Bumm Scamm Checks

[PIC]

Got what appears to be a scam check from a foriegn source {China} for wedding in Canada at end of May.

Has anyone cashed a check of this source ???

Does your bank and FBI come after you ??

How long does it take to verify a check from such a source ??

EL

[RubenZamora]

I DID !!!! Be very careful!

Depending on the bank you have it may take them 2 - 3 weeks before they even notify you! My was not a fake check though, it was a fake money order or cashier check. I deposited it to Texas State Bank and the money showed. That was until 3 weeks later that I checked and noticed 858 dollars were taken back out. When I called they told me it was due to insufficient funds and that they would send the check back to me. When I got check back it was stamped as Counterfeit.

I was so pissed because I had already sent off the camera I had sold on Ebay! Needless to say that if my stupid BANK would have notified me earlier I would not have sent it off. They found out it was counterfeit 3 days before I sent the camera off.


Best advice I have is to take it to a federal bank and not some rinky dink local place. A federal bank can verify it faster.

[Mongo]

Banks have up to 6 months to take the money back out of your account from a counterfiet check or money order. even if they release the funds to your account, that doesnt mean its good. Best thing to do is call a local branch of the bank the check or money order was issued from and they can tell you in about 2 minutes if its good or not.

[RubenZamora]

his is from a foreign source. I would never accept any foreign crap. You have no protection.

[PIC]

Drew,
Good advice but its a China Bank.
Eric

[HotHolly]

Originally Posted by RubenZamora

I had already sent off the camera I had sold on Ebay! Needless to say that if my stupid BANK would have notified me earlier I would not have sent it off.

Ebay has some serious issues with this. Even PayPal has become unreliable so that we only accept confirmed addresses, otherwise they wont protect you.

Also, from learning the hard way...It can take up to 3 weeks for a MO or Cashiers Check to be confirmed counterfeit. That's how long it takes. You can't really find out faster, unless you attempt to verify the funds yourself. And it could still be bogus.

I would think something is up if the wedding is in Canada and the payment came from China.

[PIC]

Ruben,
So the bank took out the $$$ you deposited leaving you with a net of 0 and no camera ?
WoW !!
EL

[HotHolly]

Originally Posted by PIC

Ruben,
So the bank took out the $$$ you deposited leaving you with a net of 0 and no camera ?

That's not abnormal. It happens to many nice people and totally sucks. I almost lost a laptop the same way. I had a bad feeling and never shipped. So I lucked out. But when you're talking $$ and over seas banks - good luck.

[RubenZamora]

Originally Posted by HotHolly

Ebay has some serious issues with this. Even PayPal has become unreliable so that we only accept confirmed addresses, otherwise they wont protect you.

Also, from learning the hard way...It can take up to 3 weeks for a MO or Cashiers Check to be confirmed counterfeit. That's how long it takes. You can't really find out faster, unless you attempt to verify the funds yourself. And it could still be bogus.

I would think something is up if the wedding is in Canada and the payment came from China.

Holly you are right. But here is where I get pissed off. I normally wait a while before I send off my items. My problem is that the BANK KNEW 3 days before I even sent the camera out that it was counterfeit. They should notify the customer RIGHT AWAY when that happens. If they would have followed through I would never have sent the camera to buyer.

To make it even worse, they had no intention of calling me. They simply took the money back out and were sending me the check back by MAIL. I HAD to call to see what the hell was going on.

[PIC]

Originally Posted by HotHolly

Ebay has some serious issues with this. Even PayPal has become unreliable so that we only accept confirmed addresses, otherwise they wont protect you.

Also, from learning the hard way...It can take up to 3 weeks for a MO or Cashiers Check to be confirmed counterfeit. That's how long it takes. You can't really find out faster, unless you attempt to verify the funds yourself. And it could still be bogus.

I would think something is up if the wedding is in Canada and the payment came from China.

It was considered SCAM from the start - prob not even worth reporting it ?

EL

[RubenZamora]

Originally Posted by PIC

Ruben,
So the bank took out the $$$ you deposited leaving you with a net of 0 and no camera ?
WoW !!
EL

Thats exactly what happened.

[RubenZamora]

Originally Posted by HotHolly

That's not abnormal. It happens to many nice people and totally sucks. I almost lost a laptop the same way. I had a bad feeling and never shipped. So I lucked out. But when you're talking $$ and over seas banks - good luck.

Funny you mention that I tried selling 2 laptops on EBAY with buy it now. The first 3 WINNERS turned out to be fakes or scams. I had to relist both laptops 3 times. The email was hilarious. The buyers all had similar emails saying "ohhh my son is going to school in africa and needs his laptop right away, could you package laptop and send it within minutes of recieving a paypal email notification?"

Obviously they send a fake paypal email notification and want you to send it right away before you find out its fake.

[HotHolly]

Report it. See what happens.

BTW - my bank has done the same thing with bad payments. I usually find out about 4 weeks after a payment is made that it has bounced and funds were removed via mail. So its not unusual. I suspect they only call if they break up a ring.

My parents got their credit card # swiped at a UPS place. The FBI busted a ring and they were notified right away. But that was the only time I've heard of someone going to the person that was screwed. I suspect it was b/c they were hoping they had more info on the people at the UPS place.

[PIC]

Its no longer just Buyer Beware !
It's also Seller Beware !

EL

[PIC]

Originally Posted by HotHolly

Report it. See what happens.

BTW - my bank has done the same thing with bad payments. I usually find out about 4 weeks after a payment is made that it has bounced and funds were removed via mail. So its not unusual. I suspect they only call if they break up a ring.

My parents got their credit card # swiped at a UPS place. The FBI busted a ring and they were notified right away. But that was the only time I've heard of someone going to the person that was screwed. I suspect it was b/c they were hoping they had more info on the people at the UPS place.

Report it to the FBI ??? I can imagine a Fed saying they do have authority for China and Canada.
Oh and the "bride" was in UK.

UK UK UK !!

EL