey]

Scam. I'd explain more but I gotta go do my 3 mile jog here in a few.

 

[AAP]

Now if the cashiers check comes and it cashes... I am in the clear right? I mean, if I have the money in hand, I'm safe.

What I am anticipating is the usual "cashier check is in the mail, can you please pay the shippers cost first and just keep the whole amount when check arrives?" kind of thing.

 

[puddlemonkey]

Don't sell to ANYONE without e-bay feedback. I have a 1,000+ feedback rating, trust me, nothing good ever comes from zero feedback users, especially on big ticket items.

 

[AAP]

Scam. I'd explain more but I gotta go do my 3 mile jog here in a few.

Tell me now, that jog ain't gonna help you any when you just going to sit down and eat 3 PB&J sammiwchs.

 

[swole]

Now if the cashiers check comes and it cashes... I am in the clear right? I mean, if I have the money in hand, I'm safe.

What I am anticipating is the usual "cashier check is in the mail, can you please pay the shippers cost first and just keep the whole amount when check arrives?" kind of thing.

That's the thing, you are not clear once it cashes. It could be a stolen account and will clear...but then the funds will be reversed and you will end up paying for shipping the girls car away lol. Google search these scams, they're very common...that's why you should require a minimum feedback for people placing bids on your auctions.

 

[AAP]

Don't sell to ANYONE without e-bay feedback. I have a 1,000+ feedback rating, trust me, nothing good ever comes from zero feedback users, especially on big ticket items.

more info please.

tell me what possible scams can occur and how to spot them. this vague tip and hints posts isn't doing it.

if I actually get the cashiers check in the mail, I should be fine by then once it cashes at the bank right?

 

[swole]

Listen maing, don't ship your car overseas or accept payment from turds who need this type of special olympics help who "trust you" with their money.

 

[crazyjoe]

Tell me now, that jog ain't gonna help you any when you just going to sit down and eat 3 PB&J sammiwchs.

mmmm..sounds good. I think I will go make one right now

 

[AAP]

Listen maing, don't ship your car overseas or accept payment from turds who need this type of special olympics help who "trust you" with their money.

So just go ahead and relist the item?

Wonder if ebay will charge me for that?

 

[Jon79]

bro they had a big problem with this on autotrader.com......email them and ask


i mean they want to mail u a check right and then u agree to shit the car?

its a big fake cashier check scam....i don't know how they make it work but they do...the checks clear and a few days later they are no longer good

 

[AAP]

Bros, cooper just showed me a website that had the exact same scam on there.

Word for word, even the same buyers' name on it. FUCK!!!!

 

[jh1]

Yeha... well known scam.

Those guys work autotrader and car sites big time because a cashiers check with an 'overage' on a vehicle wouldnt' be as noticeable.

Basically the check is bogus, but your bank will most likely credit your account.. you will give him the difference, then your bank will take the money away after they find out there are no funds and you're left fucked.

 

[fitnessgrl8621]

Now if the cashiers check comes and it cashes... I am in the clear right? I mean, if I have the money in hand, I'm safe.

What I am anticipating is the usual "cashier check is in the mail, can you please pay the shippers cost first and just keep the whole amount when check arrives?" kind of thing.

Nooo, You're not safe. If it comes back unpaid, like KB said, you owe the bank the money for the check.
Have HIM wire the money in your account (I wouldn't use your primary, open up a second free checking at your bank and use it just for that purpose, that way he doesn't have your main account #).

 

[nab12]

Its a very common scam, like the others have said. They mail you a fake cashiers check, but the bank doesnt know its fake. The bank cashes the check but when it gets to the other end, for them to get their money its a fake acount. You now owe the bank back what they paid you. Therefore you are screwed.
You can ask the guy to wire you the money but he wont, I would just relist the car and make sure to report the guys account to ebay.

 

[swole]

Nooo, You're not safe. If it comes back unpaid, like KB said, you owe the bank the money for the check.
Have HIM wire the money in your account (I wouldn't use your primary, open up a second free checking at your bank and use it just for that purpose, that way he doesn't have your main account #).

where did KB post in this thread??

 

[fitnessgrl8621]

where did KB post in this thread??

lol Oh, I guess I meant you

I thought that was his signature, didn't even read the name.

 

[MichaelScott]

scam yes i got hit with the same one a few months ago for a car i was selling tell him to fuck off, it sux that u cant relist it right away since he bought it, u will have to get online help from ebay to clear it up so u can sell it right away

 

[gotmilk]

hahahah....Nigerian scammer using a fake London address. In my case, the envelope with payment came from Brooklyn, New York and was a bogus City National Bank of Florida cashiers check.

you might have to copy and paste this into your browser since Bran still has us pwned.....

Here's an example of the bogus payments they use...I covered my name.

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/6681/imgpa0.jpg


Also, they try to use Q-Chex. They use stolen account numbers with Q-Chex and you print the check out using Quicken style check templates.

 

[gotmilk]

So just go ahead and relist the item?

Wonder if ebay will charge me for that?

Immediately email EBAY and demand they cancel the transaction, so that you do not get charged a sales fee.

Your bank could charge you like $40 for having to process a bogus payment. In my case, my account was frozen, I had to get new checks, debit card, etc....

It was a giant pain in my ass.

 

[puddlemonkey]

Bros, cooper just showed me a website that had the exact same scam on there.

Word for word, even the same buyers' name on it. FUCK!!!!

So no elaboration needed then? And I'll eat all the BP&J I want, I'm in maintenance mode now, why change anything if I'm already eye candy.

 

[redtopp06]

the money sounds good but the outcome could be pretty bad. suck it up and move on. fuck that guy. in the long run you will be thankfull that you didnt go through with it.

 

[heatherrae]

Now if the cashiers check comes and it cashes... I am in the clear right? I mean, if I have the money in hand, I'm safe.

What I am anticipating is the usual "cashier check is in the mail, can you please pay the shippers cost first and just keep the whole amount when check arrives?" kind of thing.

No, you are not safe in that instance. Here is what happens. They give you a counterfeit cashiers check that clears the bank until the bank figures out the error and then hits you for the full amount. However, you sent the guy real money.

That is a typical scam going around right now. The nigerians do it all the time. They are now set up all over the world. Was the English in the email to you really terrible? That is a Nigerian scam.

 

[ShowKidd]

def a scam, he is sending you a bunk check. it happened to someone i know. he had a piece of shit bike on ebay that was worth $5 and they guy "paid" 600 and told him when you gets the check to send him back the difference. so he would of made $550 profit.

 

[AAP]

Well I sent Ebay a notice of what happened and then I relisted the item back on the site. I guess that it will charge me the listing fee twice now.

 

[crazyjoe]

Well I sent Ebay a notice of what happened and then I relisted the item back on the site. I guess that it will charge me the listing fee twice now.

Its better then losing 5K.

 

[redtopp06]

better off paying that listing fee bro. some fucking arab dude called my phone saing he was from the IRS and that i was selected to receive $5,000. then offered some health insurance for $300 i said no to the insurance. but gave him bank info. its a bank i dont use with $50 in it, so i wasnt worried. well you can guess what happened. they tried to take out the $300 but couldnt cause i have only $50 in my account. but they did charge the $29 transfer fee. i did call this insurance co. they had no knowledge of this $5,000 bullshit. but said i owed $300. fuck them! i had my bank block them. then i reported them. good thing its just an account i never closed.