accepting payment via western union/money gram?

[robphelan]

I have a watch that i'm selling on craigslist (1100). i put an ad in a few cities in my state.

I rec'd a reply from a guy who seems legit - his email matches his name (small comfort, i know) and his phone# matches the area code of his city.

he asks if he can send payment via western union or moneygram. i've never used either of those.

any suggestions?

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Not sure about those, but money orders are very safe.

 

[robphelan]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo
Not sure about those, but money orders are very safe.

that's what i thought, but i've heard of people forging MOs and the bank not catching it right away. when they do, they come after you.

 

[RossMAN]

99.99% of the time those are scams. I would insist on a wire transfer rather than money order or cashiers check which can be counterfit.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

 

[robphelan]

Originally posted by: RossMAN
99.99% of the time those are scams. I would insist on a wire transfer rather than money order or cashiers check which can be counterfit.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

yeah.. i would never SEND money via western union.. but i've read accepting money is a different story - you would have cash in hand.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: robphelan

Originally posted by: RossMAN
99.99% of the time those are scams. I would insist on a wire transfer rather than money order or cashiers check which can be counterfit.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

yeah.. i would never SEND money via western union.. but i've read accepting money is a different story - you would have cash in hand.

Did you call that phone number and speak with him?

How far from your city is he?

I would still insist on a wire transfer if you cannot meet in person to accept cash.

Another option is a few USPS Money Orders but DO NOT send the watch until you have cashed the MO's. Then you can send it.

 

[mrrman]

Western Union is always linked to scams...just had a guy on Ebay try to sell me a new espresso machine for $200...these are $1k+ retail...he said mail me WU for $200...I said said send the unit 1st and I will glady pay( I have over 200 + VE feedback), then he said his paypal was down and I told him thats the only way I pay. I said, give me your paypal addy so I can verify it...never heard back from him.

 

[kami333]

Originally posted by: robphelan

Originally posted by: RossMAN
99.99% of the time those are scams. I would insist on a wire transfer rather than money order or cashiers check which can be counterfit.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html

yeah.. i would never SEND money via western union.. but i've read accepting money is a different story - you would have cash in hand.

Yup. Exactly why scamming sellers want to be paid by WU.

 

[Nymphaea]

Originally posted by: robphelan
I have a watch that i'm selling on craigslist (1100). i put an ad in a few cities in my state.

I rec'd a reply from a guy who seems legit - his email matches his name (small comfort, i know) and his phone# matches the area code of his city.

he asks if he can send payment via western union or moneygram. i've never used either of those.

any suggestions?

OP, I have encountered a very similar situation. In my case, I received money order from the buyer. And he asks me to deposit the money order to my bank account, and transfer the remaining cost via Western Union to his "shipper." My item only costs $15, but he sends a $100 money order, explaining that the difference need to be tranfer to the shipper to take care of shipping. (hmm... sounds fishy already right?)

I didn't trust him and I went to verify the authenticity and source of money order in the post office. It ends up that the money order is forged, since the post office have special machine to check that... so i got pissed and say screw it....

Still thinking if I should report that guy. I have some information regarding the shipper, about his Western Union information. Not sure how I would proceed from here, but for sure I won't deposit the check into my bank account!

So be extra cautious if you want to deal with it. Or else, I'd say "scriew it" since your transaction sounds too similar to a scam.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: mrrman
Western Union is always linked to scams...just had a guy on Ebay try to sell me a new espresso machine for $200...these are $1k+ retail...he said mail me WU for $200...I said said send the unit 1st and I will glady pay( I have over 200 + VE feedback), then he said his paypal was down and I told him thats the only way I pay. I said, give me your paypal addy so I can verify it...never heard back from him.

Western Union is linked to scams because it's just like getting cash in your hand.

If someone wanted to wire me money I'd have no problem going down and getting it.

Even Postal Money Orders are easily forged.

Like Rossman said. Cash them (not at your bank, but at the post office)...If you ever get a cashier's check, cash that at the bank its drawn on first...not your own (if possible). If not I'd make them wait as long as it took to clear officially.

 

[RossMAN]

robphelan - Are you still in contact with the potential buyer? What happened?

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Nymphaea

Still thinking if I should report that guy. I have some information regarding the shipper, about his Western Union information. Not sure how I would proceed from here, but for sure I won't deposit the check into my bank account!

You should. Scammers are scum. Since it was a postal money order, it's probably now a federal deal, which means the guy could be in serious trouble.

But please do report him, so that he doesn't end up scamming someone else.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: Nymphaea


I didn't trust him and I went to verify the authenticity and source of money order in the post office. It ends up that the money order is forged, since the post office have special machine to check that... so i got pissed and say screw it....

The post office was not interested in taking action?

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Nymphaea


I didn't trust him and I went to verify the authenticity and source of money order in the post office. It ends up that the money order is forged, since the post office have special machine to check that... so i got pissed and say screw it....

The post office was not interested in taking action?

You would think they'd want to report the incident to http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Nymphaea


I didn't trust him and I went to verify the authenticity and source of money order in the post office. It ends up that the money order is forged, since the post office have special machine to check that... so i got pissed and say screw it....

The post office was not interested in taking action?

You would think they'd want to report the incident to http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov

Money orders are one thing, but anytime a fake postal MO was passed the post office wanted the details. It's about the same as going into a bank with fake currency. You are going to be in for a long night usually.

Edit: They are mainly going to investigate to pretty much make sure you were the one creating the scam. It's going to be you guilty until you can show them it came from somewhere else. It's possible you got a lazy gov't worker though . Otherwise it'd be easy to make a ton of fakes and try to pass them off as someone else sent them to you.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: robphelan
I have a watch that i'm selling on craigslist (1100). i put an ad in a few cities in my state.

I rec'd a reply from a guy who seems legit - his email matches his name (small comfort, i know) and his phone# matches the area code of his city.

he asks if he can send payment via western union or moneygram. i've never used either of those.

any suggestions?

Western union is solid (that's why scammers use it to receive $) - they give you cash. Wear a hat or something in case theres some foul play.

On the other hand, any kinds of paper obligation of money (money order, usps cashier checks) guaranteed to be scam

 

[QueBert]

direct transfers with Money Gram or Western Union are as safe as you can get, I'm NOT talking about money orders from either. I'm refering to actual wire transfers. You get cash on the spot so there's no chance of a fake money order or any type of scam.

I use W.U. all the time.

 

[robphelan]

rec'd the cash from WU just fine. everything went smoothly... again, I wouldn't send money out that way, but I think it's pretty safe to receive.

 

[PokerGuy]

I can't think of anything safer in terms of receiving payment than getting it by WU (even cash can be counterfeit). If someone sends you a payment by WU, you go to the office, you get cash payment. Done. No reversals, no surprises. That's why every scammer likes receiving payments using WU.

 

[Nymphaea]

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: alkemyst

Originally posted by: Nymphaea


I didn't trust him and I went to verify the authenticity and source of money order in the post office. It ends up that the money order is forged, since the post office have special machine to check that... so i got pissed and say screw it....

The post office was not interested in taking action?

You would think they'd want to report the incident to http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov

Money orders are one thing, but anytime a fake postal MO was passed the post office wanted the details. It's about the same as going into a bank with fake currency. You are going to be in for a long night usually.

Edit: They are mainly going to investigate to pretty much make sure you were the one creating the scam. It's going to be you guilty until you can show them it came from somewhere else. It's possible you got a lazy gov't worker though . Otherwise it'd be easy to make a ton of fakes and try to pass them off as someone else sent them to you.

sorry guys i left out part of the story....
When I took the money order to the post office, since it was fake, it was immediately taken away and the post officer said they need to investigate it. I told them the money order was send from a potential buyer. ) So I'm a victim in this situation. They haven't contacted me yet, but I suppose they will soon.

We'll see what happen next. No matter what, I have emails as proofs to back me up and envelope from the source (was sent through UPS with an account #, not sure if that'll help).

 

[luv2liv]

this is a scan of a money order i just received from a buyer : link

it looks real right??
im depositing it in my bank now. how long should i wait for it to be 100% cleared?

 

[Nymphaea]

Originally posted by: luv2liv
this is a scan of a money order i just received from a buyer : link

it looks real right??
im depositing it in my bank now. how long should i wait for it to be 100% cleared?

Hmm, can't really tell from the image. Not so sure for international money order, but just wait till the fund get cleared (i.e. make sure the money is indeed there after a while) and then ship the product to the buyer.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: luv2liv
this is a scan of a money order i just received from a buyer : link

it looks real right??
im depositing it in my bank now. how long should i wait for it to be 100% cleared?

10 business days is a good rule of thumb, however it can take up to 45 days for checking/money orders/drafts to be rejected.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: luv2liv
this is a scan of a money order i just received from a buyer : link

it looks real right??
im depositing it in my bank now. how long should i wait for it to be 100% cleared?

I wouldn't deposit it in my own checking account no matter what...(in fact I wouldn't accept it as payment at all myself) however if you want to be sure you don't get ripped you'll need to sit on it for 45 days before shipping anything out as Rossman said.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: Captante

Originally posted by: luv2liv
this is a scan of a money order i just received from a buyer : link

it looks real right??
im depositing it in my bank now. how long should i wait for it to be 100% cleared?

I wouldn't deposit it in my own checking account no matter what...(in fact I wouldn't accept it as payment at all myself) however if you want to be sure you don't get ripped you'll need to sit on it for 45 days before shipping anything out as Rossman said.

45 days is a little extreme and is usually used for foreign drafts not USD checks, money orders or cashiers checks.