FraudWatchers Forums

[davenerven]

OVERPAYMENT SCAMS

These scams work because they rely on the inherent honesty of ordinary people. That's right - people are scammed because of their own honesty and trust in other people.

The scammers prey on people selling things on the internet or through newspapers or catalogues or auctions or any other means of advertising. Typically, they would start innocently enough, as seen below in Example 1. When the seller responds, then the "payment" terms are mentioned by the buyer and they are invariably a payment document or the promise of a wire transfer or electronic payment of an amount MORE than the asking price of the goods sold. Payment documents include fake or stolen items such as bankers drafts, money orders, postal orders, cashier's cheque, or personal cheques. Other methods of payment include a "Western Union" or "Moneygram" or "Paypal" payment, or a wire transfer (whereby the scammer deposits fake funds into YOUR account). Such a response can be seen in Example 2.

The common thing to be aware of is that these scammers very seldom CARE about the original goods that people are selling. Often they do not even KNOW what it is they are pretending to buy, so it is often easy to catch them out by just asking them a few questions about the things that are being sold. However, this lack of knowledge about the product does not stop them collecting the merchandise whenever possible.

The tragic thing is that people suffer not only the loss of the money, and often the goods (which are often discarded or sold off very cheaply elsewhere), but they suffer again when their banks discover that the payments are fraudulent, for the banks may well choose to demand repayment and/or prosecute the people who had used their bank accounts for paying in these fake funds. This causes hardship, obviously, as people do not expect these unexpected demands for cash, and as a result their credit ratings often would suffer badly as well. Some wholly innocent people have even gone to jail because the courts did not believe them when the banks prosecuted them for fraud. One thing that REALLY upsets me about these scammers is that they often buy expensive pedigree animals with these scams and then either kill, torture or dump the animals out on the road after they have collected the "overpayment" amount. I love animals and I would rather have cars run over the scammers than hurt innocent creatures.

Example 1.
Hello
Gooday to you, i am Mr James Beecrofts, i reside in uk but now i am on a business trip in canada, i came across your ad and i am interested, i will like you to get back to me so that we can discuss concerning the payment and shipping arrangements, i will be awaiting your soonest reply back...thanks you
Thanks Mr James..

Example 2.
Hello Harald,
Thanks for the mail,I have seen the price and its ok by me then i have instructed my client in to issue the Certifier Cashier's Cheque on your name, in Euro funds. meanwhlie i also instructed him to include your money on the payment so you should expect a cheque of £150,000.So as soon as you receive it i'll like you to proceed to your Bank and have it cashed Deduct your payment for (GREDALE FLEX PRINTING & CONVERTING MACHINE) which is £ - £89000 then you have the excess funds wired to my shipper Via western union in uk who will be coming for the shippment along side other goods i placed order for in care of my shipper.I'll also like you to know that as soon as you RECEIVE the cheque after cashing it at your Bank,deduct an extra £1000 for your stress of cashing and the cost of wiring the remaining funds
lilrichie_ng: funds to my shipper that same day. My SHIPPER will come for pick up on a specicified date that will be convenient for you.My shipper will give you a call as soon as you receive the cheque and guide you as you proceed I hope i can count on you for my balance I ALSO WANT THIS TO BASE ON TRUST CAN I TRUST YOU?... hope this is understandable and ok,I will also like you to feed me out with your details this includes..
FULL NAME:.....
ADDRESS:.....
CITY:......
STATE:.......
ZIP CODE:.......
PHONE NUMBER: (these includes both home and mobile number)
i await your soonest reply to my mail.
Kindest Regards Mr James.....