overpayment scam

scheming_gypsy

goodz wrote: »

Did you report it to the police or are you going to let the scammers carry on looking for their next victims?

There's nothing to report to the police until the money has been refunded and the cheque bounces / reported as stolen as there's no crime been comitted.

pmduk

porkev wrote: »

nothing, but they will find out it is fake/stolen at the issueing bank and if you cash a fake cheque you willl probably get a fine from the bank,

A bank can't fine you, however there may be bank charges and possibly your account my be closed and a CIFAS marker placed on your credit record.

MeanParent

How about asking the police if they want to set up a sting operation?

If they agree, tell the fraudsters that you don't want to sent a cheque out as it may get lost in the post and suggest that you meet to pick up the cash. The police, being there with you could nab the fraudsters.

Of course in reality this would never happen as the police are too busy stopping people taking photographs.

gb12345

MeanParent wrote: »

How about asking the police if they want to set up a sting operation?

If they agree, tell the fraudsters that you don't want to sent a cheque out as it may get lost in the post and suggest that you meet to pick up the cash. The police, being there with you could nab the fraudsters.

It is likely that the real scammers aren't even in the UK, they will be operating from somewhere like West Africa and use mules (innocent victims who think they are issuing cheques as part of a job) to actually send the cheques.

As to cashing the cheque, don't do it. The fact that it is fake/stolen will eventually be discovered by the banks and the money will be clawed back from your account.

For more details on this type of scam, there is a wealth of information on www.scamwarners.com, including a whole forum on online selling scams http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=6

Claree__x

marywooyeah wrote: »

see this has always confused me - whats to stop you just cashing the cheque and keeping the money without sending them anything?

Cheques take up to 10 working days to "clear" but on most ocassions the funds are made available to you after 4/5 working days after the basic audits have been done.

What the scammers count on is you sending them the money after the funds have become available but by the time the 10 working days is up the funds will no longer be available and you'll be down a good few quid.

goodz

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

There's nothing to report to the police until the money has been refunded and the cheque bounces / reported as stolen as there's no crime been comitted.

No, you're wrong, you don't understand, it's an active criminal gang at large doing crime and attempting to do crime. That's a job for the police. That's what the cops are supposed to do, catch criminals. Not that they bother much, of course. Which is one of the main reasons why there's always so much crime everywhere all the time.

zagfles

Claree__x wrote: »

Cheques take up to 10 working days to "clear" but on most ocassions the funds are made available to you after 4/5 working days after the basic audits have been done.

What the scammers count on is you sending them the money after the funds have become available but by the time the 10 working days is up the funds will no longer be available and you'll be down a good few quid.

No, cheques take 6 working days to clear for "certain". Rules changed in 2007.

Supposedly you are protected unless you are a "knowing party" to a fraud, but I wouldn't rely on that in a case like this - they will probably claim you should have known.

http://www.chequeandcredit.co.uk/246/

pmduk

MeanParent wrote: »

How about asking the police if they want to set up a sting operation?

Unfortunately in most areas of the UK the police are too interested in counting crime and issuing press releases to actually investigate anything.

zagfles

goodz wrote: »

No, you're wrong, you don't understand, it's an active criminal gang at large doing crime and attempting to do crime. That's a job for the police. That's what the cops are supposed to do, catch criminals. Not that they bother much, of course. Which is one of the main reasons why there's always so much crime everywhere all the time.

The OP hasn't been a victim of any crime and can't be certain this is a scam at all. It is not up to the OP to report it to the police, it's up to the bank. Which is why I suggested reporting it to the bank the cheque was drawn on as they'll be able to determine if/what crime has been committed, and deal with it appropriately.

porkev

thank you for your replies,
It just looked weird to me because when I suggested they stop the cheque at the bank and send another one for the right amount they got very evasive why sending them the balance was the easiest way, also when I checked the address on the back of the envelope the name , the address, the postcode were all true but they didn't go together,
I said last night I had shredded it, which I was going to do but I changed my mind and today I took it to Barclays (issueing bank) after about 1/2 an hour they said though the numbers on the cheque were ok, it looked nothing like the signature they had on file so they suggested going to the police which I did straight away, they took a some info from me and I have to go back tomorrow with the emails that she(he/it) had sent me;
I know no crime has been committed as such and I don't expect anything to happen but if it maybe stops one person getting caught, it is worth the effort
many thanks
Kevin