Overseas sales scam question

[ChrisL 2]

I've read several threads in which scams were reported where folks were
paid via cashiers checks from overseas which later turned out to be bogus.

How long does it take for a check like that to clear and prove itself to be legitimate?

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My mighty steed

[freeflir29 0]

Don't know..............ask a bank. Dammitt.........I think I am post whoring again.

[tigra 0]

My understanding is a big part of the scam (which in one form or another has been going on for years) is that the "purchaser" offers to send a cashiers check for a great deal more than the cost of the item in question and expects you to wire transfer back the difference.

I have a friend who owns rental property and a prospective tenant tried to pull the same scam. She strung him along for a while while she contacted the police and the FBI. (Exchanged emails with him, stalled and promised the refund was on its way.) I don't what if anything they did about it, but at least she wasn't out any cash.

[mr2mk1g 10]

Could take quite a while. Even though your bank may well put the money into your account within 3 days the fraud may not turn up for some time after. It may only be discovered when the cashier’s cheque is presented to the issuing bank to be redeemed by your bank. It is only at that point that the cheque is discovered to be a forgery.

It is less likely that you're being scammed (though still possible) if they are only looking to pay for gear. Scammers don't want gear they want money. It is HIGHLY likely that you are being scammed if they are looking for you to return a balance of their payment to them in some way. If this is the case walk away from the deal, it’s simply not worth the risk regardless of what kind of payment they're giving you.

[dgm458 0]

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It is less likely that you're being scammed (though still possible) if they are only looking to pay for gear. Scammers don't want gear they want money.

This is not true. My friend was almost a victim of this type of scam. He was selling an item for $1500 and a man from Nigeria sent him a cashier's check for $5000. Saying he mistakenly sent too much money, he asked for $3500 to be returned. He provided an address in the UK for the item to be shipped to on a prepaid DHL account number. All my friend had to do was crate up the item, label it, and call DHL for pickup.

BTW-my friend deposited the check at the request of the FBI and it took five weeks to be returned, although the money was available to him immediately. The scammers draw up the checks from real banks but with dormant or fake account numbers that are not often the same.

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Failure to prepare is preparing to fail

[indyz 1]

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It is less likely that you're being scammed (though still possible) if they are only looking to pay for gear. Scammers don't want gear they want money.

This is not true. My friend was almost a victim of this type of scam. He was selling an item for $1500 and a man from Nigeria sent him a cashier's check for $5000.

I think what he meant by "only looking to pay for gear" was that the buyer would write the check for the exact amount.

Personally, I never accept payment for anything other than the exact amount, I never sell to anybody that I haven't talked to on the phone (even with only a brief conversation it's pretty easy to tell if a buyer is actually a skydiver), I never sell to anybody outside of the US or Canada, and I prefer to ship to dropzones rather than residences.