I've got two emails from different people wanting to buy a vehicle I advertised. Both emails include specific information about the vehicle and the first one responded to a question I had. Both offer to send a cheque, let me cash it, then an agent will collect the vehicle and any excess from the cheque.
This is screaming SCAM to me but I can't see the problem. I get the money first, they collect the vehicle afterwards. If it's not a scam then is it money laundering?
2007-07-10 03:13:08 · 6 answers · asked by Geoff M 5 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Buying & Selling
Ah, so the cheque will initially clear and will then bounce? I see the problem... thanks.
2007-07-10 03:21:16 · update #1
SCAM! The checks will be a good counterfeit that will initially clear your bank, then be returned a few days later by the paying bank. SCAM! Don't do it and report the people sending the e-mails.
Let's face it, have you ever sent anyone more money than they were owed for a refund later? Do the companies you send payment to every month give change? What would be the point in ever doing that? And it isn't money laundering because there is a tremendous paper trail with selling a car.
If the routing number and account numbers on the bottom of a check are valid, it will be processed and initially paid. Depending on how alert the paying bank is to fraud, it could take a day or two for them to notice the fraud, if the account is truly a valid one, it might not be until the real account holder calls about the bogus payment the bank finds out and calls your bank.
At that point the money will be withdrawn from your account and you will be out the car and the payment. Never, ever fall for this scam. The same goes for the internet escrow scam.
2007-07-10 03:16:23 · answer #1 · answered by gailforce_wind 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's a scam...they would send an amount over the cost..you cash the check and they get the car and any extra cash.
The check is made to a false account and by the time the bank finds out you end up losing the car and they get money and you end up paying the bank it's money back and fees for the bad check.
Even if it is a money order and a cashiers check..same scam.
2007-07-10 03:23:48 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Your contact wanting to use PayPal may or may not be a scam. I posted a Camry on Craigslist at about 8:30 PM one evening last summer. Within five minutes, I received over 10 responses by phone and five more came in e-mails within half an hour. People continued t0 call for two weeks. One of the responses was similar to yours, wanting to use PayPal. I said no to the PayPal arrangement, even though I have an account with PayPal, which I use to buy and sell items on E-Bay. I was afraid there might be a way for them to hoodwink me and I wouldn't know until the car was physically gone. It is a popular way of buying and paying without divulging your account info to just anyone. I insisted on cash. It took over one week for me to find the original title and many of the responders (probably 15) were willing to wait until I either found it or got a new one from the DMV, which is what I had to do. They were hoping that the others would drop out. Toyota Camrys are in great demand. In the end, I sold the car to a man who was one of the first two callers. He was going to ship it to Brazil for resale. He buys one or more cars almost every night to ship them out of the country, no matter the condition because the pollution laws in South American countries are not as strict as in the US. I made sure there was a strong man with me when the "lookers" came ... just in case. However, all the potential buyers seemed to be sincere and harmless. I remained strong when the final buyer tried to persuade me to lower the price. Good luck.
2016-05-22 11:35:49 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Scam alert!!
Scam alert!!
Scam alert!!
Scam alert!!
Scam alert!!
Scam alert!!
You will receive a check that looks real. When you deposit it in your account, it may take a couple of weeks for it to be returned, but it will be returned. In the meantime, you will have given them your car, and paid them to take it.
The sure tip offs are:
They want to send you a check, and have you give them cash back.
They want to have an "agent" pick up the vehicle, and the money.
They have never seen the car.
Tell them that if they trust their "agent" to pick up the car, they should trust him enough to send him the money, and pay you cash! You will never hear from them again!
Only accept a check from a local bank, during business hours. Insist that you go to the issuing bank with them, and cash the check. Never deposit a check like that in your account!
2007-07-10 03:46:39 · answer #4 · answered by fire4511 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Your first answer is totally right!!!!! Its a scam and one of the oldest in the book.
Why would someone send you extra money and trust a person they do'nt know in the first place? The extra is the payoff for them.
You will eventually take the bite for the entire amount of the check........ even if it clears at first.
2007-07-10 03:45:32 · answer #5 · answered by jackson 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Forget it. This is a well-known scam. Accept only hard cash or a cashier's check from a local bank for the exact purchase price.
2007-07-10 03:34:58 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋