Buyer offering bankers draft before collecting later
Discussion
Hi All
Has anyone selling a car here recently been offered a bankers draft in the post for collection later?
I actually work in the area of financial crime, fraud and identity. So I know a bit about the scams that have been around. But was wondering if other people had been contacted by the same person as me
Has anyone selling a car here recently been offered a bankers draft in the post for collection later?
I actually work in the area of financial crime, fraud and identity. So I know a bit about the scams that have been around. But was wondering if other people had been contacted by the same person as me
Be very careful
bankers draft is a rare form of payment these days simply because there are not the bank branches around to get one from and its cheaper/more convenient/safer to use electrnoic payments. If its being posted then it could be fake/stolen/altered. People just dont see them very often these days so the scam to some extent relies on unfamiliarity. When I worked in a bank (a few years ago) and issued them the branch is clearly marked on there. I would be very cautious. Ultimately if you pay it in a credit will appear on your account but do not assume is cleared at any point, Part of a possible fraud will rely on the draft not being paid and it maybe a few days before your bank find out that its 'unpaid' another fraud is whee you are asked to refund some of the value and part with the money before the draft has cleared.
bankers draft is a rare form of payment these days simply because there are not the bank branches around to get one from and its cheaper/more convenient/safer to use electrnoic payments. If its being posted then it could be fake/stolen/altered. People just dont see them very often these days so the scam to some extent relies on unfamiliarity. When I worked in a bank (a few years ago) and issued them the branch is clearly marked on there. I would be very cautious. Ultimately if you pay it in a credit will appear on your account but do not assume is cleared at any point, Part of a possible fraud will rely on the draft not being paid and it maybe a few days before your bank find out that its 'unpaid' another fraud is whee you are asked to refund some of the value and part with the money before the draft has cleared.
Has a faint whiff of fishiness about it.
Bank drafts are very rare these days. I can understand some people are old school, and maybe fail to keep up with current technology. But there really is no reason not to do a bank transfer instead. This is 2022 after all, not 1982.
Bank draft will likely be forged, be presented to your bank, who will credit the amount to your account, and then once your bank tries to clear the payment in a few days, it will bounce.
I'd be asking for a bank transfer instead. What does the buyer sound like, any alarm bells when you've spoken to him?
Bank drafts are very rare these days. I can understand some people are old school, and maybe fail to keep up with current technology. But there really is no reason not to do a bank transfer instead. This is 2022 after all, not 1982.
Bank draft will likely be forged, be presented to your bank, who will credit the amount to your account, and then once your bank tries to clear the payment in a few days, it will bounce.
I'd be asking for a bank transfer instead. What does the buyer sound like, any alarm bells when you've spoken to him?
Thats What She Said said:
Has a faint whiff of fishiness about it.
Bank drafts are very rare these days.
I did actually use one to buy my last Caterham around 7 years ago. When I bought the draft from the main branch of HSBC here on the IOW they had not issued one in the previous 7 months. When I worked there 20/25 years ago we were doing 5/7 a week. The vendor did not want cash and I dont do mobile phones or online banking and as there was a 1% doubt I might not come away with the car I did not want to make a prior payment so a draft was the answer. He also banked with HSBC had had spoken to his branch about it and they verified with my branch it was genuine for him. I had also made the journey to see the car a few weeks before and the transaction had evolved over several phone calls prior to that. I am well know where I live so he could check me out.Bank drafts are very rare these days.
mersontheperson said:
Hi All
Has anyone selling a car here recently been offered a bankers draft in the post for collection later?
I actually work in the area of financial crime, fraud and identity. So I know a bit about the scams that have been around. But was wondering if other people had been contacted by the same person as me
In the '80s is was normal to buy with a banker's draft which was (IIRC) considered cleared funds.Has anyone selling a car here recently been offered a bankers draft in the post for collection later?
I actually work in the area of financial crime, fraud and identity. So I know a bit about the scams that have been around. But was wondering if other people had been contacted by the same person as me
OP how long after your receipt of the draft is the buyer planning on collecting the vehicle?
Thanks everyone,
No time frame has been given, I am 95% sure there is something fishy and the use of English has a couple of tell tale signs that the person is not a native English speaker, even though their name seems of Irish construct.
However if it were a scammer, surely they would have sent the email to multiple adverts, not just mine? Having said that relatively few cars for here are from private sellers.
These scams were prevalent 10 or more years ago, just surprised that it is still a method they would use.
I will reply with a suggestion of talking on the phone first and instant bank transfer
No time frame has been given, I am 95% sure there is something fishy and the use of English has a couple of tell tale signs that the person is not a native English speaker, even though their name seems of Irish construct.
However if it were a scammer, surely they would have sent the email to multiple adverts, not just mine? Having said that relatively few cars for here are from private sellers.
These scams were prevalent 10 or more years ago, just surprised that it is still a method they would use.
I will reply with a suggestion of talking on the phone first and instant bank transfer
we had a scammer try to pay by bankers draft...
emailed us a few times, said would pay by draft and sure enough it arrived in the post but it was through a french bank not suspicious at all..
he even emailed back a few days later saying he was sending a company to collect the car, Very persistent scammer indeed
emailed us a few times, said would pay by draft and sure enough it arrived in the post but it was through a french bank not suspicious at all..
he even emailed back a few days later saying he was sending a company to collect the car, Very persistent scammer indeed
Edited by Dan W. on Sunday 25th September 15:42
Mark V GTD said:
I would suggest block and delete in that case.
That’s the logical thing to do, but it might also be fun to get the check, deposit it and then see what happens. Obviously refusing to give them the car, a V5 or any sort of receipt. It would be nice if I could get the police involved and catch them, but I am 99% sure they couldn’t be bothered mersontheperson said:
That’s the logical thing to do, but it might also be fun to get the check, deposit it and then see what happens. Obviously refusing to give them the car, a V5 or any sort of receipt. It would be nice if I could get the police involved and catch them, but I am 99% sure they couldn’t be bothered
Careful OP. You may be dealing with someone who might find it 'fun' to involve themselves in your life in ways that you'd rather they didn'tGassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff