Possible Scam (what's your thoughts)

[Nigel Wallace]

Folks

As far as i am concerned this is a scam but i wanted to run this by you guys to see if anyone else has had a similar experience

A few weeks ago someone contacted me for a shoot, I explained the fees and agreed the price, The customer wanted to send me the deposit but was sending it via a third party as he was abroad at that time . Now i get a cheque come throught the post for 10 times the amount of the photo shoot. I point this out to the customer and was told it was the third parties mistake and that i should cash my part of the chq and forward the rest to the person who made the mistake , and oh yea i need to use western Union for the money transfer.

Now i am not that stupid ( at least i like to think i am not) but this sounds like a scam to me. I am sure i have heard before that if i carried out these instructions (which i will not) then at some stage the cheque will not clear or there will be a problem with it and the funds wil not be avaliable, however its too late for the unfortunate person as they will have forwarded on money that you will not ever see again .

Am i correct in my thinking and has this happened to anyone in the past#

I still have the chq in my posession and have asked to send it back to the sender , at the moment it has gone very quiet and they have not answered my emails for a few days despite some earlier pressure to carry out the above instructions

Cheers

Nigel

[elysium]

Scam. Do not accept it nor deal with the client.

[Pete]

Yes it is a scam. The cheque will likely be fake and although initally cleared by the bank, you'll find that the funds will disappear after a few days.

In the meantime, you will have sent your goods/services to the recipient.

[Nigel Wallace]

Guys

Thanks for the confirmation, I knew it was but wanted a second opinion, I think its one of those nigerian scams

There is no way on earth i will be putting this chq any where near my back account

Happy days huh

Cheers

Nigel

[Pete]

http://www.safefromscams.co.uk/ChequeScams.html

[Nigel Wallace]

Thanks for the link Pete, useful stuff

cheers

Nigel

[todd8762]

I would take the check and any other information you have to the police.
explain everything to them, even if they can't help you, you will make them aware of this scam.

[OdiN1701]

Yup scam.

A good way to test:

Did it come over the internet or in an email? It's a scam. :P

[amfoto1]

It most certainly is a scam.

Inform the "client" you will be very happy to return their overpayment, as soon as your bank has confirmed the check has cleared. Due to the overseas check, it will be a minimum of 30 days and possibly even 45 days or longer. International banking is damned slow.

You'll never hear from them again.

This is exactly what these scammers rely upon, the ridiculous delay in clearing checks internationally.

A friend of mine was approached in exactly the same way. After informing them of his policy on checks clearing, they disappeared and he never heard from them again. He never even got a "payment".

These scammers are specifically targeting professional photographers. The person who calls is knowledgeable about photography and the terminology. It was a woman who "booked" the session with my friend.

Get this, she called him... not an email or anything like that. So, they are working the phone lines, too, now.

The "10X" amount they are trying to ding you for is a new record high, I think, in the amount they are trying to rip people off.

They also target people selling cars, boats, airplanes, all sorts of high ticket items. They've been working a similar scam on eBay and Craigslist for years.

A guy here in the SF Bay Area was just recently arrested for his part in just this sort of scheme. He was the "local third party" who dropped off the "payment" and was supposed to pickup the refund and the merchandise for "shipment to the seller", I seem to recall. I think this group was targeting computer, primarily sellers on Craisglist.

The check you received and any info you have might be useful to the police. They are aggressively pursuing these scams.

[Nigel Wallace]

Thanks for your feedback guys , the chq actually came by post from another country but the communications has been via email only.

Since i told them i would not cash this chq and to give me an address to send it back to i have not heard anything since , not that i am surprised by this. I am surprised on the lengths they went to though to try and make it look a proper business transaction

Cheers

Nigel

[Pinto]

Originally Posted by Nigel Wallace

Thanks for your feedback guys , the chq actually came by post from another country but the communications has been via email only.

Since i told them i would not cash this chq and to give me an address to send it back to i have not heard anything since , not that i am surprised by this. I am surprised on the lengths they went to though to try and make it look a proper business transaction

Cheers

Nigel

That's the convincing part. That's what made you wonder a little if it was legit, now didn't it. It's well worth the effort for them. They develop the formula and the template and then send out hundreds or thousands of these "opportunities" a week. A certain percentage of recipients are going to bite the hook.

[figmented]

lawls, if u can't figure out if it's a scam i feel sorry for you

[neilwood32]

Originally Posted by figmented

lawls, if u can't figure out if it's a scam i feel sorry for you

Not a very constructive comment!

The OP did feel that it was a scam and just posted to double check.

If you cant say anything helpful, please dont say anything.