mascamps.com Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 We recently received an enquiry for a reservation later this year for five rooms for three weeks from a place stating that they represented a christian organisation.A couple of e-mails later and they said that we had been selected as the accommodation. For this, we would of course be looking for a deposit, around 1.000€ and replied saying that this could be paid by credit/debit card or French issued cheque.Just received a further e-mail saying that they'd be sending us a cheque for 10.000€ from which we should deduct our total charges and forward the balance (around 5.000€) to a car hire firm.It sounded a bit off at the start but now seems to be screaming SCAM.I'm sticking this on the B&B and gite owners forums. Arnold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owens88 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 I have had this sort of thing twice (though without the added 'Christian Group' touch).Both were at times of year when a booking is extremely attractive !I chose to reply saying that I couldn't play that way, if only because of anti money laundering rules. I offered to accept the deposit (and full payment) from the renter's 'agent' but the enquiries went away.RegardsJohn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 This is a well known scam and has been operating for some time, although it does appears in different guises often originating from a well known West African country.Baz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie15 Posted April 9, 2005 Share Posted April 9, 2005 Hi-yes,there are lots of these going around. The current one for me is from "Jenny"-beware and don't get sucked in!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iceni Posted April 10, 2005 Share Posted April 10, 2005 Where's the problem ? Pls send me a cheque for €10,000 and if/when it clears I might send on a cheque for 5,000 - but I might not of course.Johnnot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie15 Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 [quote]Where's the problem ? Pls send me a cheque for €10,000 and if/when it clears I might send on a cheque for 5,000 - but I might not of course. John not[/quote]Ah ha, but the bank won't be too amused with you banking a fraudulent cheque! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenandsue<IMG src="http:forums.livingfrance.comimagesline.gif"><BR>kenandsue at 50<BR> Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 I live in Weymouth Dorset, when not in France, as a holiday resort the town was hit big time by this scam, luckily not many Guest Houses fell for it (only the greedy ones of course) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chauffour Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 i did ask them to send me the cheque, maid payable to 'topolinoi paperino' (which in italia is Mickey Mouse Donald Duck!!!)once i received the cheque i forwarded all the contact details (where i should have sent back part of the money) to the police.the cheque is now hanging over my PC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamedup Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 lizzie15, at what point is it a fraudulent cheque, if one just pays it in? I haven't quite got that bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie15 Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 [quote]lizzie15, at what point is it a fraudulent cheque, if one just pays it in? I haven't quite got that bit.[/quote]Hi- often the cheque itself isn't really from the person who sent it-it could be stolen or counterfeit . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie15 Posted April 11, 2005 Share Posted April 11, 2005 Oh, and I meant to add- also it can take weeks for this to be discovered by which time you believe it to have cleared so you've sent them the balance .You end up with a worthless cheque,possibly out of pocket if you sent them the "balance" they ask for ( after sending you a cheque for much more than is invoiced)and the bank starts investigating.Much time and money is wasted all round and the fraudsters get rich cos it's amazing how many people fall for the con! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mascamps.com Posted April 11, 2005 Author Share Posted April 11, 2005 Interestingly, I have now received a genuine group booking which on face value looks just like the original scam e-mail!What made me a bit wary at the start was that the e-mail address wasn't something like [email protected] but more like [email protected] . However, the genuine one also uses a [email protected] type address but seemingly to conceal the company which I think has actually made the reservation. Laughably, especially considering who I'm fairly sure it is, they didn't consider that looking at my website from their company internet connection would trigger webstats revealing their identity!This time around, I have a deposit and a credit card number rather than a large duff cheque.Confusion reigns, eh? Arnold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizzie15 Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 [quote]Interestingly, I have now received a genuine group booking which on face value looks just like the original scam e-mail! What made me a bit wary at the start was that the e-mail address wasn't someth...[/quote]Yes, that's an extra problem of course -that we don't want to dismiss genuine potential clients! Ho hum,nothing is ever simple! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 [quote]Hi- often the cheque itself isn't really from the person who sent it-it could be stolen or counterfeit .[/quote]There was a report on this on Watchdog a few weeks ago. The problem, as Lizzie rightly points out, is that the cheque is usually stolen. When you get your bank statement, or you check your account on the internet, the cheque amount appears on your statement, giving the impression that the cheque has cleared, and that "funds are available". This is not actually the case, as it is not until the cheque is returned to the originating bank that the problem is spotted, and the cheque bounces. This often takes several weeks, especially when the cheque originates from another country. By this time the unwary gite/B&B owner has already checked his bank balance, and believing the cheque to have cleared, sent a cheque to the fraudster, refunding the difference between the original cheque and the real cost of the booking.They interviewed a representative from one of the big name UK banks, asking why bank statements show funds as being "available" before a cheque has actually cleared, and he was unable to give a satisfactory answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mascamps.com Posted April 12, 2005 Author Share Posted April 12, 2005 I imagine that it's even worse with international cheques. As it is, it takes Citibank to "clear" (using whatever mysterious definition of that word that banks us) a French cheque for us. I'm sure that it must take a month or more before it works it's way back to the bank in Perpignan!Even if that month was enough, how long would it take for the message to get back from Perpignan to the UK and then to you that the cheque had bounced? Well, quite some time actually as I managed to send an unsigned cheque once and, from memory, it was several months before that fact worked it's way back to the Citibank statement. Arnold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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