Any sellers had one of these emails before?

[timmygobang]

Dear seller
Thanks for the mail, and i have discussed this purchase over with my client
and he his very much interested to purchase the BOAT with price offer of £9000
but due to his past experience ,and as we don't know the condition of the boat yet,
we have instructed our client to send you an international bankers Draft cheque
of 20000 euro as this is the only means of recovering our money from him directly
Please once received this cheque, you cashed immediately in your bank.
with your status and company personality upon cleared funds you convert to local currency and hold on to full payment OF to secure the item and
forward the difference of the funds to our Mandated engineers in the Holland for them to arrange shipment paper works, flight ticket bills and hotel accommodation.
as they will be coming down to your company for inspection and see the items in good Order and if OK and good conditions
upon inspection confirm, before the BOAT leaves your place,
please the earlier you cash the check the quicker we try to arrange purchase invoice and pick up
please kindly advice details below if find this email understanding

Full name to issue Cheque..........
Address.
Mobile Number...........
contact person.......

if there is anything you want to confirm,kindly please get back to the below address

FORTIS MACHINERY HOLLAND
ADDRESS, KROENEHOEFSTRAAT 25
5622AC
EINDHOVEN
HOLLAND
TELEPHONE;




Next he'll be telling me there's a pigeon in my bank account!

[Twister_Ken]

I'll bet you are also the sole surviving relative of a rich Nigerian chief who was killed in political plot, and who left zillions of gudjeroons in a bank account to which only you have access.

[PaulGooch]

My scammer was a bit lazy :

Dear Sir,

we recently came across the advert of your boat
for the price of 44950pounds and our clients is
intrested in buying it, could you please get back
to me if its available and its present mechanical
condition.
thanks
richard


I did reply, but not heard back from him. I plan to string any scammers along for as long as possible. If they want to send Paypal payments or cheques, i'll accept them and put them in spare accounts until something happens with them.

[mjcoon]

... please the earlier you cash the check the quicker we try to arrange purchase invoice and pick up

I've never been sure whether a cheque ever really "clears". I think the banks reserve the right to get the funds back off you if the cheque is not honoured, which might be after the putative payee has discovered the fraud.

After all, they don't want to be out of pocket!

Mike.

[PaulGooch]

I've never been sure whether a cheque ever really "clears". I think the banks reserve the right to get the funds back off you if the cheque is not honoured, which might be after the putative payee has discovered the fraud.

After all, they don't want to be out of pocket!

Mike.

I think you're right here Mike. This scam works by overpaying you, you wait for the cheque to clear and forward the overpayment. You never hear from them again and just as you are wondering why they haven't collected their goods, the bank snatches the money back as the cheque was stolen or forged.

[timmygobang]

I just replied with pictures of laughing chimps from the old PG tip adverts.

One of the guys here at work had an email from Gadaffi's Wife last week would you believe it! Apparently she's a bit hard up and needed to release some Iranian rials

[prv]

I think the banks reserve the right to get the funds back off you if the cheque is not honoured

I think if it's merely not honoured, after a certain time you're safe. But if it turns out to have been forged (as it will be in this kind of scam) then the bank can take the money back whenever it finds out.

I think, anyway. Haven't checked (ho ho).

Pete

[MBM_Greg]

There was a story about this recently in the Evening Standard. It was worryingly successful for them! It is common in poorer areas of Africa to scam Europeans, as £5000 for us is worth a lot more to them.

In the story they interviewed one scammer who claimed to be rather wealthy because of it!

[RichardS]

I think that I would accept the cheque (obviously not giving any of my bank details ) but make it clear to the buyer that I will be transferring the overpayment only when I am 100% satisfied that the original cheque is genuine and not a second before!

At that point I assume that the buyer will vanish in a puff of smoke!

However, if the cheque does arrive, I would take it to the bank and ask them to confirm to me in writing when the cheque has been accepted by the issuing bank as being genuine.

This could take several weeks but what have you got to lose - unless you have a genuine buyer waiting to proceed?

Richard

[prv]

I think that I would accept the cheque (obviously not giving any of my bank details ) but make it clear to the buyer that I will be transferring the overpayment only when I am 100% satisfied that the original cheque is genuine and not a second before!

At that point I assume that the buyer will vanish in a puff of smoke!

I think they'd keep going. Why not - they don't have anything to lose and you're already looking gullible.

However, if the cheque does arrive, I would take it to the bank and ask them to confirm to me in writing when the cheque has been accepted by the issuing bank as being genuine.

I would expect them to refuse to give such an assurance (most likely) or if they did to later retract it when the cheque proves to be fake. You'd then left with the prospect of suing the bank on the basis of that agreement (which I why I don't think they'd give it), and your case would be seriously weakened by the fact that you were clearly hoping to profit dishonestly.

As the saying goes, you can't con an honest man. The only thing you'd end up doing by trying to extract benefit from the situation is to expose yourself to risk of loss.

Pete