scam

Just in case you get this kind of thing - see the mail below and then below that a warning from a classified ads site that explains the scam:


Hello
Thanks for the response on my purchases.I am located
in the United-State,but i want to present the item to
an uncle of mine,who just got retired from
work-service.
The payments will be made in Euro,as there is a client
of mine in the Republic of Ireland,who i can instruct
to make-out the payments to you via Bank-Draft in
Euro. So i want you to confirm with your Bank,the
duration it will take for the Bank-Draft,drawn on an
Ireland-Bank payable in Euro will get cleared in your
Bank,as i want the sales finalized on time.I will also
want you to provide me with the following payments
information as follows;
Name the Bank-Draft should be made payable to:
Address of the recipient:
Phone #:
Concerning the Pick-ups,my shipper "Earth Movers Inc."
will then come over to your location to pick up the
equipment from you,as soon as you recieve the payments
and give your consent.
Awaiting your response.
Best regards,
Robert Williams.


From Zencudo Classifieds site:


Avoiding Fraud
You should be cautious about accepting payments in the form of banker's drafts sent from abroad or about wiring money abroad to international buyers. The current scams involve someone contacting the vendor claiming to be an international buyer, often a dealer of some kind. They then offer to pay well over the asking price for the item with a banker's draft that arrives in the post. The vendor is asked to pay in the banker's draft, then send the additional money to the foreign buyer who will use it to pay for shipping costs. The drafts are usually stolen or fraudulent and this is only discovered after the vendor has sent the extra money abroad. The banks take back the money for the draft leaving the vendor out of pocket.

This applies to many other methods of trading and is not limited to the internet. Please bear this in mind when entering into any negotiations and if in doubt we advise you to seek independent legal and/or financial advise.

If you are suspicious about someone who tries this method, or you are a victim, please contact your local police station to report the details. And remember the old adage "if it seems to good to be true", it probably is.

 

In general, and I don't want to cast aspertions here, I;d avoid any transation at all that involves bankers drafts. They're easily faked, and in fact I took the last one I got into the bank, and the chap candidly admitted they couldn't tell with the equipment they had if it was genuine or not, I just had to pay it in and wait a few days (it was okay, but it proves how sophisticated the forgers are if the bank can't tell!).
They're not a fantastic method of payment for Hi-Fi and stuff anyway due to the relatively high proportional costs. Paypal will, I hope, force the UK banking industry to re-assess the way it deals with foreign transactions - Paypal make rather large amonts of money from the transactions they handle due to a high fee structure, but it's still cheaper and far easier than a BACS/ CHAPS/ interbank transfer.
Sermon over

 

Also be wary if anyone personally comes to look at your kit, and gives you an international cheque. A local guy was selling a classic car, but the man asked if he could pay by an international cheque as he was from abroad. The seller said that was ok and that he could collect the car after the cheque cleared. he cheque cleared, they buyer picked up the car. Later on the seller found out the cheque had been cancelled. Apparently international cheques can be cancelled up to 28 days after they were cashed. The guy lost over £8k