Is this a scam?

Patt Legg · 05-03-2005, 10:36 PM

This may be silly but here goes.

I received an email from a person in the UK who said she wishes to purchase 2 of my paintings from my web site. As I do not give pricing on the site, she emailed me.

First I thought it was a joke although all looks ok. I replied ---expecting never to hear from her. Three days passed. Tonight I received her reply. She wants one of them now. She said that she would have her shippers contact me as she wishes them to add this painting to their shipping of her personal things as she is in process of moving.

She says she will send US Cashiers Check. I also have heard from the shipping co.--address of
UK shippers asking me the freight amount as she will pay for it and they need to get her payment prior to picking up the shipment of paintings from me.

Sound loko? I am assuming it is ok and cannot see what I could lose. Please anyone, give me ideas how to handle the packing (one on panel and one on canvas) she wants the panel, the exchanging of painting and Cashiers Check. I need to know if I should send something separate as far as her accepting the artwork, insurance and what if she is displeased after she sees them in life. It is a 24"x 28.

Any ideas will be most welcome.

Patt

Terri Ficenec · 05-03-2005, 11:59 PM

Hi Patt--
This may very well be legit... BUT there have been stories on the news here in recent months about internet scams involving bogus Cashier's Checks. I would recommend taking the Cashier's Check to the bank and making sure it clears (that the bank receives payment) before releasing the paintings... or at the very least talking to your bank's customer service department about the Cashier's Check system and how to make sure that you receive appropriate payment for these paintings. Cashier's Checks are not cash, and they are not as good as cash. I don't remember the specifics of the scam, but it seems to me that there were fake cashier's check involved and the victims were unaware of the scam even when they took the checks to the bank, rather they were notified that the funds to reimburse for the fake checks were being withdrawn from their accounts (or were owed to the bank) after the fact when the bank was unable to collect from false cashier's checks that were good enough to fool their tellers. Just a word of caution! The scams often involve a 'Shipping agent' such as you describe. BE WARY!

Here's a couple of links to stories about similar Cashier check scams (scroll down on the second one to read about the scam and examples)... though it 's not exactly what I saw on the news... If you do a google search on 'Cashier Check scam' tons of items come up. . .

Overview of Scam (Nigeria is commonly used, but UK is as well)
More about Cashier's Check scams (with examples)

I'd be very leery of this 'customer'.

Terri Ficenec · 05-04-2005, 12:09 AM

Attorney General Salazar Warns Consumers To Be Wary Of Cashier's Check Fraud Scam

The so-called "Nigerian Letter Scam" has been around for many years. Government agencies, as well as consumer advocacy groups, have repeatedly warned citizens about this scam and its numerous variations. For example, in response to the scam

Kimberly Dow · 05-04-2005, 02:07 AM

I had a recent email from a fella wanting to buy a print for $200. I gave him the price and told him I'd accept a personal check and ship it when the check cleared. He emailed back that he'd be sending a cashiers check for $1,000 and would I please send the remainder to his shipper along with the print. I replied - no - I only accept checks for the exact amount. He emailed back about how much he wanted the print and that the check will cash - he promises. I replied no again. He emailed back again saying if I was worried about taxes on the amount of the check going through my bank account that I could take the approximate taxes out as well. I said no again and repeated my first response. He tried at least 4 more emails until I finally told him he was wasting my time and not to email me anymore. I figure it must have been a money laundering thing or something. There is no legal reason why this man could not cash his own cashiers check that he claims he was paid with.

Silly people.

Pat - just make sure it's for the exact amount including shipping.

Patt Legg · 05-04-2005, 07:41 AM

Terri and Kimberly,

Thank you so much for the warnings and advice. I truly will be leery. My plan is to go with it, I have read much about these scams and will accept the cashiers check , in amount ONLY. The warning tells us to wait for the cashiers check to clear the bank, the bank has its money and then ship the item. If the buyer does not want to do this then I will know.

Thanks so much. The old saying that I go by is ," if it seems too good to be true, it probably isn't." I was hoping but still being careful . This was the reason I wrote to the Forum because there is so much of this going on and the Forum members are so varied that I was sure to get response.
Call it MY GUT FEELING.

Thanks again

Patt

Michele Rushworth · 05-04-2005, 09:48 AM

Quote:

The warning tells us to wait for the cashiers check to clear the bank, the bank has its money and then ship the item.

This will not be sufficient to protect you. Talk with your bank about what it means when they tell you that "the check has cleared". There's been a lot of discussion relating to these scams about banks that tell their customer that the check has "cleared" and then turns out to be a bogus check. You're still out the money (the bank won't take responsibility for it) and you've already shipped the painting. Ask the client to wire the money to your bank, perhaps.