Scams

Really sounds like a scam doesnt it! Maybe shes gonna get your address first then next time ask for your bank details to put the money into.
My bank account was cleared out about 2 months ago - copied card was used in Limerick, still havent got my money back !!!!

zippy28 wrote:

A simple solution is take the €300 Postal order and insist that you're not posting anything until your bank has verified that it has fully cleared. You'll soon find out if it's a scam or not if they agree to this.

I think the reason this scam works is that banks will say it has cleared - its only after a longer period of time that they come back to you and say - well actually it didnt clear and they wont take any responsibility for it so its you who will be out of pocket.

Heres from wikipedia
"Fraudulent checks and money orders are key elements in many other scams, such as auction/classified listing overpayment, lottery scams, inheritance scams, etc, and can be used in almost any scam when a "payment" to the victim is required to gain, regain or further solidify the victims' trust and confidence in the scheme. A variant of these comes right to the point; the scammer contacts the victim, offering to send them a check that for some reason they cannot cash or deposit themselves, if the victim will cash it and send them a portion of the money. The victim is told to keep a portion of the check's amount (sometimes up to 50%) for their trouble. Many people, even those aware of traditional 419 scams, will fall for this because the person contacting them isn't asking for money, and in fact it's just the opposite; the scammer is offering to send the victim money, no advance fees required.

The scam hinges on a U.S. law concerning checks; when an account holder presents a check for deposit or to cash, the bank must make the funds available to the account holder within 1-5 business days, regardless of how long it actually takes for the check to clear and funds to be transferred from the issuing bank[6]. The check clearing process normally takes 7-10 days and can in fact take up to a month when dealing with foreign banks.

The check given to the victim is counterfeit; however that may not become apparent until days or weeks after the victim has seen the funds made available in their account and sent money to the scammer. Once the bank is alerted that the check is fraudulent, the money (and the scammer) are long gone. The bank then turns to the victim to recover the money, removing from their account the amount of the check. In most cases, this puts victims in debt to their banks, and some victims have even been prosecuted for fraud in the scammer's stead, the argument being that the victim "should have known better" than to participate in such a scheme, and thus was a willing conspirator in the fraud.

Schemes based solely on check cashing will usually offer only a small part of the check's total amount, with the assurance that many more checks will follow; if the victim buys in to the scam and cashes all the checks, the scammer can win big in a very short period of time. Other scams such as overpayment usually deal in smaller amounts, but have a higher success rate as the scammer's request seems more believable."

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I think what will happen is that whatever they say about sending a postal order you wont be sent an An Post postal order - whatever you are sent will need to be lodged against an account - imo.