It gets plenty of press, it's just that most people are morons. How long have thieves been using telephone solicitation to rip people off? Everyone knows telephone solicitors are thieves, but guess what? They are still selling to idjuts every single day or else they would quit. Same with spam email. What honest business is going to send out spam emails? Yet idjuts are responding to these con artists by handing over money just as fast as they can.

 

I'd tell him Up front that I won't take a personal check & be done with it but thanks for the info Sal.

 

If you have any doubts whasoever, deposit the check and hold shipment until your bank advises that the check has cleared. That way you are safe.

 

The problem with this is that your bank will not truly know when the check has cleared the other bank. They will generally place a hold on the check for the number of days that they think it will take it to clear, but if it comes back after that you are still liable. We have seen some nasty things happen where the scammer will mess with the bank routing number and cause the check to bounce around the Federal Reserve check clearing process for a month or so before finally being returned.

Wire Transfers are really the way to go with this type of transaction.

 

Anyone get emails from a John Dikko (Yahoo)? Here's his handy work.

p.s. name changed to protect the innocent.

 

That's the guy!!

 

Yep. Lives in London but is on vacation in the U.K. or vice versa? What a tool. I mentioned his name awhile back in this thread:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...ght=john+dikko

See ya'

 

If you are actually considering taking checks for online purchases, I highly recommend subscribing to some services from this place:

http://www.lyonsreg.com/

You can check ABA/ACH, compare names to FinCEN and more...

--Dan (I work for a bank too)

 

The downside to bank a bank transfer is that you have to give out your account number and routing, dangerous, even if you have a "no electronic withdrawal" order on your account, it could still be compromised.

I have had scam attempts for large orders from overseas and the customer wants to pay with multiple credit cards. I had an order a few weeks ago that I felt was suspicious so I called the credit card issuer, sure as hell, the card owner lived in Delaware but my customer was in Nigeria. I was told by three people that virtually any order from Nigeria, Indonesia and one other country that slips my mind are almost certainly fraudulent card numbers.

However, on the flip side, I had a customer in Bolivia who ordered six Bosch, 325 LPH (Porsche 917 Twin Turbo) fuel pumps and he said he would send payment via Western Union (expensive), not only did he do it, he rounded the amount up about 20 bucks to the nearest even hundred. Once Western Union cuts you a check, it's a done deal.

 

I can't stand scammers! They should be strung-up by their nuts!

 

Exactly, that is why I would recommend opening a small savings account with like $10 in it and use it only for receiving this or any subsequent wires.

BTW if you do notice unauthorized transactions on your account, as long as you report it to your bank within a certain timeframe (spelled out in your account agreement) you are not responsible. That is why you should check your statements as soon as you get them for unauthorized transactions.

 

One of the oldest tricks around - taking a check for more than the amount owed and the seller then giving the overwrite amount back to the "check writer". Rest assured - more often than not - the check will be bad. Most people don't write checks for more than than the stated purchase price.

Nigeria has been, for years, one of the most "noted" countries for money scams of all types - frequently have drop boxes in New York City.

 

Found a couple of hits on 'John Dikko' on Yahoo -

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=%22...gle=1&ei=UTF-8

 

Yep! They have tryed this alot mostly Nigerian and European with the dealership I work at. They order-up through the online then send a fake cashiers-check. Beamers aren't cheap so, they can get stung good if not careful. :santa:

 

Surprise, surprise, John Dikko is from Nigeria.

The name is quite fitting, don't you think?