We all know about the African scam - viz we have 6 zillion pounds we would like to give you - but there is another African scam that can catch the best of us.
Imagine the ash tray is full in your Jaguar car and so you decide to sell. You put an add in the paper ‘Jag for sale 20K’ and sure enough the next day two black fellas come to see the car. After kicking the tires they yes they will buy the car and give you a cheque in the sum of 20K.
They don't expect to drive the car away as they have to organise insurance etc and in any event they insist that you wait until the cheque is cleared and the funds are in your account before you hand over the keys.
Sure enough, 10 days or so later, your bank confirms that the cheque has cleared OK and the funds are now in your account.
The black fellas turn up, you hand over the keys and the registration documents and they smile and drive away.
Before you can say ‘ouch’ the car is on its way to Africa in a container.
Now comes the sting. Cheques drawn on an overseas account can be cancelled up to one month afer they are issued and so our two black friends simply cancel the cheque - the bank takes the 20K from your account (and yes they can do this under the law) and you have now lost your car and the cash.
You have been warned.
2006-12-15 01:55:04 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Buying & Selling
It's a good scam! cheers for the warning...merry xmas to you have a good un!
2006-12-15 02:04:56 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Nope i have never heard of this scam before thanks for the warning and the tip ;) no I'm just joking i would never do something like that.
If i happen to need to sell anything i will
wait for the money to go into my account,
transfer the funds to another account
and then close it so that if the bank did try to take back the money i wouldn't go into the red with the -20k (because of the overdraft)
2006-12-15 02:13:49 · answer #2 · answered by Beautiful - 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is actually a very old scam. If you take a cashier's check or bank draft, only accept one from a bank with a local branch who will cash it without recourse.
It's not that overseas checks can be cancelled after they've been paid -- they can't -- but it's that the check drawn on an overseas bank may take several weeks to clear. US banking laws require your bank to make funds available within certain time limits but those time limits are often not sufficient for banks outside the US.
2006-12-15 03:25:55 · answer #3 · answered by Bostonian In MO 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This has been around for quite some time and in particular they target Mercedes but also any other high quality marque. Ovewrseas cheques can't be accepted by British banks anyway but the method of payment they use is different.
The old adage of caveat emptor applies - if in doubt ring your bank - if you can get through that is!
2006-12-15 02:01:29 · answer #4 · answered by lynxd67 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes.....also beware lottery frauds that pay you a cheque up front and then ask for you to send a portion back as expenses once the cheque has cleared.
One version of this, comes from Canada, so it's not always Nigerians you have to be wary of.
In this day and age of electronic funds transfer, it is a scandal that the banks can do this....after they have advised you that the cheque is cleared...... but they can, so please always be wary of cheques from anywhere overseas
2006-12-15 02:03:29 · answer #5 · answered by SeabourneFerriesLtd 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sure they happen to me all the time usually by e-mail but sometimes through e-bay and even telephone which is really offensive. The Nigerian government is supposed to be getting tough with these fraudsters but Ill believe that when I see it. You right about it giving these places a bad reputation and must make it hard for charities and legitimate west African businesses to work.
2016-05-24 20:10:11 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As soon as the cheque clears withdraw the money. They can't get it back then. Bank won't be able to do a thing about it as they have cleared it.
2006-12-15 02:07:12 · answer #7 · answered by pampurredpuss 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not a question in the true sense but thanks from all of us for the warning. Have a great Christmas.
2006-12-15 02:02:55 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Thanks for the warning but the 'African black fellas' part is a bit presumptuous, surely people from any country can do this scam. They don't HAVE to be black to rip you off.
2006-12-15 02:09:04 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Go buy another Jaguar. If you could afford the first one, this shouldn't hurt you at all.
2006-12-15 01:58:48 · answer #10 · answered by TheTruthHurts 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋