Off Topic. I think I am being scammed.

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alanstepney
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Re: Off Topic. I think I am being scammed.

Post by alanstepney »

I dont know what it is like over there now, but in the UK, walk into a bank with that much cash and even if they know you, you will be VERY lucky if they accept it.

Money laundering regulations, intruduced in the wake of 9/11, have made the banking world suspicious of large amounts of cash. "Large" being defined as, anything over $5,000 in some banks.

Also, are they real?
Lots of fake US notes about.

I would prefer a cashiers cheque, and make sure it is real.
Even better would be a credit card payment, if you could do it that way.

Whichever, I would take it to my bank while the guy was still there.
Just show him your loco (or your missus) and leave him to play for a while, whilst you check out his money.

To me, it seems a long way to go for a motorbike.
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bcody
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Re: Off Topic. I think I am being scammed.

Post by bcody »

Go through Pay-Pal. Much safer. Bill
mrb37211
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Re: Off Topic. I think I am being scammed.

Post by mrb37211 »

I've heard speculations that hostile governments (aka Iraq, Iran, North Korea) are counterfiting USA currency -- which would mean the job could be quite sophisticated. Also, the increasing precision of color copiers, scanners and printers available for a few hundred dollars lets everyone join the party. The increasingly frequent changes in USA currency are certainly done for reasons beyone "because we can". [The IRS forms reflect enough "because we can" changes to more than satisfy that craving in the Treasury.] Charles
Sandiapaul
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Re: Off Topic. I think I am being scammed.

Post by Sandiapaul »

From IBMWR.org site....this happened to me about a year ago...



BMW Motorcycle Marketplace - Special Warning
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BEWARE of possible fraudulent replies to IBMWR Marketplace Ad listings. It has come to our attention that several Marketplace advertisers have received responses to their Ads that offer high prices, where the seller is to cash a large check from a third party, for more money than the agreed-upon price, deduct the price of the item for sale, and forward the remainder of the money with the sale item to the buyer.

These offers appear to be FRAUDULENT, and derivative of the ubiquitous "Advance-Fee Fraud" spam emails that many of us receive regularly. The scam is that the large cashiers check turns out to be a forgery; unfortunately this does not become known until after the balance is forwarded to the "buyer". You may be surprised that a bank that has cashed a "bearer instrument" cashiers check WILL reclaim its funds if the check is a forgery. Cashiers checks are not as secure as many of us had always presumed.

So please be careful in accepting any offer that seems "off" or "too good to be true", any overseas transactions, and any sale that requires a seller to advance or refund any amounts paid. If you allow yourself to be victimized by such scam artists, you may be left holding the bag.

We are not pleased one bit that this sort of fraudulent activity is now permeating the Internet, and has reached the IBMWR Marketplace. As always, the IBMWR Marketplace is merely an automated free listing service and cannot assume any liability of any kind for any of the advertisements or transactions that flow from them.

If you are approached with this obvious scam, you may want to pass the information along to the Authorities. The Federal Trade Commission website (also linked below) asks folks who have been approached with this scam or have been unfortunately taken by it, to contact them. The site lists e-mail addresses, telephone numbers and has a handy web-based fraud report form. Your taking a few minutes to fill this out may just keep a fellow Rider from falling prey.
dampfwilli
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Re: Off Topic. I think I am being scammed.

Post by dampfwilli »

And what is the response???
When i are the Customer and read this thread, i let you your motocycle! Its insulting, why crying before anybody beat you?
But its right: We Germans paying only with falsificates of $$$. We like that. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif"%20alt="[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif"%20alt="[/img]
Have Fun
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Fred_V
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Re: Off Topic. I think I am being scammed.

Post by Fred_V »

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/

this is a site for selling VW's. there is a whole section there on scams. good to read.
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Jim_Nolan
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Re: Off Topic. I think I am being scammed.

Post by Jim_Nolan »

I have bought a number of items in the US’ using an agent i.e. a friend who could pay for the transaction in US $. The implications of using bank transfers or international cheques etc. Mean you get stung big time by the Banks slamming you with exchange rates that bare no reality to those available on the high street.

Remember a scammer invariably relies on the greed of the mark. If you want a $1000 and get a $1000 OK. But if you’re offered $5K and please send the change back for instances who’s the fool?

I agree with Dampfwilly give the man the benefit, if he turns up with the money fine if not you can always relist it on eBay and try again. Only this time (if you didn’t) restrict the selling area to the US only.
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ehulshiz

Re: Off Topic. I think I am being scammed.

Post by ehulshiz »

The original ebay listing specified USA shipping only.
The buyer's agent emailed me and asked if I would disassemble the bike and ship it to Germany in several boxes. The listing said that the buyer was responsible for shipping, so I declined. They asked for a phone #, so they could contact me, which I have provided. I am waiting for them to contact me to arrange conclusion of the sale.
I will allow them the benefit of the doubt, but I was quite surprised to see the winning bid come from Germany. The shipping is going to run his cost up well beyond the value of the bike.
FredR
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Re: Off Topic. I think I am being scammed.

Post by FredR »

Ed,
You might want to consider writing the buyer and tell him to provide payment in the form of a Money Order, Cashier's Check or Postal Money Order. That way, you get negotiable paper and any hard currency problems belong to someone else. Just a thought....cb

No, that is part of the scam sometimes. It turns out to be boggus paper as well. Best thing is to have the guy meet you at the bank, have them verify the money. That way, they get busted by the feds for the funny money.

Fred

Gee. I just went back and read Dan's post. I guess from now on, I need to read all the messages before replying [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif"%20alt="[/img]
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Jim_Nolan
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Re: Off Topic. I think I am being scammed.

Post by Jim_Nolan »

Ed,

My experience of eBay is that people especially newbies seem to get caught up in the bid process and I am sure it ends up being ego driven not financial.
Good luck and I hope the transaction goes well for you.
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mikell
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Re: Off Topic. I think I am being scammed.

Post by mikell »

We sold 6 horses to someone in Romania and they sent a bunch more money to cover the expenses. So we decided to travel with the horses. No deal. Fake money order. This was about 2 years ago. Kinda figured it was a scam when they Volunteered to pay nearly twice what we were asking.

mikell
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