Is this a cheque scam?

jillyb · 14-04-2009 10:41am #1

Hi there,

I responded to a job on gumtree looking for a personal assistant. Person is working abroad a lot so needs someone to take care of things here. sending and receiving mail- free to open them up. doing shopping etc. They have an account with UPS so no need to use cash.
Person is paying me salary up front and money for the items they want bought & some sent to furniture company as they are buying furniture.

They just sent me a cheque today covering my salary and expenses.
Does this seem safe? was thinkin of lodging it and not sending any money till the cheque clears. what if it bounces though?

thanks in advance

chillywilly · 14-04-2009 10:48am

ive heard a similar one in another forum. A guy sent a cheque, waited til it cleared but it didnt. It turned out to be a stolen cheque. Lodge it into your account and happy days if it clears but i wouldnt hold my breath!

Sleipnir · 14-04-2009 10:49am

I certainly wouldn't send any money until the cheque clears.

Victor · 14-04-2009 10:51am

Does this sound like a normal job? Have you met this person or been to their address? Do you have their employer's number? Are they paying you your salary up front?

If you aren't happy with those answers, it could be a scam where the cheque seems to clear, but doesn't actually clear. Foreign cheques can take weeks to clear. Best policy would be to go to their branch with suitable ID (passport, proof of address) and get hard cash to lodge to your own account.

Sleipnir wrote: »

I certainly wouldn't send any money until the cheque clears.

Or goods - remember the UPS account.

ScouseMouse · 14-04-2009 11:04am

It sounds seriously dodgy.

Foreign cheques are notoriously difficult to rely on. As previously mentioned, if you can, cash the cheque, do not lodge it, then with the cash in your hand, lodge the cash.

Personally, I would run a mile.

delllat · 14-04-2009 11:52am

its a scam for sure
they willl overpay you
and ask you send the change or goods to them by western union
then u do that and in a couple of weeks the cheque is charged back from you account
and you are responsible for all associated charges
i cant believe people are still falling for this one :rolleyes:

jillyb · 14-04-2009 1:30pm

hey thanks for the replies

"Foreign cheques are notoriously difficult to rely on. As previously mentioned, if you can, cash the cheque, do not lodge it, then with the cash in your hand, lodge the cash."

Does it matter that its a llyods TSB bank cheque and its in sterling? the amount is £3,500 so i don't know if i could cash the cheque.
I will try as it seems dodgy alright. This amount includes my salary up front aswell, so if the cheque doesn't clear i should be safe.
If the cheque bounces will this give me a negative credit rating?

I haven't met the person as he's away workin in australia , so only had correspondance through email.

Thanks

delllat · 14-04-2009 1:41pm

jillyb wrote: »

hey thanks for the replies

"Foreign cheques are notoriously difficult to rely on. As previously mentioned, if you can, cash the cheque, do not lodge it, then with the cash in your hand, lodge the cash."

Does it matter that its a llyods TSB bank cheque and its in sterling? the amount is £3,500 so i don't know if i could cash the cheque.
I will try as it seems dodgy alright. This amount includes my salary up front aswell, so if the cheque doesn't clear i should be safe.
If the cheque bounces will this give me a negative credit rating?

I haven't met the person as he's away workin in australia , so only had correspondance through email.

Thanks

are you for real?,if you are youre even dumber than homer simpson
someone sends you a cheque for 3500 sterling
youve never met them and only communicate by email
they want you to start buying things and mailing them to another country with the proceeds of the cheque
you think its a good idea ?

when the cheques turns out to be stolen(might take months) you will be responsible for every euro cashed

the "employer" will be away with the items and cash you have sent him

U will be left to take the wrap

go into your local garda station and ask them as its happens all the time

btw why didnt u post this in the consumer issues forum ?

its hardly a topic for this forum

homeOwner · 14-04-2009 3:21pm

jillyb wrote: »

Hi there,

They just sent me a cheque today covering my salary and expenses.
Does this seem safe? was thinkin of lodging it and not sending any money till the cheque clears. what if it bounces though?

thanks in advance

Look at this the other way round. If you were abroad and needed stuff done in Ireland, would you send a cheque for E3500 to some person you had only had email correspondance with and expect that they would actually send you items you want? Would you not expect that person to take your money and run?

No person would realistically pay a "personal assistant" to do this. Most companies have online presence. Why cant the person buy the goods online and have the company ship them overseas to australia. There is no need for a "personal assistant" to do this. This is obviously a scam.

Hagar · 14-04-2009 3:25pm

Can I interest you in some magic beans?

It's a scam. Nobody pays wages in advance, nobody.

ttilting · 14-04-2009 3:35pm

BE VERY VERY CAREFUL !

These cheque's show up on your account as '' cleared '' but often this is down to the inefficiency of the bank. Branch tellers are never too clued in on these things so the Gardai are the people to speak to.

a common theme in these scams Is the person will ask you to send them some money back by western union.

Ask him if he wouldn't mind sending you the money by western Union. , , He'll have a totally different story then.

The clear point here is this . . . YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED ,,,,,, If you are scammed now you plain & simple deserve it !

CaraFawn · 14-04-2009 4:03pm

http://www.bobbear.co.uk/

chillywilly · 14-04-2009 4:25pm

CaraFawn wrote: »

http://www.bobbear.co.uk/

http://www.bobbear.co.uk/fartexgroup.html

jillyb · 18-04-2009 1:12pm

hey guys

appreciate all the replies. my boyfriends aunt checked the cheque out with their fraud dept in dublin. Definetly a fake. Then they rang the bank that issused the cheque in the UK and they've had other cases like it.
Only problem that they were worried about was my identity being used for fraud cos i sent them my cv.

So i flagged it up with my bank. Reported them to gumtree too!! definetly learned a lesson, so glad that i didn't lodge the cheque.Hopefully it'll be ok.

Hadn't heard anymore so far from the scammer until thursday- him asking to confirm the cheque was received. So i ignored the email.

He emailed again today to ask if i can respond so i can start work. I wish he'd feck off. Would it be advised to email him back saying i kknow its a scam and stop contacting me?? I have a gmail account so i can't block him, only filter the emails.

gags89 · 18-04-2009 3:54pm

Iv been scammed offa gumtree!dont go near it unless they are local!

18-04-2009 5:01pm

jillyb wrote: »

hey guys

appreciate all the replies. my boyfriends aunt checked the cheque out with their fraud dept in dublin. Definetly a fake. Then they rang the bank that issused the cheque in the UK and they've had other cases like it.
Only problem that they were worried about was my identity being used for fraud cos i sent them my cv.

So i flagged it up with my bank. Reported them to gumtree too!! definetly learned a lesson, so glad that i didn't lodge the cheque.Hopefully it'll be ok.

Hadn't heard anymore so far from the scammer until thursday- him asking to confirm the cheque was received. So i ignored the email.

He emailed again today to ask if i can respond so i can start work. I wish he'd feck off. Would it be advised to email him back saying i kknow its a scam and stop contacting me?? I have a gmail account so i can't block him, only filter the emails.

Maybe see if you can Lure HIM in, and then report it all to guards?

Is this a cheque scam?

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