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Beware cheque scam

Marcus Robinson2022-05-24 09:09:31

There is a cheque scam doing the rounds and specifically targetting this site for those selling tandems.  Someone contacts you with an innocuous name (in my case Michael Sutton) and does some minor haggling on the price of your tandem.  They agree to buy it but explain they are doing so based on trust / pictures and will send you a cheque covering its cost and the cost of shipping.  A cheque (fake) does indeed materialise - but it is in Euros and for substantially more than you are expecting.  There is, of course, an explanation (in my case, lots of other items being picked up - extra money to cover this).  The scam relies on the fact that if you deposit the cheque, funds will appear in your account before the bank establishes the cheque is a fake and takes the funds back again - during which time, you will, if you have been taken in by the scam, have sent money covering the difference between your sale price and the amount on the cheque you received.  I spotted the scam straight away (combination of standard name Michael Sutton and non mother tongue English in the communication) and played along with it for a while to waste the scammer's time... but it would be easy to be taken in, especially as funds will temporarily credit to your bank account.

Forewarned is forearmed.

Richard Law2022-05-24 14:12:32
This sounds like exactly the same person ('Michael Sutton') that contacted me a few weeks ago about my For Sale item, and which is documented in the forum at that time. I realised what was going on from the same sort of clues, and broke off contact with him/her soon afterwards - well before getting to the point of receiving a cheque from him. He's persistent, if nothing else.
As you say, forewarned is indeed forearmed in cases like this.
Lester Wagman2022-05-24 16:29:27
You should definitely report such cases. NCA takes them seriously and will investigate Avoid and report internet scams and phishing: Report internet scams and phishing - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Tim Ashelford2022-06-29 22:28:42
I've been approached this week by "Daniel Reed" in France (he claims) using the same scam for a Tandem I've advertised  on the forum. He sent me a Euro cheque which I won't be cashing!  Presume it's fake anyway. Take care.