Overseas boat buyer... Scam???

[6 Dollar Boat]

My girlfriends dad is selling a used Cobalt boat and has just been told by the overseas buyers agent they have a cashiers check for 9,000 over the asking price, and he is to refund the extra money after the cashiers check is cashed.
Does anyone have info on this type of scam, so I can keep him from losing some money...
Thanks

[Mrs CP 19]

Search the threads, this comes up every couple of months.

[Mrs CP 19]

Try this, same scam used for cars
http://www.scam.com/forumdisplay.php?f=9&daysprune=-1&order=asc&sort=title

[Kilrtoy]

LOOK no further IT IS A SCAM, tell him to move on

[Rexone]

Scam. Don't even bother to respond to him.
The cashiers checks are bogus but the bank won't kick it back immediately, you send him the extra money or worse the money and the vehicle, then the cc goes south and you suck the weenie.

[Dr. Eagle]

One word....
UH HUH...
Oh sorry that was two words.
I'll add another four
It is a SCAM!!!!

[DrewDown]

I'm selling one of my vehicles now and get these constantly. I just tell them to get focked right off the bat now.

[Kachina26]

Somebody came in awhile ago to warn us of this and got beat up by everyone telling him how old this scam was. Anyway, one person had a link to a site where a guy played along with the scam to get a souvenier "canceled check" . I couldn't find the thread, someone else maybe?
By the way, don't do it!

[Kachina26]

Found the website, it's a bit of a read but very amusing. scamming the scammer (http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/class/scam/)
Don't end up like this. http://www.saabnet.com/tsn/class/scam/mycounterfeitcheckXX.jpg

[Miss BK]

I worked at banks for many years, and one thing everybody should know is that banks don't have direct links to accounts that are at other institutions. They take your deposits with good faith that the checks you are presenting are legit.
So if you deposit a check that is a forgery or stolen, your bank won't know it until it is rejected by the other bank during normal processing. This can take weeks and sometimes even months -- such as in the case of forgery where the customer sees it on his bank statement and then disputes it. Then it gets charged back to the original person who deposited the fake check - YOU. And that may not happen until weeks after you've already spent the cash. :eek:
Whenever I get a Cashier's check or Money Order from a stranger, I call the bank branch where it was drawn before I do anything else. Often, they can tell you right away if the check is a fake. Crime rings often use thousands of images of the same check and the bank is usually well aware of the fraud.
I also make a photo copy of the check, this especially goes for personal checks. That way I have all the info: bank name, check number, customer account number and routing numbers. If I am nervous about the check bouncing, I call the bank and ask, "I'd like to verify funds".
Banks can't give any personal info, but they can tell you if the account is open and has funds to cover. (but they can only verify for that day).
Since the funds can be withdrawn the minute I hang up, I then call them back a day or two after I deposit the check . Call the bank and check to see if it has cleared the account, but you can only do this if you have all the info above. That's the reason for the photo copy.
But remember -- a forgery can clear an account with no problem and look fine, but then be disputed up to 6 months afterward. Government checks can be returned as forgeries up to ONE FULL YEAR. (And is why banks are especially diligent on getting lots of ID with tax refund and SS checks)
The crooks know about this lag time ---- so if they send you more than what you had asked for, and tell you to deposit the check and then send them back the overpayment, that's a huge red flag.

[6 Dollar Boat]

Somebody came in awhile ago to warn us of this and got beat up by everyone telling him how old this scam was. Anyway, one person had a link to a site where a guy played along with the scam to get a souvenier "canceled check" . I couldn't find the thread, someone else maybe?
By the way, don't do it!
I know this is a scam, I am just looking for more info, so my GF father will believe me. Thanks everyone, I emailed this link and a few others to him.

[Miss BK]

Here is a CBS News story on the exact same scam:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/01/eveningnews/main527883.shtml
(CBS) Jeff and Shawn Mosch were looking to sell their '61 Buick special.
So when they got a buyer, they were delighted. But as CBS News Correspondent Mika Brzezinski reports, the buyer was in Africa. That left the couple a little leery of his payment plan.
The African buyer said a person in Pennsylvania owed him money, and to make things easier, that person would send the $8,800 directly to the Moschs in Minneapolis. They would deduct the price of the car, $1,600, and then send along the balance to the buyer in Africa -- $7200. Sure enough, a cashier's check came in the mail.
But Shawn wanted to be sure, so she went to the bank and said, "I need to know when this is going to be a good clear check. When this is going to be actual money I can spend and it's never going to come back and bite me in the butt."
And she was told, "24 hours ma'am, no problem." NOTE: THIS IS ONLY TRUE FOR NON-FORGED, NON-STOLEN CASHIER'S CHECKS
Feeling reassured, the Mosch's wired the balance to their buyer.
But a week later, the check came up as counterfeit, and the Mosch's were left holding the bag. "$7,200 ... that's a lot of money," says Jeff.
The scammer was taking advantage of not only the victim but also the banking system -- specifically, the process by which checks are cleared. The con artists get their money before the banks discover their checks are bogus.
See full story at:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/11/01/eveningnews/main527883.shtml