Do you think this is a scam and a fake cheque?

Question

Hi. I advertised my wedding items on gumtree, and a woman named Debby was interested, i sent her pics of everything and she agreed to buy all my items for £1500, i accepted.
She sounds genuine and is only from London. Before she sent payment, she asked if i would also help her get some playstation games etc for her son i think she said as they are expensive where she lives, i agreed. She sent me a cheque for £4000 this morning, this is my paymnet for the wedding items as well as money tobuy the playstation things and money to post all items to her in London, and whats left over she has asked me to transfer to her wedding planner. Im unsure if the cheque is fake, my partner has gone to a cheque cashing place to see if they can tell if its fake.
Im a little wary but she sounds genuine, i people have tried scamming me bfore and she doesnt sound like a scammer. What do you think? thanks!

No, im not greedy I just need to raise the extra cash! And the woman lives in London and the cheque was posted from London as it states on the envelope.

Answer 1

Cash the cheque before you send or buy anything, then you will know........I suspect she may be thinking the same.

Answer 2

Many people don't realise that it can take several weeks for a cheque to be fully validated. A couple of days after paying in the cheque the money appears in your account. But this does not mean that the transaction is complete and your bank has the money. If the cheque turns out to be a fake, the money will be removed from the account. You stand to loose the £4000 and also the goods you are selling and what you sspend on the games.

THIS IS A CLASSIC SCAM.

Answer 3

Can you think of any possible real reason why she would want to do it this way???? What I would do is bank the cheque and then wait at least 2 months before sending anything to her - if the cheque has not bounced by that time, I'm not sure there is any way for them to cancel it after that length of time. I'd suggest asking your bank for guidance about this, but I'd say with 99.9% assurance that if you send off the stuff with a cheque for the balance yours will be cashed, and hers will bounce. BTW pPlaystation games are cheaper in london than just about anywhere else in the UK, so that's not adding up....
And do you not think the most crucial element in being a successful scammer is maybe 'not sounding like a scammer'???

Answer 4

Sorry but this is a very common SCAM (how do you know she is from London UK and not 'London' Nigeria - she can get friends to post letters for her so thay have a UK postmark and they can produce copies any documantation you ask for (isn't Photoshop wonderfull ?)

Take it into the Bank and inform that that you have doubts, and can they check it for you (get some-one to put in writing that tthey are checking 'for free', and get a reciept for the cheque)

NOTE = DO NOT assume that the Cheque is 'OK' just because your account is credited with the cash .. it takes about a 2 - 4 weeks to be totally sure it has 'cleared' all the way through the system and if it turns out to be fake THE BANK WILL TAKE THE MONEY BACK ..

Answer 5

It sounds like a scam, come on unless london has moved to the other side of the planet how can the games be more expensive? Do not send her anything until the money is in your hand. Even after a cheque has cleared it could still be a scam such as identity fraud and may take a few days for the other person to realise the scam. Please be very cautious this sounds bad.

Answer 6

i think your doing the right thing getting the cheque checked
£4000 is a hell of a lot of money

also i live in London and PlayStation games are very cheap

she sounds genuine? scammers always can sound like this

look up the address she has given you
and her name on the electoral role

www.192.com
here you can get this information with in minutes

remember all London post codes tend to start with

N,
w,
NE,
SW,
SE,
e,

with either one number or two numbers following

for instance SW9 or SE15

followed by a number and two letters this indicates the road the address is on

also be warned if it is a good fake the bank wont know for three months

by this time your bank has been emptied

ask her to send smaller cheques undated then you can cash each one as soon as each clears
this way you can explain to her your bank account wont let you cash a cheque of this size

you can then say that you will cash each one as soon as you can get each PlayStation game

Answer 7

Dont do it,
The cheuqe miht be real but she might be using somone eles cheaqu book... There has been big scamms from bying then cheep on the black market and selling them on (othere people cheque books)

So even if the cheuqe is real it might no be heres. Who has 2500 to spen on playstation games when they are planning a wedding? and why would anyone spen 2500 on playstation games when there buyign second hand weddng items?
If she has money for a wedding planner why would she be buying second and wedding items and spenind 2500 on playstation games?

Games might be a little more expensive in london but there are cheaper shops in the town ust like here. There are also second hand gaming shops. Or Ebay? If she has the inernet why couldt she use and online site for cheaper games? hummm?

Dont do it it sound too tricky..
Go to the cheuqe to the bank its from and the adress she has given to you and see if it matches there records if not they can deal with it..

Answer 8

There are several scams like this especially linked to internet (supposed friends) talkers. They had some come out of Africa that were re-inking money orders for higher value so doing it with checks is also possible. You can always take it to the bank and see if it's valid and from a valid account. For an amount that much they will hold the deposit until the check clears anyway.

Answer 9

It certainly sounds like a scam to me! Why would playstation games be more expensive in London?

Ask yourself this question...would you send a cheque for £4000 pounds to a stranger trusting them to forward cash to a wedding planner??

I would send the cheque back it sounds like money laundering to me!

Answer 10

I think the only thing you can do is cash the cheque first. What's the postal address? Is it a real address not a PO Box? Why can't she buy the games herself as she is collecting them from a London address anyway? That's a load of extra money she has sent you for PlayStation games!! So many questions, too many doubts.

Answer 11

I've seen this scam done before on eBay,did you not think it was strange that a total stranger trusts you to forward on a great deal of money,I.E you want £1500 she sends you £4000 for gods sake how many PlayStation games does this women want!
I know shes said the rest is gonna go to her wedding planner but even so that's a lot of money to in trust to you seeing as she doesn't know you,it's called money laundering