on 12/8/03 8:49 AM, Rick Brown at mgrick@mgcars.org.uk wrote:
> As long as he isn't asking for your bank account number and the cheque
> clears before you release the car to him, you should be ok.
Absolutely not true. This widespread belief is what makes this scam
possible. I have read several descriptions of this sting, and it works
something like this:
If you deposit a foreign-origin cashier's check, your bank does not make any
effort to ascertain the authenticity of the item, it merely sends it
through, and posts the funds to your account after an arbitrary interval of
time (such as one week or ten days), at which time it says the check has
"cleared". This has no legal meaning, and does not guarantee that the funds
are available.
It usually takes several weeks for the check to be returned to the
originating bank, and this is the first point at which it can be identified
as a forgery. The originating bank then informs your bank that they will not
honor the check, and your bank then holds you responsible for any funds you
may have withdrawn.
The key issue here is the use of the word "cleared". If you call your bank
and ask if the check has "cleared", their answer will be in terms of the
explanation above -- it is no guarantee that the check will be eventually
funded. You would need to sit on the money and hold the car for an
additional unspecified period of time, in order for the true nature of the
"cashier's check" to become known.
>
> I have a UK email address but I am in NJ so the email address alone does not
> prove whereabouts.
>
> Regards
>
> Rick
>
--
Max Heim
'66 MGB GHN3L76149
If you're near Mountain View, CA,
it's the primer red one with chrome wires
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