Possible Scam - Advice Needed

Posted by: Mark Dunn on 25 May 2010

Hi all,

I need some help in deciding whether someone is trying to scam me. I have my motorcycle up for sale on two motorcycle forums and on the CycleTrader web site. I did not put it on E-Bay. I received an e-mail from an interested party and we exchanged a couple of missives regarding price. Today I received the following e-mail:

Mark,

Thanks for your Sincere Corporation and understanding to this transaction. I am satisfied with the purchase and willing to make out Payment right away to you, Payment would be mailed to you via a Courier Service I want you to understand that you will be receiving a check for $9350 the excess is for my shipper that will be coming for pick up,the funds will be used for the shipping of Valkyrie (standard) along side other goods i placed order for in care of my shipper once you receive the check get it cashed and deduct your money $5900 and an extra $100 for the stress of catching and Running around and then proceed to a western union outlet and have my shipping Charges Paid to My delivery company.

I hope i can trust you with my shipping company charges..Please acknowledge this email I have sent you and await my Payment. I request you provide me with your details, for Payment to be Issued and mailed out to you .

Details :
Name i full: , Address: , City: , State: , Zip code:
Phone#:

Thanks as I await your Payment Details.
Micheal

Even to a naive soul like myself this smells a bit fishy. However if the buyer does indeed send a Western Union check as described and I cash it and have the money in my hands, - where's the catch?

I'd appreciate your advice as it's rare that I sell via the 'net.

Best Regards,
Mark Dunn
Posted on: 25 May 2010 by Ian G.
Has scam written all over it - I'd walk away from this one and not look back.

Ian
Posted on: 25 May 2010 by Richard Dane
Mark, this is a well known scam. A quick internet search will leave you in no doubt here. I had almost exactly the same mail when I was selling my old car. I thought it was suspicious and so did a little digging. Leave well alone...
Posted on: 25 May 2010 by Dungassin
Sounds like a scam. Why isn't he using PayPal or something similar?
Posted on: 25 May 2010 by TomK
Scam.
Posted on: 25 May 2010 by JAB
anyone who mangles the English language like that is a cad and cannot be trusted.

and yes, its a well known scam.
Posted on: 25 May 2010 by shoot6x7
The scam is that you'll be writing someone a cheque for $9350 - ($5900 + $100) for shipping expenses i.e. $3,350.

Their payment of $9350 will be deemed fraudulent and you will be out $3350.
Posted on: 25 May 2010 by JonR
Three things about that email stand out straight away:-

1) Poor use of English;

2) All the stuff about paying you extra from which you'd deduct the purchase price and pay the rest to his "shipper";

3) The mention of Western Union.

In fact, even without the mention of Western Union, it is quite clearly a scam.

Say to the would-be "buyer" you will only accept cash-in-hand, in person, and see what happens...
Posted on: 26 May 2010 by davereay
Mark, this is a well known scam - the money never clears into your account, it may show on your internet statement but the cheque bounces about ten days later and the uncleared funds get withdrawn. They rely on you paying out from your account quickly. The best thing is to completely ignore his offer.
All the best with your sale
Dave
Posted on: 26 May 2010 by Sniper
Yep, well known scam typically of Nigerian origin - they can even set up what up appears to be a UK registered mobile phone. The worse ones are where they scam poor foreign would be workers for UK Hotel jobs - they even have websites showing the hotel - they dupe the overseas workers into making large payments for visas etc. Bastards.
Posted on: 26 May 2010 by nap-ster
I was trying to sell a piece of hifi a few years ago on a well known site. After agreeing a price the prospective buyer sent me up a cheque. The cheque duly arrived.

The cheque was a Southampton Council cheque, which didn't even look original, made out for some stupid higher amount of money than the price we had agreed on. Needless to say I called Southampton council to let them know what was going on and I sent the "cheque" back to them. A few days later I got a call from PC Plod to explain how it came into my possession and that was the end of it. I never did hear from the prospective buyer.
Posted on: 26 May 2010 by Mark Dunn
Hi all,

Thanks for the explanations. I'm walking away from this one.

Best Regards,
Mark Dunn
Posted on: 27 May 2010 by u6213129461734706
Right decision Mark. Unbelievably similar to a scam we ran across when looking for Yorkies on the net.
Posted on: 27 May 2010 by Tony Lockhart
I received this one today:

Tony,
Are you still at 2 Parsonage Farm Cottages?
You may be eligible to receive upto 83,284 GBP in government money that you would NEVER HAVE TO REPAY.

Complete your application at ukgrants.im


Even I'm not stupid enough for them.

Tony