Is this a scam?

[seg1959]

Hi there,
I am selling my 1-owner A160L ACS and I am getting lots (well, 4 so far) of e-mails from people in the UK and abroad (Switzerland, Bulgaria...) who say that they cannot come and see the car, and that they want to send me a banker's draft and send a transport company to collect the car.
I am a bit sceptical about people who want to buy a car without viewing it - is this a scam?
Is it safe to accept a banker's draft? I thought it was a bullet-proof way of getting paid, but I am now worried...

Your views/experiences will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Seg

[Conian]

yes... scammers the lot of them.

[shadowninja]

Tell them we all know about their scams. They should try a less technologically advanced country... like Nigeria.

[Conian]

sing up there email addresses to as many porn / viagra / marketing websites as possible.

[seg1959]

So where is the catch? Assuming I get the banker's draft and cash it before handing over the car, shouldn't I be OK?

seg

[rubystone]

seg1959 said:

So where is the catch? Assuming I get the banker's draft and cash it before handing over the car, shouldn't I be OK?

seg

Don't tell me they want to overpay you (perhaps they don't know the cost of shipment, for example)and have asked that you send that overpayment to them?...

Bankers drafts are not "good" or "clear" money. They can be forged, stolen and I am aware that they can also be returned "unpaid".

Some scammers set up bogus websites for their transport companies too.

But hey! Who knows, you might get lucky. Take the money and do let us know how you get on.

[Marki]

Sounds all above board to me

[seg1959]

[/quote]
Don't tell me they want to overpay you (perhaps they don't know the cost of shipment, for example)and have asked that you send that overpayment to them?...

Bankers drafts are not "good" or "clear" money. They can be forged, stolen and I am aware that they can also be returned "unpaid".

[/quote]

I am aware of the "overpay and refund before the draft clears" story, it has been publicized widely. I also understand that BDs can be returned unpaid, or that they might be stolen/forged - and again, this means that they are not paid/cleared.

What I am trying to establish is: once a BD has cleared and the funds are in your account, is there any way of the funds being later "withdrawn"? i.e. if I waited for my bank to confirm that the BD has been cleared, should I be ok to hand over the keys?

seg

[petermansell]

it is a scam - ignore the offers

[Kingdom]

Check with your bank, but if I remember correctly, if the draft is found to be fraudulent at any point in the future, the bank can reclaim that money. Best take advice from the professionals!

Edited by Kingdom on Tuesday 4th December 22:18

[rubystone]

Kingdom said:

Check with your bank, but if I remember correctly, if the draft is found to be fraudulent at any point in the future, the bank can reclaim that money. Best take advice from the professionals!

Edited by Kingdom on Tuesday 4th December 22:18

I believe you are right - but I am not sure whether "future" has a definition. I'd check with the bank if I were you

[SLacKer]

IT IS A SCAM..............DO NOT DEAL WITH THESE CROOKS

No one falls for this crap anymore surely...

I will send you £15000 for your £100 car and you send me £14900 change and I will let shipping company know to pick up your car.....

Don't be greedy, don't play the game. Sell it to a nice person who comes to your house and has lots of paper money which you go to the bank with and make sure they accept it.

[khushy]

I used to own a MINT 1989 500SEC - bought it off the internet in Germany - had it for 2 years - FANTASTIC car = sold it on the internet to a bloke in Portugal - he sent cash straight in to my bank account and then about 5 weeks later sent a lorry over to pick the car up!

No worries - not everyone is a scammer!

khushy

Edited by khushy on Saturday 8th December 14:27

[whothefox]

Apparently these kind of money transfers show up in your account before the money has actually cleared. that is how the scam works. I suppose it's a bit like when you pay a cheque in; your account shows it as a balance, but you cannot withdraw against it. Not sure though.

At the end of the day, it your gut feeling is that it is dodgy, don't do it.

Edited by whothefox on Friday 14th December 14:14

[rubystone]

whothefox said:

At the end of the day, it your gut feeling is that it is dodgy, don't do it. Cash is good. If they're coming over to collect it, they can bring cash with them, or get it our from a bank over here.

I sold a 3.2 Carrera on ebay to a guy in Germany. He transferred half the money into my UK bank account immediately and once it cleared flew over to the UK with his girlfriend and the other half in sterling. Most amusing was the fact that he was a big guy with one of those aluminium cases and yet his diminuitive girlfriend turned out to have the cash stashed in her purse!

So there's your answer - get them to transfer half the cash via CHAPS to your account, wait for it to clear and have them bring the other half over when they come to collect the car.