KB Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 So the story goes...............I just sold a Motorola V3 Razor mobile phone on the bay, the Auction was a 'Buy it now' for $250AUD and just now I received this message from the buyer... Dear Seller, I will like to purchase these Item Motorola V3 for lady (pink) (250030021849) for a friend oversea as a CHRISTMAS GIFT.She works with the BRITISH AMERICan TOBACCO there in West Africa Due to my workload, i might not be able to be checking my mails often.So i will be offering you AU$350.I want the item posted via AUSTRALIA POST to HER.hope the package will get to her in good condition What is the present condition of this item and does it comes in it's original box?.I will be paying you for the item via Bank Transfer or Money Order, so get back to me with your Bank Informations or your full name and address where payment will be deliverd to. MANY THANKS Now lots of alarm bells here but none as bad as the fact that this phone retails for $300AUD. So I guess my question is, that although we all give these bank details to buyers on eBay is there a way for the buyer to abuse this trust? Thanks in advance Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 I should add that this buyer is situated in Victoria maybe an hours drive away and not in Africa. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonthebhoy Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 So he's an Aussie Ken?..............In which case I'd leave well alone! JTB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Funny I thought it was the Scots that yer had tae watch yer mooney aroond Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubiquitous Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Ken- Ask for the money order he's offering... Or a cashier's check. That should be sufficient I'd think? Neither of those items should require you to disclose any account information... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r11co Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 This absolutely reeks of a scam. Might be an idea to plug some of those phrases into a search of ebay's forums to see if the wording has been used before for scam purposes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJGladeRaider Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 So the story goes...............I just sold a Motorola V3 Razor mobile phone on the bay, the Auction was a 'Buy it now' for $250AUD and just now I received this message from the buyer... Now lots of alarm bells here but none as bad as the fact that this phone retails for $300AUD. So I guess my question is, that although we all give these bank details to buyers on eBay is there a way for the buyer to abuse this trust? Thanks in advance Ken I can tell you what those of us who do a lot of investigative business internationally do. Open an account at your bank strictly for incoming transfers - you can use any kind of account that you like. Never leave any significant amount of money in the account. Keep in mind that giving someone the information necessary to wire you money is no worse than writing them a check - everyone you ever wrote a check to has that same information printed on the check. I would MUCH rather risk incoming wire transfers than accept ANY kind of check. You cannot imagine the frauds related to corporate checks and cashier's checks. The most common one is the cash back scam, and it can be really sneaky. Say your buyer tells you that they are wire transferring $350 to your bank and, sure enough, you see that your balance jumped - but by $3500, not $350. Joe Conman says his secretary made a mistake and wired you too much money. Since it was a wire, not a check, you wire the balance back. Next thing you know, you are WAY in the red - and you cannot figure out how that happened since there is no such thing as a "bad" wire transfer. Then you find out there never was a wire transfer - the con man sent your bank a certified check via FedEx to be deposited to your account. The check was a forgery so they took the money back. Be careful out there. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonthebhoy Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Sound advice as always Bill. JTB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eddhead Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 I can tell you what those of us who do a lot of investigative business internationally do. Open an account at your bank strictly for incoming transfers - you can use any kind of account that you like. Never leave any significant amount of money in the account. Keep in mind that giving someone the information necessary to wire you money is no worse than writing them a check - everyone you ever wrote a check to has that same information printed on the check. I would MUCH rather risk incoming wire transfers than accept ANY kind of check. You cannot imagine the frauds related to corporate checks and cashier's checks. The most common one is the cash back scam, and it can be really sneaky. Say your buyer tells you that they are wire transferring $350 to your bank and, sure enough, you see that your balance jumped - but by $3500, not $350. Joe Conman says his secretary made a mistake and wired you too much money. Since it was a wire, not a check, you wire the balance back. Next thing you know, you are WAY in the red - and you cannot figure out how that happened since there is no such thing as a "bad" wire transfer. . Then you find out there never was a wire transfer - the con man sent your bank a certified check via FedEx to be deposited to your account. The check was a forgery so they took the money back. Be careful out there. Bill Agreed. I work for a large Bank FI specializing in providing Cash Mngmt and Money Movement services to fortune 1000 clients, but as it relates to fraud, big and small companies share tons of opportunites around risk... it is perhaps the single highest priority on a corprate treasureres radar screen, and it should be on yours as well. Bill's advise is excellent. I will also point out that from the perspective of manageing merchant service risk, these very issues were the inpetus behind the lauch services such as Pay Pal, and Money Broker. Of course as we know, there are inherent problems with those services as well. Bottom line though is, you should NEVER provide bank account indicative data to anyone who is not a trusted trading partner. This information can be used for many purposes beyond the underlyng transaction.. For instance, unscrupulus actors can initiate ACH debit originations from your account.. depending upon local law, you may have some recourse.. but it is not open-ended.. you have a limited amount of time to respond to these entries. I would also be wary about giving out information that may lead to idently fraud. YOUR PERSONAL OR BUSINESS ACCOUNT DATA IS PROPRIETARY... you need to guard it carefully Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryyannon Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 No way, Ken. Unless he wires the money via WU - and fat chance that he will. It looks like every Internet scam I've ever seen - the greatest caution is advised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2005SUBMARINER Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 yeap scam comming from russia & africa all over the bay ! beware all ebayers ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Ok first up thank you to everyone for your advice. Now just a couple of other quick points, the buyer is actually based in Victoria (as I am) and only wants the item posted to Africa, he has 100% positive feedback on 39 transactions including paying $474 for a Nokia phone (which is way to much) and because I was running a company before my injury I do have 4 seperate bank accounts including one that is now basically dead. So with those facts on the table would you give it a shot? Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highflyingclive Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Scammers rely on the greed of their targets. Tell me... do you feel greedy, today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJGladeRaider Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Ok first up thank you to everyone for your advice. Now just a couple of other quick points, the buyer is actually based in Victoria (as I am) and only wants the item posted to Africa, he has 100% positive feedback on 39 transactions including paying $474 for a Nokia phone (which is way to much) and because I was running a company before my injury I do have 4 seperate bank accounts including one that is now basically dead. So with those facts on the table would you give it a shot? Ken\ Yes. I really don't care about giving a person basic account information - just not to my primary account. If he wants to do a bank transfer, the legitimacy of the incoming funds is the responsibility of the sending bank - the "buck stops there," if you will pardon the pun. Similarly WU - once you have your money, it's yours. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Actually not at all as I have sold this phone for a friend therefore it is a case of do I tell my friend that I threw away this sale because it didn't feel right to me? Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted September 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Thanks Bill I will use our dead account and not post until I am able to transfer tose funds to another of our accounts. Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swdivad Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 He very well may not be in Oz at all.... Ask him who won the Grand Final last year....or have him name one of the players from Footscray. :-) LOL... I couldn't do that and I live 10-15 minutes from Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KB Posted September 19, 2006 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 Heeyy and I see your not just a pretty face yourself Don't worry Ron I had a second thought and handed it over the eBay security Ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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