'Buy and Sell' , ebay scam concerning bike: cheque for deposit

C

Cati76

Registered User
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130
Hi,

I am not sure if this is the place for this, but here we go.
My partner is trying to sell a bike for a good while now, he is not really push, but if he manages to sell his, he will be able to get a bigger one (boys and bikes...). The thing is that he had tried a couple of bike shops, ebay, but no luck.. Today he calls me to tell me that someone from USA has sent him an email saying he's interested, agreed with the price, say he will send a deposit, and then someone will call over to pay for the rest....I haven't much info, but it looks like a scam to me. Has anyone heard about something like that before?

Thanks.
 
Re: Bike scams

Hard to say, one way or the other. Haven't heard of such a scam specifically, relating to bikes.

However, you've nothing to lose by going along with it for a bit at the start. See if the deposit arrives.

It it was a scam, I'd expect the deposit to be larger than expected, by cheque, and then your buyer will ask for a refund of the overpayment. Of course, the deposit cheque won't clear then.

If the deposit arrives, and clears okay, then no problems.
 
Re: Bike scams

I think the problem is that some form of foreign drafts take a no. of weeks to clear, the bank initially credits your account, but can then remove the money if it turns out to be a forgery etc.

Once you know how they plan to pay the deposit, I would check with your bank if there are any potential issues with this.
 
Re: Bike scams

This scam is hugely popular in the UK due a loophole in UK banking legislation that allows foreign issued cheques to be cancelled after they have cleared in the UK banking system.

Ask this person to send cash via Western Union and you'll find out how serious they are. Is this person saying they are going to ship this bike to the US? Unless it's something pretty special, this sounds a bit odd to me as bikes are cheaper over there!
Leo
 
Re: Bike scams

Cati76 said:
Hi,

I am not sure if this is the place for this, but here we go.
My partner is trying to sell a bike for a good while now, he is not really push, but if he manages to sell his, he will be able to get a bigger one (boys and bikes...). The thing is that he had tried a couple of bike shops, ebay, but no luck.. Today he calls me to tell me that someone from USA has sent him an email saying he's interested, agreed with the price, say he will send a deposit, and then someone will call over to pay for the rest....I haven't much info, but it looks like a scam to me. Has anyone heard about something like that before?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I AM SHOCKED TO SEE THIS THREAD! I was just about to post the exact same message today (my husband is also selling his bike thru Buy and Sell). I will PM you to see if it is the same person who emailed my husband was the person who mailed your husband. My husband got a text and then the person emailed him and he emailed back pictures of the bike.My husband was given the exact same spiel as your husband. I told my husband that I suspected it was a scam of some kind and that I was going to post on here to see if anyone could shed any light!!!!
 
Re: Bike scams

brodiebabe said:
I AM SHOCKED TO SEE THIS THREAD! I was just about to post the exact same message today (my husband is also selling his bike thru Buy and Sell). I will PM you to see if it is the same person who emailed my husband was the person who mailed your husband. My husband got a text and then the person emailed him and he emailed back pictures of the bike.My husband was given the exact same spiel as your husband. I told my husband that I suspected it was a scam of some kind and that I was going to post on here to see if anyone could shed any light!!!!
Click to expand...

I called my bf (not my hubby yet, but working on it), and I can confirm it's the same person. So everybody out there be aware of the scam. I will try to get as much info from my bf as possible to post it, so you can put the word out there. Selling bikes it's really difficult in Ireland due to insurance, so it came to a shock when he mentioned it today that someone from the States wants to get a bike from Europe, where they are more expensive.
 
Re: Bike scams

Brodiebabe and Cati76,

Have you contacted BuyandSell to let them know about this scam?
 
Re: Bike scams

My husband received this email an hour ago (See below)............

I will contact the "Buy and Sell" now to make them aware of this scam and my husband has sent a mail to the scam artist saying that he thinks this transaction is suspicious and that he is contacting the Irish police with the details.



************************


pls,here is my terms of payment..

Thanks for the mail .

I do want you to understand that i have agreed with
the price of purchasing the bike for 7100 EUR

I want you to know that i got in contact with my associate
in the france before travelling to the USA,who owes me the
sum of 11,600 euros which he as agreed to send a cheque OF
11600 euros to you .

I would need your full name , contact address and
phone no ,so that the cheque can be sent to your
address.As soon as you recieved the cheque:

1)You would then have the cheque of(11,600 euros ) cashed,
2)collect how much i BOUGHT IT for 7100 EUR
3)And have the rest of the money sent to my agent
through western union money transfer so that he
can come to your location TO CONCLUDE THE TRANSACTION and
for the shippment of the bike
I read from you, with your contact details for the
cheque to be sent to you.

Carl
 
Re: Bike scams

Scam

1. The cheque draft will probably 'bounce' leaving you with no bike and no money.
2. You will also be down the €3,500 that you have sent to their 'agent'.
 
Re: Bike scams

my friend in edinburgh has told me he trying to sell 2 bikes there and the only replies he has got are similar to these a guy who owes them money will pay but it 1200 sterling more than amount of bikes but they trust him to send balance by western union they have sent him cheque for amount but he bined it and has heard no more
 
Re: Bike scams

After advertising a car on everything.ie I got two of these attempts. They were proposing to send their agent (for a €3000 car!!) and arrange for shipping. I was to pay the agent out of the extra monies from the cheque................
 
Re: Bike scams

Hi everyone,
I am the boyfriend of Cati 76. I just got the exact same e-mail of brodiebabe. I will contact buy and sell and the Garda about this. Fair play to everyone for their quick replys and if anyone wants to take a trip to find the guy in the states to break his legs count me in.
Regards
the bf ( god i hate that term )
 
Re: Bike scams

Two wrongs don't make a right. You didn't fall for it so you have lost nothing.
 
I contacted Buy& Sell in relation to this scam.
This is the reply I got.

***************************************


Hi,

Please note there are information notes throughout the paper advising our readers of scams of that nature. If in doubt, please do not go ahead with it or send any money. Please contact your local Garda station if you wish to take this any further.
Thanks & regards.

B&S Support
 
I remember reading that appalling grammar and spelling, as shown in the email from the alleged scam artist above, are a very good indicator of a scam.

Worth keeping in mind...
 
Sherman said:
I remember reading that appalling grammar and spelling, as shown in the email from the alleged scam artist above, are a very good indicator of a scam.

Worth keeping in mind...
Click to expand...

Seems like there are plenty of scam artists posting on AAM ;).
 
I got a number of these mails after I advertised a car for sale several years ago. I still get the odd one as the long-gone car is still advertised on some site where it can't be taken down (can't even remember the address, but still get the odd request to send photos, with the same results the OP got).

No harm done, no need to break legs in the states.

Can't blame Buy and Sell - these guys just trawl the web for classifieds.
 
I was in a smiliar situation trying to sell an old computer an year ago on Buy&Sell. The guy insisted he wanted to pay twice what is worth and to ship it to UK (an old Pentium 2 :confused:, he didn't care or ask about the size of the HDD, etc. just a photo :))

He would send me a check for bigger amount, so I was to wire the remainder back to him... I did regret not reporting him to the guards when I realised it was a scam!
 
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