I Need Advice Quick

[rosiew]

I put my car on Autotrader to sell. I received an email from someone interested and wanted to know about the car this was fine, he said he wanted it for his in-laws. The strange thing is that i have just received an email back saying that he wants the car and asked for the name to be put on the cheque and address to send it to. When the cheque clears i have to contact him so he can get a "shipper" to come and collect the car. He is sending the cheque out to me today. It all seems a bit too good to be true. Should i have any reason to be worried after all, if the cheque clears he has paid for the car. Please give me some advise. Also this person is foreign so is it because thats how they do business in their country(although im only summising he is foreign because his surname is swaltz

[Orderlimit]

Well known scam rosiew. Is the email address from gmail, yahoo etc?

[snags]

''It all seems a bit too good to be true''

You hit the nail right on the head there...

[Orderlimit]

you can report the matter here

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/advice/2013/03/safety-and-security/car-export-scams

[bert_h]

I can't see how you could be out of pocket, as long as you delay shipping until after the bank has confirmed that the cheque has cleared beyond the possibility of it being cancelled or refused by its signatory. But it's rather strange that he's buying the car without seeing it.

[jno]

This scam is often perpetrated on sellers of used cars over the Internet. A buyer indicates that he wants to buy the car and pay with a cashier's check. from a US site:

"At the last minute, the buyer creates a reason why he needs to write the check for more money and have the seller wire him the difference. The check turns out to be a fake, but it is often discovered long after the seller has wired the money. In addition, the seller is responsible for covering the money for the fake check. To avoid check scams, call the issuing bank before you accept the check and wait for the check to clear before you transfer the car into the buyer's name."

[rosiew]

It's from aol.com. Im a little worried as it does sound genuine but!!!!!!!!

[jno]

sorry, that got a bit garbled, but you get the picture

[rosiew]

That's what i thought. He told me to contact him when the cheque clears so would it be a silly thing to do to accept the cheque for payment.

[Orderlimit]

I assure you it is a scam rosiew, a very common one.

[gingejbee]

Smell a rat...who in their right mind buys a car without even seeing, let alone driving, it?

[Orderlimit]

Just ignore any further communication, they will go away. The email should be forwarded to to the Auto Trader Customer Security team at [email protected]

[gingejbee]

....and I would not give them my address either....after all, that's where the car is. Hope it's locked away safely!

[Orderlimit]

^ the scammers using the aol email addresses are operating from USA and Canada. Like I say, really best to just ignore or if your worried then email the reptile back and say the car has been nicked, caught fire or sold etc. If you do get a bank cheque in the post then simply destroy it or hand it into a bank.

[Brinjal]

Jno has pretty much hit the nail on the head. There is also another scenario where they give you a cheque for more than the cost of the item. The cheque clears then they ask you to refund the difference. Money laundering. Eastern Europeans are using this to clean crime money.

[hc4361]

From the CAB:

"You should be careful about accepting a cheque from someone you don't know or trust for an expensive item, like a car. If a cheque is issued fraudulently or is found to be stolen, the money can be taken back even after it has passed through the clearing system."
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/debt_e/debt_banking_e/cheques.htm

[Hymie]

The scam works like this:-

Sometime after the cheque has cleared (and you’ve waved goodbye to your car), your bank will contact you to advise that the cheque was drawn on a fraudulent account. Despite the cheque having ‘cleared’ (possibly many weeks ago) your bank will take back the money – leaving you without the car and the money.

[pixie373]

Happened to my friend for £6000. She lost the money. I wouldn't risk it.

[Maydup]

Have no more to do with it and avoid giving any more details such as your name and address. As others have explained, this cheque will not clear.

I just wanted to say it again in case you're still in any doubt!

[VHG]

>>>this cheque will not clear.

It MAY clear, but then the money will have to be returned at a later date.

[Purple_Popple]

Please follow your gut instinct on this, it sounds really bad to me and is too good to be true, as others have said why buy a car without seeing it?. I had something similar happen to me on Ebay as I was selling an antique diamond ring, I had several foreign scammers try and get me to ship the ring to them on receipt of their bank transfer and they asked me to quote for delivery etc etc - I too thought they were genuine, until they kicked off when I charged them x-amount for delivery, they then gave me horrendous negative feedback and became very abusive.