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Beware- nigerian check scam still alive and well !
By: carcomusa( 1345Feedback score is 1000 to 4,999) Top 25 Reviewer
518 out of 563 people found this guide helpful.
Guide viewed: 22324 times Tags: ebay|ebay motors|check|scam|selling
Many of us who sell on ebay motors and even those of us who just sell a car here and ther may recognize those emails that start with...."i am an agent in the UK and my client is looking and is interested in your car........" This statement is usually long winded and purposely general. They are this way because the same email is sent a thousand times a day and not customized for each recipient. These statemants usually request an address for payment. In the past i have ignored these in knowing that they are a scam, but i understand there are still people who fall in this trap. the last several times i have furnished my address so i can see what these checks look like-and they are quite good. They are very authentic looking but again contain no specifics. I can understand that banks take them, they are mostly good enought to accept,of course some are better than others. I would recommend anyone who recieves a certified check of any kind should call the issuing bank to verify it. Especially if it is not a face to face transaction. Furthermore never accept a check with an overpayment as they usually request a western union cash refund-your CASH goes to them....and there check gets bounced back to you, usually a week later when the bank figures it out, and if you actually ship the car ,you have lost that too. It is the buyers responsibility to furnish the appropriate amount for the transaction. If they indeed hired a shipper-then let THEM pay for it. NO WESTERN UNION REFUNDS FOR OVERPAYMENT.This money is untraceable-consider it gone.the emails are from ip addresses out of cyber cafes-untraceable! Again if this is not a face to face transaction you must be vigilant. If your vehicle has a buy it now-make sure it requires a paypal immediate payment, this will weed out most of your scammers right away. Most people who have obtained paypal have a reasonable amount of legitimacy. There are a lot of bad people out there , lets try to avoid them.By the way i generally like nigerians this is just the nickname this scam has historically been given due to its origin.If this guide was helpfull, please click the yes button below.

Guide ID: 10000000001000737Guide created: 05/27/06 (updated 10/09/08)

 
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carcomusa( 1345Feedback score is 1000 to 4,999) About Me
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