[s-cars] Scammer alert

[Bruce Mendel]

I sell a lot of cars and accept a lot of bank checks. My recommendations
are:

Never take a certified check, they are just personal checks that had funds
in the account at the time the check was drawn held aside for that
particular check. They are easy to fake and easy to stop payment on if real.
They take as long to clear as a regular personal check.

Bank checks are paid for with funds drawn from the bank's own account (i.e.
you take cash out of your own account and "buy" a bank check). They are
harder to fake but it certainly can be done. They are easy to stop payment
on, which is what a lot of people do not realize, and have to clear just
like a regular personal check, although they usually clear faster. The only
exception is a bank check drawn on the same bank as your account is kept,
when it can be deposited as cash if you request that at the time of deposit.

Wire transfers are great, as once they appear in your account, the money is
clear and the transaction is complete. But it requires you to give out your
bank name, account number, routing number, etc. which I do not do unless I
am comfortable with the buyer (i.e. they are not from Nigeria).

The key to all of the above is to make a copy of the check front and back,
get the issuing bank's info, and then call the issuing bank to verify that
the check was in fact drawn there in the amount on the face of the check,
that the account holder that drew it is in good standing, and that the bank
is a real bank and not some B.S. garage operation.

The most important thing to remember is that a check is not "clear" UNTIL IT
IS PAID BY THE ISSUING BANK TO YOUR BANK! A check is NOT clear just because
the funds show up in your account, which most banks do as a courtesy ahead
of the actual clearance date. Your own bank  "clearing" the funds into your
account is meaningless, they will be debited right back out of your account
if the check is fake, stopped, etc.

A check is clear when the issuing bank makes payment on it, so you have to
check every day or so with the issuing bank (not your own bank) to see if
the check has come back to them for payment and has in fact been paid. Get a
name of an officer at that bank, a clearance confirmation number, etc.

EVEN THEN, I have seen times where the issuing bank finds out about fraud
and will attempt to contact your bank and get payment back. Banks are all
buddy-buddy, and they do not care about the account holder, only keeping
each other happy.

So be careful!!!

Bruce


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Strangways" <strangconst at rogers.com>
To: "Paul Heneghan" <paul.heneghan at bbc.co.uk>; <s-car-list at audifans.com>
Cc: "Greg Johnson" <gregsj2 at gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2006 9:10 AM
Subject: Re: [s-cars] Scammer alert


> That would suggest to some that the bank should be held responsible.
> If they place the funds from a certified cheque into your account, I would
> have to expect that it had cleared.
> That does give one something to think about. Next time I am in the
position
> to take a certified cheque I will remember this.
>
> Mark
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Paul Heneghan" <paul.heneghan at bbc.co.uk>
> To: <s-car-list at audifans.com>
> Cc: "Mark Strangways" <strangconst at rogers.com>; "Ryan Hoitink"
> <rahqlist at gmail.com>; "Greg Johnson" <gregsj2 at gmail.com>
> Sent: Tuesday, February 21, 2006 5:34 AM
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] Scammer alert
>
>
> Apparently lots of banks will credit the money to your account and allow
> you to draw on it a few days before it has actually cleared.  This lulls
> you into a false sense of security and causes you believe that it has
> actually cleared.  A few days later, the bank realises that the cheque
> has bounced, and removes the money from your account.
>
> Wait until the cheque has actually cleared (by checking with your bank
> that they have received the funds from the other account), and then
> you've nothing to lose.
>
> Paul
>
> -----Original Message-----
> Message: 2
> Date: Mon, 20 Feb 2006 18:47:34 -0500
> From: "Mark Strangways" <strangconst at rogers.com>
> Subject: Re: [s-cars] Scammer alert
> To: "Ryan Hoitink" <rahqlist at gmail.com>, "Greg Johnson"
> <gregsj2 at gmail.com>
> Cc: QuattroJedi at aol.com, s-car-list at audifans.com
> Message-ID: <004501c63678$10a71a80$6400000a at Strangwaysgroup>
> Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset="iso-8859-1";
> reply-type=original
>
> Why not just "wait" till the check clears ???
> Seems like a simple concept to me...
>
> Mark
>
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