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Overpayment Scam

Introduction

This scam is generally used against people selling high-ticket (ie high value) items such as cars, trucks, computers or another kind of expensive item. Here the scammer finds your ad (through on-line or paper small ads usually though this scam is also seen on auction sites such as eBay). You are sent an email offering to pay much more than your asking price. The excuse given is supposedly related to the various international fees to ship the item overseas. In return you are requested to send the scammer the item and cash for the balance.

How it Works

You accept the offer as it looks genuine and you are sent an international money order or a banker's draft. This looks real soyou deposit it in your bank account and prepare the item you sold and the residual cash for the buyer. In a few days (the time it takes for the money order or banker's draft to clear) your bank informs you the money order was fake and demands you pay the amount you've taken out back immediately.

In most documented cases of this kind of scam it generally turns out that the money order was indeed an authentic document, but it was never authorized by the bank it was stolen from. In the case of cashiers' cheques it is usually a convincing forgery.

By now you've lost what you were selling the cash you sent with the car, and you owe a hefty sum of money to your bank to cover for the bad money order or the fake cashier's checque.

To show you examples of these scams in action here's an email I recently received:

Scam email starts:

From: malida@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: your car
Date: 18 May 2006 19:04:26 EST
To: dyfed7@email.com
Reply-To:

Hello Mr Williams

Good to hear from you and thanks for the mail. My client, who said he's interested in your vehicles, has promised to be buying it and will be issuing a certified cashier's cheque of $32,500 and you deduct the amount of your vehicle which is $24,000 after which you will send the difference $8,500 via Money Gram money transfer to my P.A. here in Europe to settle our shipper to book us for the cargo and also pay the insurance. She would be coming over to your place to pick the vehicle up and get it transported to the Europe and also to sign all required documents.

To bring to your attention, it only takes (24HRS) for a certified cahier's cheque to get cash in the US, so I will like you to get the cheque cashed the same day it's presented on the courier and I will also like to know if I can count on you to send the difference of the money to my P.A. as soon as the cheque get to you and verified. To make things fast and convenient for the both of us, I will like you to give me the exact name you want on the cheque... You mailing addres... (Street, City, State and zip code) and your Phone # so I can forward it to my asssociate, so he could start with the procurement of the cheque and won't mind to engage a long lasting business relationship.

Thanks and hope to hear from you soon.

Best Regards

Malida

Scam email ends

In most cases the supposed buyers originate from West Africa and are probably the same Nigerian gangs of con-artists that also run the Lottery Scams and the Advance Fee Fraud scams. Like the Advance Fee Fraud scam (also known as the 419 Scam) the intent is to draw the potential victim deeper into the scam via a series of emails.

Here's an European version of the same scam:

Scam email starts:

From: uchida@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: your computer
Date: 19 September 2005 22:14:17 BDT
To: dyfed7@email.com
Reply-To:

Hello Mr Glass

Thanks for your mail,I am really interested in the laptop,Fine i will pay £200 for it,Please i will want to indicate my mode of payment to you since i am not in the United Kingdom at the moment and there is a Company in the United Kingdom that is indebted to me in the amount of £3,500,So i will want to really seek your Assistance at this point,That i will want you to forward to me the the following informations below that i will need to forward to the Company indebted to me so that they can make out the payment directly to you and after you have cashed it in your bank,You will have the excess amount on the payment sent to my International Shipping agent via WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER ,All charges you are to pay at the western union office when sending the excess amount of £3,300 should be deducted from my balance,So you don't have to bother yourself about that, The reason for this is that,The Company indebted to me say they cannot make out the payment in two installment except once, And since i am purchasing your laptop from you at this time,I will want to really be sure that my funds will be safe in your hands as i will want to entrust my money unto your care,So inorder for us to complete the purchase of the laptop now,I will want you to get back to me with the following informations inorder for me to forward it to the Company indebted to me inorder for them to make out the payment in your name and send it to you ithout any furtherdelay,

The following informations that i will require from you are as follows,
1] YOUR FULL NAME TO BE WRITTEN ON THE CHEQUE,
2] YOUR DIRECT HOUSE ADDRESS WHERE YOU WILL WANT THE PAYMENT TO BE SENT TO,
3] YOUR DIRECT CELL PHONE NUMBER THAT YOU CAN BE REACHED AT ANYTIME OF THE DAY SO THAT I CAN GIVE YOU A CALL SO THAT I CAN EXPLAIN TO YOU BETTER,
Upon receipt of this informations i have just requested from you,I will immediately forward it to the Company indebted to me to make out the payment in your name and send it to you immediately,I will be awaiting your response as soon as you get this mail,Do confirm this mail and get back to me as soon as possible.

Thanks

Eng. M Uchida

Scam email ends

Protecting yourself against these scams is easy. Essentially never agree to a deal in which the payer wishes to issue an amount for more than the agreed price and expects you to reimburse the balance. The scammers use a variety of excuses to explain the overpayment, but any such excuse should be treated with the utmost suspicion. As ever, in any kind of transaction never agree to ship or deliver an item (or to meet the buyer) until all funds have cleared and are safely in your bank account.