[From the ODCC List: Hasn't happened here at TSF, but please beware of any such offers --BG] Fraud Alert Don't Get Ripped Off By This Scam! Attention J/24 Enthusiasts, Although the J/24 Used Boat List and Classified Ads have been great resources for sailors, there are scam artists targeting these pages and they want your money. They typically pose as foreign buyer's agents and are offering to pay MORE than the asking price for your boat. They always pay with very real looking cashier's checks. In return for paying more than your asking price, you are asked to send the buyer or a shipping agent the amount of the overpayment after you have deposited the cashier's check in your bank. WARNING! These cashier's checks are forgeries! Federal banking law requires that cashier's checks be credited to your account within 5 days of deposit. However, the check is not made good until it has cleared at the issuing bank. Your local bank will likely not catch the forgery until the check is returned to them, and this can take as many as 3 to 4 weeks after you deposit the funds. By that time you (having access to the funds and thinking the check was good) will have already sent the money to the buyer. When your bank discovers that the check was a forgery, you will be liable for returning the total amount of the forged check to your bank. Basically, the scum bags have stolen your money. In an additional twist, if they scam artist scum are successful in getting your money with the original overpayment scam, they will target you again. Usually they will try to get the rest of the money back by claiming that the buyer has recently died and is unable to complete the purchase. They will ask for an entire refund on the money that does not exist because the original check was a forgery. How does this work? Read the following links carefully. http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/carsale.asp http://www.oag.state.tx.us/oagnews/release.php?id=364 http://www.ifccfbi.gov/strategy/11403NigerianWarning.pdf If you have been ripped off by this or a similar scam, please report this to the FBI's Internet Fraud Complaint Center at http://www.ifccfbi.gov/cf1.asp Thanks for your attention to this serious matter. Regards, Eric Faust Executive Director U.S. J/24 Class Association
Yes, this is true. Last month I spoke with two Sunfish owners in State College, Pa. who both had been approached by buyers trying to use this scam!!!!
I've been fighting this scam for two years now, and there are variations. I have collected several examples and posted them on my website trying to get the word out. One report I read said these scammers are stealing Billions of dollars per year with this. When someone places a sailboat classified ad on my site I send them an email warning them about this scam and other scams. So far I have three pages on these scams, the first has a picture of a bogus check I was able to get one of the scammers to send me, the 2nd page has a lot of examples to help you spot the scammers, and the 3rd tells about a particularly evil scam I recently uncovered. Page One with bogus check Page Two, several examples sent in by people Page Three, the really mean one Spread the word, let's put these scammers and frauds out of business! David
