WTF? IS THIS A SCAM? I NEED HELP!

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Turkish

Lifer
May 26, 2003
15,549
1
81
conjur & skoorb, you two look like you have seen this scam before, where would be a good place to report this thing? local police department wont help, will it?
 

fs5

Lifer
Jun 10, 2000
11,774
1
0
Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Originally posted by: alexruiz
Originally posted by: fivespeed5
never heard of this scam probably is a scam but how is will they do it?

can't you take the money, deposit it at a bank. wait a couple days for the check to go through, then proceed from there?

I was going to propose the same... if the check doesn't bounce and stays in the bank, no scam! Let this person know that you WILL NOT refund anything until the cashier check has cleared the bank and the money shows in your account. If he/she refuses, then you know the supposed check has no funds..... so SCAM is right! Anyone disagree?

Alex

It's not always as simple as "waiting for it to clear."

It could come back to bite you in the ass weeks later.

Steer clear.

Viper GTS

yes steer clear, but back to how this scam works :)
weeks later? how? I mean if the bank puts money into your account then you withdraw said money then who bites you in the ass? Can the bank say oh the check didn't clear, give us back the money? I mean if they "clear" the funds and give you the balance then whose fault is it then?
 

DrPizza

Administrator Elite Member Goat Whisperer
Mar 5, 2001
49,606
166
111
www.slatebrookfarm.com
Okay, aside from this is a SCAM

About the pictures...
Is your *sale* a scam? (seriously j/k about that, but...) It looks like you photochopped the same 2 or 3 pictures into a variety of scenic backgrounds. The car is parked in a different place for just about every picture!! Couldn't you walk around the car and take 3 or 4 good pictures of the exterior, THEN perhaps some pictures of the interior? Does the car have an inside? How about a picture of that? How about the trunk? Too many dead bodies to take a picture with the trunk open? etc.

</end harrassment :D >
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
I really can't say where you should report it; just that I'd heard something like it I believe last night or night before on the news ;)
 

conjur

No Lifer
Jun 7, 2001
58,686
3
0
Originally posted by: Xiety
conjur & skoorb, you two look like you have seen this scam before, where would be a good place to report this thing? local police department wont help, will it?

I've just read about it but, get the headers from his emails and forward them to his ISP (do a traceroute back to his IP and get all of the ISPs in between, too) and CC the FBI.

Or...How to report an internet-related crime (notably the Internet Fraud section.)
 

kranky

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
21,014
137
106
The scam works because they will send a fake cashier's check drawn on some foreign bank which will take forever and a day to come back. They figure you will not wait more than a week or two to send the "refund".

Ask your bank how long you would have to wait for an overseas bank's cashier's check to absolutely, positively clear without any possible chance that it can come back on you.
 

Yax

Platinum Member
Feb 11, 2003
2,866
0
0
And you bank may charge you $20.00 for trying to cash a bad check.

Then there's the remote possibility that this person is expecting you to realize that its a scam and try to reverse the situation by agreeing to everything. He may be using that fact to pull off a bigger twist than you're expecting. Better to just leave it alone. Call the authorities, look on Google to see how you can report internet scams.
 

Zee

Diamond Member
Nov 27, 1999
5,171
3
76
Originally posted by: cheapbidder01
And you bank may charge you $20.00 for trying to cash a bad check.

And here lies the problem. Sure you can wait for it to clear but this is the knicker aint it?

I never really did understand how this scam worked though...

 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,967
19
81
Originally posted by: Zeero
Originally posted by: cheapbidder01
And you bank may charge you $20.00 for trying to cash a bad check.

And here lies the problem. Sure you can wait for it to clear but this is the knicker aint it?

I never really did understand how this scam worked though...

This is why I don't take personal checks....even for $1 (actually the lower figures are worst since you are less protected, higher ones can fall under 'grand theft' etc).

If I deposit a check, even if over 1000x the checks value is in my account and there are no funds in the 'checks' account, my bank will charge me 29.50 for a NSF check fee....then also reverse the deposit I made. Even if I ask for a hold on the check for clearing. They will hold it, then charge me $29.50.

 

alexruiz

Platinum Member
Sep 21, 2001
2,836
556
126
I am also intered to know how it could come back and bite if the money is already in the account?

Maybe Conjur and Skoorb have done this kind of scam in the past, so they know the dynamics..... ;)
 

Turkish

Lifer
May 26, 2003
15,549
1
81
Originally posted by: DrPizza
Okay, aside from this is a SCAM

About the pictures...
Is your *sale* a scam? (seriously j/k about that, but...) It looks like you photochopped the same 2 or 3 pictures into a variety of scenic backgrounds. The car is parked in a different place for just about every picture!! Couldn't you walk around the car and take 3 or 4 good pictures of the exterior, THEN perhaps some pictures of the interior? Does the car have an inside? How about a picture of that? How about the trunk? Too many dead bodies to take a picture with the trunk open? etc.

</end harrassment :D >

lol... well i took the pictures at 6:00 Am in the morning, so don't expect any photographic skills, aside from that, yes the car has an interior :p besides, the car is parked in the same exact spot at every picture ;)
 

kranky

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
21,014
137
106
Let's say it takes two months for the foreign check to bounce all the way back to your bank. If you still haven't given him the "refund" after six weeks, the guy is going to be hounding you.

To be real clever about it, he'll probably tell you that you should wait three weeks for it to clear, but to be "extra safe" you should wait another week. After all that time some people would be itching to send the guy his money because he was really watching out for them. Plus, the vast majority of people figure if a check is going to bounce, it will bounce in two weeks. After four weeks, and no word from the bank, a lot of people would just be positive all is well.

The point of the scam certainly isn't to generate a bounced check fee on your account. That puts nothing in the scammer's pocket.
 

paruhd0x

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2000
3,100
0
0
Him saying "God Bless" in a freaking business deal is a HUGE red flag. Who the hell ever mentions religion in a business deal??
 

CQuinn

Golden Member
May 31, 2000
1,656
0
0
Xiety,
More Info Here...
with links on who to contact about it.

I am also intered to know how it could come back and bite if the money is already in the account?

The money is not already in the account, the bank provides a good-faith credit because
they assume thier customer (you) is engaged in an honest deal. Once the deal falls thru
though, the bank will go after the person they are more likely to be able to recover the
funds from. Most banks will try not to admit any mistake on thier part in granting the
funds before the check has cleared; although you might expect a few banks by now have
alerted their people to watch out for this scam, assuming you are willing to speak to the
bank manager about it before accepting the check.

The problem is a scam like this is designed to target people who are more desparate to
sell their vehicle and get the funds back, than they are to check out every step in the
process for pitfalls.

 

Yax

Platinum Member
Feb 11, 2003
2,866
0
0
You could just take his check and cash it at one of those quick check cashing centers. Then don't send him his refund nor the car. Wait till he actually takes you to court to ensure that its not a scam.
 

RossMAN

Grand Nagus
Feb 24, 2000
78,794
266
116
Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Originally posted by: alexruiz
Originally posted by: fivespeed5
never heard of this scam probably is a scam but how is will they do it?

can't you take the money, deposit it at a bank. wait a couple days for the check to go through, then proceed from there?

I was going to propose the same... if the check doesn't bounce and stays in the bank, no scam! Let this person know that you WILL NOT refund anything until the cashier check has cleared the bank and the money shows in your account. If he/she refuses, then you know the supposed check has no funds..... so SCAM is right! Anyone disagree?

Alex

It's not always as simple as "waiting for it to clear."

It could come back to bite you in the ass weeks later.

Steer clear.

Viper GTS

He's right and I've seen it happen. It doesn't happen that often but if you know how to beat the system, it is possible.

If you are gullible enough to go through with this, accompany the con artist to THEIR BANK and demand cash cash cash cash.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,967
19
81
Originally posted by: cheapbidder01
You could just take his check and cash it at one of those quick check cashing centers. Then don't send him his refund nor the car. Wait till he actually takes you to court to ensure that its not a scam.

There are fees for that too....

another thing many don't realize....say you cancel/stop pay a check but don't get it back....a cancel lasts 6months, a check is only supposed to be good for 6 months....but say the crook cashs it after the fact (regardless if he changes the date or not)....you are responsible for it still....that really really sucks.

Chris
 

Thegonagle

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2000
9,773
0
71
Full-on SCAM. Tell him that you will accompany him to his bank, where you will accept cash or cashier's check for $14,700. I guarantee he'll move on to his next "mark."
 

conjur

No Lifer
Jun 7, 2001
58,686
3
0
CBS Evening News is coming up next with an internet scam called Phishing. Not sure if this is the same or not.

Tune in next to find out!!

:D
 

fs5

Lifer
Jun 10, 2000
11,774
1
0
Originally posted by: conjur
Snopes Info on this SCAM

The scam works because the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) requires banks to make money from cashier's, certified, or teller's checks available in one to five days. Consequently, funds from checks that might not be good are often released into payees' accounts long before the checks have been honored by their issuing banks. High quality forgeries can be bounced back and forth between banks for weeks before anyone catches on to their being worthless, by which time victims have long since wired the "overpayments" to the con artists who have just taken them for a ride.

I see. Good to know.
 

conjur

No Lifer
Jun 7, 2001
58,686
3
0
Originally posted by: conjur
CBS Evening News is coming up next with an internet scam called Phishing. Not sure if this is the same or not.

Tune in next to find out!!

:D

Nope...just about the fake eBay scams to cull credit card #s.