Beware - Overpayment Check Scam

[michael]

People selling high-ticket items such as cars, motorcycles or computer gear via the Internet should be aware of a cheque scam that is bilking victims out of thousands of dollars. Although the scam has been around for quite some time, recent trends indicate that it is netting an increasing amount of victims, especially among car owners looking to sell their vehicles.

Typically, an overpayment cheque scam works like this:

• A seller places an Internet advertisement for a car or other item with a high price tag.
  
• Later, the seller receives a generous offer for the item, usually via an email.
  
• The seller agrees on the price, and, often, also agrees to the proviso that he or she refuses any other offers for the item.
  
• The scammers then send a cheque for the item. However, the cheque is for substantially more than the specified amount.
  
• The scammers invent some excuse for this overpayment and ask that the balance be electronically transferred to a specified bank account. For example, they may claim that the extra funds are to pay the fees of an agent who is handling the sale or to cover shipping costs.
  
• The seller dutifully transfers the amount out of his or her own funds.
  
• Later, the seller finds that his or her bank has dishonoured the cheque. In some cases, the bank may actually have cleared the funds, but discovers later that the check is a forgery or was stolen.
  
• Thus the seller has been bilked out of a substantial amount, with little chance of recovering the money. Furthermore, the item remains unsold and the seller may have rejected legitimate offers in the mean time.

[WhiteKnight]

One other thing that should be noted M, is that the seller may also be subjected to prosecution for passing the bad cheque or be held responsible for repaying the amount of the cheque back to the back.. I was reading up on this a while back and this was mentioned. It is sad that this happens or that someone who get caught up in a situation like this ends up paying a high price. On top of that, there may be legitimate buyers working in this same manner, but one can't really be sure.

[fotodaddy]

The moral here is "don't move until the checks have cleared". Personally, a check to me is worth nothing until I have the full value in by bank. Question would be, why are people always in so much of a hurry that they wont wait for thing to go naturally??

[chomper]

thanks for the heads up. moral of the story is if it sounds unreasonable(like overpaying for goods) more than likely its a scam.

[Dudealicious]

ummm, what moron wouldn't recognize this as a scam from the start? an overpayment?
i'm sorry, who has bought a several thousand dollar item off the internet and accidentally payed a couple hundred dollars over the asking price? shouldn't basic common sense kick in there somewhere?
finally, why would you even consider accepting a check or money order as payment? cash or paypal!
there's far too many consumers out there to f-around with a questionable form of payment.
if you got screwed, it's your own ignorance.

[eddievalleytrailer]

The problem is, your bank will verify and clear the funds on a bad or fake check, then 2 weeks later call it bad and debit the account of the seller. I have seen people get a check for more than the sell price for good reason. Like, to cover sales tax, shipping etc. If the bank verifys and clears the check, THEY should be on the hook for the $$$. Not the seller of the item. The bank said the check was good, so it should be good. If the bank can't tell if a check is good or not, how in the world are we supposed to. I like good 'ole cash, but then again, you can't trust cash without a counterfeit detector pen (one of which I have). Now I'm being told that those are not 100% safe. The counterfeiters have figured out how to fool the pens...WELL GREAT!!!

[GreyVF750F]

What also happens is somebody comes over(acts as agent) and gives you the check in person and takes the product you were selling plus your money. Not only are you out money but what ever you were selling too!

Cash in the hand beats two checks in the bank!

[supervfr]

• A seller places an Internet advertisement for a car or other item with a high price tag.
  
• Later, the seller receives a generous offer for the item, usually via an email.
  
• The seller agrees on the price, and, often, also agrees to the proviso that he or she refuses any other offers for the item.
  
• The scammers then send a cheque for the item. However, the cheque is for substantially more than the specified amount.
  
• The scammers invent some excuse for this overpayment and ask that the balance be electronically transferred to a specified bank account. For example, they may claim that the extra funds are to pay the fees of an agent who is handling the sale or to cover shipping costs.
  
• The seller dutifully transfers the amount out of his or her own funds.

This step is where they screwed up.

If you buy a vehicle off of the internet. You go pick it up. You give them money after you see the vehicle and drive it to make sure it functions.

I would NEVER blindly send someone money. At least on ebay if they screw you ebay will reverse the transaction.

[Richard Thompson]

I think what dupes alot of people is the fact that they have been paid
for the item they are selling(which is expensive) and they still have the item they are selling. So they feel a certain amount of security in fact that they have not lost anything by having possession of both.
This is what the scammers rely on, a false sense of security, and it is a basic tennant of their scam.

if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is....