Sellers beware.

[ST840]

Those of you whom may be selling their boats, beware of this scam. Ive had interest from this guy (?) who starts with a general enquiry and then doesn't respond to your reply. Then he returns stating he's been in hospital etc etc. asks some more general questions about servicing and price, nothing in detail.
Then this arrives.....


Hello




Good day to you and thanks for the reply and information you provided for the sales.

My client has arranged a shipping agent for pickup after we might have paid you. The agent / shipper will come with all the necessary papers and documents for the title, pick-up and handle the paper signing.


Meanwhile, my client has approved a US bank cashier’s cheque payment of $83,900 USD (£72,500 Pounds) which is equivalent to cash, to be send to you. This will handle the cost of the sales and cover it transportation - shipping to my client location.

Once you receive the payment, deduct the cost of your sales of £54,000 and send the balance of £18,500 to the shipping agent (Their details will be send to you) to enable them to fly to your location the next day, and conclude the transaction.

Your ability to follow up with details and instructions given, will help to tidy up the sales without delay.

Confirm the payment arrangement and send the following details below for your cheque to be made.

Your full names: ……………………………
Your address: ………………………………
Phone number: ……………………………..



Always look out for my message, for proper updates.

Thank you.
Foster Buzza.
Atlanta, GA 30345,
United States

Obviously no personal details have been handed over as it's quite clearly a scam, but others might not realise so thought I'd share!

 

[bowler]

Yes. That's a classic. Dodgy cheque takes a day or 2 to make itself known and in the meantime your shipping money is long gone!

 

[ST840]

Yes. That's a classic. Dodgy cheque takes a day or 2 to make itself known and in the meantime your shipping money is long gone!

I was thinking more about identify theft also, giving all your personal details to a stranger ?

 

[Seashoreman]

I was thinking more about identify theft also, giving all your personal details to a stranger ?

I personally pay to advertise my full name, address and phone number. I also have a website where these details are predominant.
I hand out business cards that have my bank details on, as does very many emails I receive.
No problems with identity theft or otherwise. Most people's details are freely available.

 

[ST840]

I personally pay to advertise my full name, address and phone number. I also have a website where these details are predominant.
I hand out business cards that have my bank details on, as does very many emails I receive.
No problems with identity theft or otherwise. Most people's details are freely available.

So you would be happy with this kind of approach from a stranger from abroad?

 

[Seashoreman]

So you would be happy with this kind of approach from a stranger from abroad?

No, I would ignore the whole communication. My point was that these details of most of us commoners are freely available to anyone anywhere.

 

[ST840]

No, I would ignore the whole communication. My point was that these details of most of us commoners are freely available to anyone anywhere.

Yeah I get that. We only had to go back to the phone book days etc.
So, what is to gain by somebody asking for these details? Any level headed individual is going to be suspicious. Except for @paradave and @dankilb who find it amusing!

 

[Zig Zag]

In my experience of buying & selling boat, there seems to be a lot of scammers about. They seem to “offer asking price“ and “transfer money in 2 days” etc, them they quiet & say they can’t answer your call due to hearing problems (no offence to anyone with hearing problems).

I find with scam listings, the boats seem to be valued a lot less compared to others of the same model & year, I always ask more detailed questions to sus them out.

Stay safe out there.

 

[Leighb]

The bad grammar is a give away in itself, unless of course he means what he says "My client has arranged a shipping agent for pickup after we might have paid you."

 

[mikefleetwood]

Those of you whom may be selling their boats, beware of this scam. Ive had interest from this guy (?) who starts with a general enquiry and then doesn't respond to your reply. Then he returns stating he's been in hospital etc etc. asks some more general questions about servicing and price, nothing in detail.
Then this arrives.....


Hello




Good day to you and thanks for the reply and information you provided for the sales.

My client has arranged a shipping agent for pickup after we might have paid you. The agent / shipper will come with all the necessary papers and documents for the title, pick-up and handle the paper signing.


Meanwhile, my client has approved a US bank cashier’s cheque payment of $83,900 USD (£72,500 Pounds) which is equivalent to cash, to be send to you. This will handle the cost of the sales and cover it transportation - shipping to my client location.

Once you receive the payment, deduct the cost of your sales of £54,000 and send the balance of £18,500 to the shipping agent (Their details will be send to you) to enable them to fly to your location the next day, and conclude the transaction.

Your ability to follow up with details and instructions given, will help to tidy up the sales without delay.

Confirm the payment arrangement and send the following details below for your cheque to be made.

Your full names: ……………………………
Your address: ………………………………
Phone number: ……………………………..



Always look out for my message, for proper updates.

Thank you.
Foster Buzza.
Atlanta, GA 30345,
United States

Obviously no personal details have been handed over as it's quite clearly a scam, but others might not realise so thought I'd share!

As others have said, this is a pretty standard scam, albeit on a larger scale than most.
Basically, the "buyer" sends a cheque, or similar, payment - which, for some random reason is significantly higher than the asking price - then asks for the excess payment to be reimbursed. It works because the original cheque is fraudulent or forged, but being international your bank marks it as "cleared" after a few days, but in actuality it can be reversed upto 6 months (it may be more!) later. Meanwhile, you have refunded the excess by international bank transfer - which can't be reversed, at least in part, because the recipient bank account will have been closed by the time you realise.
Just delete the email, and have a chuckle about the audacity of it.

 

[ST840]

As others have said, this is a pretty standard scam, albeit on a larger scale than most.
Basically, the "buyer" sends a cheque, or similar, payment - which, for some random reason is significantly higher than the asking price - then asks for the excess payment to be reimbursed. It works because the original cheque is fraudulent or forged, but being international your bank marks it as "cleared" after a few days, but in actuality it can be reversed upto 6 months (it may be more!) later. Meanwhile, you have refunded the excess by international bank transfer - which can't be reversed, at least in part, because the recipient bank account will have been closed by the time you realise.
Just delete the email, and have a chuckle about the audacity of it.

That's pretty much what I did with it. It was obviously a scam email contact , but one is not seen before. So thought I'd share it just incase others hadn't either.

 

[Farmer Piles]

It can also be used as a form of money laundering or cleaning dirty money. My daughter worked in high end lettings in London and they used to get it all the time. Someone would put an offer in to rent a flat and pay a hefty deposit. They would then come up with an excuse as to why they had to pull out and ask for the money to be paid into a different account. That money can now be seen to come from, in this case, Hamptons a legit source and is now clean and useable. It was company policy that any monies returned were always paid back to the same account from whence it came so as not to be sucked into money laundering
Similarly a friend who rents a student let had someone from China send a £3000 deposit and then asked for it back into a different account. She contacted the police who said it was a scam and to keep the money. She was no better off as she had missed out on a let.

 

[bowler]

That's pretty much what I did with it. It was obviously a scam email contact , but one is not seen before. So thought I'd share it just incase others hadn't either.

Indeed. No harm in sharing at all.

D