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For some time now there have been bogus
emails concerning buying a vehicle with payment by "cashiers
check". Please read the following tips on how to prevent being scammed.
ONESTOPMOTORS.COM
Common-Sense Advice for Sellers
Selling a car you find online is a lot like
selling a car through a classified ad in the newspaper. In either case, use
your best judgment.
Confirm contact information
Be particularly wary of buyers located overseas. Always verify the buyer's
street address and phone number.
Secure payment first
Do not transfer the title until you have payment in hand at the agreed upon
price.
Verify that a certified check is genuine
Before you deposit a certified check, verify authenticity with the issuing
bank-not just your bank. Make sure the account contains sufficient funds and
the issuing bank guarantees payment on the check. It may take a week or more
for the check to clear. It hasn't cleared just because your bank has accepted
it and credited your account.
Counterfeit Cashier's
Check
You are selling an item over the Internet - it could be a used car, motor home,
or even an airplane.
Beware of the following...
You receive an email offer to purchase your
item and the buyer says he'll send a bank cashier's check. The buyer is
from Nigeria or "West Africa", but has a business associate in the United
States who will send you the cashier's check. Then you are told
that for some reason the check was already made out to you for an amount larger
than your asking price. The buyer asks you to please deposit the check,
wait for it to clear, and then send him the difference -- "but only after the
cashier's check clears, of course."
You are skeptical - but, sure enough, the
bank cashier's check arrives by Fed Ex, it looks real, your bank accepts the
check, and the bank assures you the funds are in fact available. So you wait
the time the bank recommends to verify that the check is clear and then you
wire the difference to your buyer in Nigeria and prepare to ship your item.
A week later your bank calls: "We're very
sorry, but the cashier's check was counterfeit" -- a superb copy, but
worthless. Your account is frozen. You must pay the bank back the entire amount
of the cashier's check. You may even be considered a fraud suspect yourself.
Your "buyer" disappears. About the only good
news: sellers rarely get to the point of shipping their items abroad.
Common-Sense
Advice for Buyers
Buying a car you find online is a lot like
buying a car through a classified ad in the newspaper. In either case, use your
best judgment.
Know the car's market value
Be suspicious of a vehicle priced significantly below market value. If it
sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Obtain a vehicle history report
A vehicle history report (Autocheck) can provide useful information, such as
who holds the title to the car and whether the car has been in an accident
reported to authorities. You'll also find out whether the car was ever reported
stolen, salvaged or damaged.
Inspect the car
Schedule an inspection with a professional mechanic or an inspection service if
the car is not in your area. An early inspection can help you identify
problems. However, keep in mind that an inspection isn't a warranty and won't
guarantee a car is free from defects or that inspectors have identified all
existing problems.
Confirm contact information
Before you send payment, verify the seller's street address and phone number-an
email address is not enough. ZIP codes, area codes and addresses should match
up. Be wary if the seller is located overseas.
Get a detailed receipt
Ask the seller for a receipt that states whether the vehicle is being sold with
a warranty or "as is."
Get title to the vehicle
Make sure you know what's required in your state to transfer title to the
vehicle you're buying.
How to
Protect Yourself
If you are selling online,
be extremely skeptical of any offers
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from overseas to a party you do not know
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paid by cashier's check
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from buyers sending more than the purchase price of the item
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from buyers who seem more worried about payment than the shipment of the item
to them
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from buyers who show little or no concern to the condition of the item they are
purchasing
Also, a bank may make money "available" to
you almost at once if you deposit a purported bank cashier's check, but that's NOT
a guarantee the check is authentic. It could be returned as counterfeit up to
three years later, and the bank will hold you responsible for the money.
Ways to verify a check include:
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Inspect the check carefully to ensure it contains all the legal elements of a
check.
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Amount of the check, in figures and words, should match. Often this amount is
machine "impressed" on official bank checks.
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Account number should be encoded in MICR ink (should not be shiny in
appearance).
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Ensure the drawer's signature appears on the check; watch for tracing lines,
"shaky" writing. Often facsimile signatures are used on official bank
checks, with a second, original signature required for amounts exceeding a
designated dollar amount.
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Perforations - checks are generally perforated on at least one side.
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Routing and transit numbers appearing in the MICR line and elsewhere on the
check should be consistent.
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Contact the financial institution on which the check is drawn for
authentication that the check is valid with no outstanding claims for loss,
stolen or destroyed instrument. Verify if the person whose signature appears on
the check on behalf of the bank is authorized to sign official checks of the
bank.
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IMPORTANT:Independently verify the item to verify its authenticity.
Do not rely on information printed on the face of the check, such as phone
numbers or name/location of bank, because in a convincing scam, these numbers
will often connect directly to the scam artists or their associates.
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Find the bank's telephone number from a reliable source, such as a bank
directory, the bank's web site or directory assistance.
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Verify as much information as possible - check number (is it in normal sequence
of other official checks issued by the bank), payee, issue date, amount and
authorized signatory. Ask if the bank's official checks bear any security
features, such as watermarks, security threads, background patterns,
high-resolution borders, void pantograph, etc.
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If there is any doubt as to the collectibility of the check, do not accept the
check for deposit or encashment. Send the check to the issuing financial
institution for collection. Ask that proceeds be wired directly to the
customer's account.
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As an alternative to sending the item for collection, deposit the check to the
customer's account, and place a Reg. CC exception hold. Under Reg. CC,
the entire amount of non-local checks can be held for up to 11 business days
before making the money available for customer's use, if the bank can evidence
"reasonable cause to doubt collectibility." In the case of a cashier's
check or other official check of a bank, if the check contains any questionable
feature, erasures, alterations, etc., the depositary bank has a "reasonable
cause to doubt collectibility."
Beware of overpayment or other complicated
payment schemes
Don't agree to any plan where the buyer asks
to send a check for more than the sale price and requests that the seller
refund the difference. And be suspicious of any buyer who proposes making
payment through a friend or agent of the buyer.
ONESTOPMOTORS.COM
Example 1
I saw your advert on online and am ready to
pay you $1000. Just for you to hold it. I am based in uk. My mode of payment
will be through money order, I will instruct my client in the USA to make out a
money order of $5000 to you. reason being that it is a refund payment, and the
customer issuing the check has the policy not to issue more than one check to a
refund payment, which means that the check is going to carry the whole amount
of what i am buying and also the shipping. The excess will be for the shipping
of the item and my other goods in the USA. I want you to send the balance which
is meant for the shipping to my shipper who I will instruct to contact you
after i have received an email from you telling me you want to sell to me. If
my offer is okay kindly reply by giving me your full name and address to which
payment will be made too and also photos so I can see what I really want to
get.
Regards,
Jerry
ONESTOPMOTORS.COM
Example 2
I'm Fred Martins from UK. Having seen your
advert, I hereby crave your indulgence to my interest of buying it and the
payment will be made through via check, after which, my shipper will come or
the pick-up. I shall interested to know the suitable price of this items
bisides, I will send 3000 dollar on check to you and after the clearance you
will wire the balance through western union transfer to my shipper.
Thanks,
Fred Martin
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