Bank Transfer Scam? or not?

Princess00

Can someone do fraud with bank transfer?

I posted some stuff i'm selling on Gumtree- one is a designer bag for £450. A guy called Clark Ben, replied, said he's buying it for his wife. He said he'll pay via bank transfer on Monday (tommorow)

I gave him my account number/sort code-

Should I have anything to worry about?

Does this look genuine?

Below is the email I received:

I am glad to read back from you and i am satisfied with the condition of the item, I want the item to be sent directly to my Wife in London below is the shipping :

So i shall be paying you through Bank transfer . So, what is the total cost of the item including postage?? . Reply me as soon as possible so that i can proceed with the payment of the item.

Cheers


(I gave him my sort code/account number)

His response:

I will go ahead with the payment of the item as soon as Monday morning and once the payment is completed, i shall contact you. Just go ahead and get the item packed and ready for shipment.

I shall contact you as soon as i complete the payment.

Thanks.


Would appreciate your help! Thanks!!!!

DizzleUK

*Shuffles uncomfortably*

I don't like this one bit. Having experienced scam attempts myself in the past (and not fallen for them) I really don't like the wording and phrasing this guy uses. English is definitely not his first language and his name (albeit backwards) is a very English sounding name.

There's not an awful lot he can do with your bank details except to set up direct debits on it (so check your account regularly over the coming weeks). Expect some sort of fake transfer confirmation email from him tomorrow or some other "problem".

It may be geniune for all I know, but be very careful how you proceed with this. We're here to help if needed.

Plus, I would NEVER use Gumtree to sell anything. Far too many scary stories. At least with eBay you can use Paypal and get some protection.

preable

Sounds like a scam maybe you get a email saying once posted and recived tracking number the funds will be released. If this happens do not send!

esuhl

I agree - the language does sound slightly strange... Assuming you get the bank transfer, I would call your bank and ask them to confirm whether it has actually cleared your account and whether the payment can be subsequently cancelled.

Olipro

Sounds fine to me, all I can say is that you should NOT ship anything until you see the funds in your account with your own eyes, I suggest you make the buyer aware of this right now by informing him that if the payment goes by BACS he will have to wait till you see the money (typically 3 working days)

DizzleUK

Olipro wrote: »

Sounds fine to me, all I can say is that you should NOT ship anything until you see the funds in your account with your own eyes, I suggest you make the buyer aware of this right now by informing him that if the payment goes by BACS he will have to wait till you see the money (typically 3 working days)

Advice is good, but this sounds far from fine to me. The clues are there....

1. Foreign English.
2. Delivery will be to somewhere other than where the emailer is.
3. Name doesn't fit
4. Gumtree

I'm fairly certain the OPs bank details will be fine, but at some point after tomorrow morning there will be an attempt to get the OP to send the bag before seeing the money.

Far too many times in the past I have been subject to bogus people trying to buy stuff I've been selling. 9 times out of 10 they originate from Nigeria.

Olipro

payments made by bank transfer are generally irreversible, if they were looking to get the goods and the money a bank transfer is not the way to do it.

DizzleUK

Olipro wrote: »

payments made by bank transfer are generally irreversible, if they were looking to get the goods and the money a bank transfer is not the way to do it.

The scam usually works by the scammer gaining the bank details of the mark so that they can generate fake emails/documents/reference numbers that look completely genuine on first inspection so that they can dupe the mark into sending the goods.

The email would go something along the lines of...

Dear NatWest Customer,

We have received a payment of £450 by way of bank transfer to your bank account 01-23-45 12345678 on Monday 19th July 2010.

We understand that this transfer is in reference to a Sale of Goods and therefore, for your security and for that of the payer, we have held the money in a suspense account until such time as the payer has confirmed receipt of the goods.

Once this is confirmed, the £450 will then show in your available balance on your account.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter and thank you for banking with us.

Yours sincerely,

NatWest Bank Manager

It doesn't take many marks to fall for this to make it profitable for the scammers, and you wouldn't believe (it's getting better though as people get more informed) how many people accept such emails on face value without confirming it with their bank first.

Princess00

Thank you very much everyone!!

I'll look out for the emails, and i'll ring the bank...

: )

Olipro

of course, but nonetheless, in any such instance, no money ever hits the recipient account. so long as you ensure NOT to respond to any inquiring phone calls/emails/letters and simply do nothing until you sight the money in your account you're not going to fall victim.

DizzleUK

Princess00 wrote: »

Thank you very much everyone!!

I'll look out for the emails, and i'll ring the bank...

: )

Please do let us know how this pans out.