Genuine buyer or scam?

dieselnutjob · 14 September 2019 at 12:12PM

I have some expensive alloy wheels and tyres for sale on Facebook.
I received a message from a fellow in Luxembourg who asked if I would ship them to Luxembourg or Germany (I'm in the UK).
He is said that he's willing to pay the post and he's seen the hi-res images and he knows what he's getting.
He also asking for my bank details and home address, and after I didn't reply for a bit he suggested swapping images of identity cards.

So here is where things get interesting.

I actually have a Euro "bank account" with Transferwise and that is the account for which I would give details (IBAN, SWIFT/BIC and bank address). I actually doubt very much that he could do anything malicious with this. I can't get hold of Transferwise to ask them (it's the weekend), but by the time I give him those details the account would be empty anyway, I have a small balance in there but I can just transfer it out before.

So. What are the NORMAL identity theft tricks that people would play with name, address, bank details etc, and, do these tricks apply to Transferwise?

Frankly if he wants my home address he could find it with a google search in two minutes anyway (I checked).

Instead of giving him what he asked for I have asked him for a phone number. He has given me a number in Luxembourg to call this evening.

Maybe he's genuine and I would quite like to sell these wheels....

I found it a bit strange that his first message to me was in Flemish when the listing was in English and clearly showed that the wheels are in the UK.

blue.peter · 14 September 2019 at 1:01PM

Sounds a bit iffy to me.

I can't think of any good reason why he'd need your home address. That doesn't mean that there isn't such a reason, of course - just that I can't think of it.

Do you have a PayPal account? That might be safer to use than giving the prospective buyer details of your bank account. OTOH, the downside is that you'd end up having to pay PayPal's charges. Is it worth paying that for peace of mind?

dieselnutjob · 14 September 2019 at 1:16PM

I did think about that but to be honest I think that it's worse. With PayPal he could raise a dispute with them claiming that they didn't arrive and cause a charge back, and he could do this months after the fact.

If he does a bank transfer into my transferwise account then he won't be able to get it back unless he takes me to court.

jonesMUFCforever · 14 September 2019 at 5:59PM

Ask yourself this - could he source the same goods in Luxembourg? The answer has to be probably yes - so why is he so interested in yours?

IMO it has to be some kind of scam - perhaps making a bank transfer to you using dirty money or as above the 'old goods not received' trick.
Remember if you receive laundered money it will be your account that might be frozen while you try and explain the source whilst the fraudster will probably sell on your goods to make a profit.

If you don't want to lose out especially if using Facebook just tell any potential buyer to knock at your door with cash.

londoninvestor · 14 September 2019 at 6:21PM

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

IMO it has to be some kind of scam - perhaps making a bank transfer to you using dirty money or as above the 'old goods not received' trick.
Remember if you receive laundered money it will be your account that might be frozen while you try and explain the source whilst the fraudster will probably sell on your goods to make a profit.

Or perhaps the trick of "accidentally" paying too much into your account and asking you if you wouldn't mind returning the difference... after which the original transfer into your account is retracted, leaving you out of pocket.

18cc · 14 September 2019 at 8:07PM

If you have sold something expensive on eBay then the best advice I can give you is to.insist on collect only and payment in cash

Even if the buyer in Luxembourg is genuine they could receive the goods and then claim something is wrong - you will then have to refund everything including postage and shipping

x_raphael_xx · 14 September 2019 at 8:10PM

I think the ususal scam is he will pay you more, and ask you to use a certain shipping company (which is his).
He transfers funds, you pay the 'shipping' from this. Bank then reverses the false transfer, leaving you out of pocket for the shipping.

boo_star · 14 September 2019 at 11:39PM

Germans are very used to paying by bank transfer. It's entirely normal for them.

That doesn't mean it's not a scam but bear that in mind

dieselnutjob · 14 September 2019 at 11:52PM

I didn't think that bank transfers can be reversed without the permission of the recipient, although reading about it there is the corner case of them walking into a branch and paying a cheque straight into your account which bounces a few days later. There was a thread 5422326 on this site about it ( I can't post links yet).
I have bought alloy wheels in France before and had them posted because that model simply wasn't available in the UK.
The wheels that I'm selling are for a Jaguar XJ and they are that common in continental Europe.
I asked the fellow for a phone number to call and chat about. He sent me a mobile number which I have tried texting (SMSs cannot be forwarded like calls) but it's all gone quiet.

dieselnutjob · 14 September 2019 at 11:54PM

Sorry I meant that they aren't that common in continental Europe.

jonesMUFCforever · 14 September 2019 at 11:57PM

dieselnutjob wrote: »

Sorry I meant that they aren't that common in continental Europe.

If he wants them that bad let him come to your house with cash to collect.
That is the only way that potentially you won't be scammed.

Genuine buyer or scam?

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