posted on May 11, 2007 05:30:06 PM new
I had a buyer bid on 2 of my store items. She said she was mailing a money order. Well, today 2 money orders arrived, one for $150, and one for $30. They had my name on, but the invoice was for another buyer. Mine should have been around $10. I wrote and told her, and she wants me to cash them and send her the money. I am very reluctant to do that. I don't want to be difficult, but I have heard of so many scams. This does seem genuine, because the auctions from the other buyer check out.
What do you think I should do?
posted on May 11, 2007 05:45:48 PM new
There is no logical reason for you to cash the money orders. This has scan written all over it.
Send them back to her immediately! Why take any risk of any kind for $ 10? Unless, of course, you want to have some fun. In that case drop by your local police station and tell them the story. It might get interesting.
posted on May 11, 2007 05:58:53 PM new
I have told her I am not going to send the money. Now she has bid on several more items to make it up to the cost of the money orders. Am I still in trouble??
posted on May 11, 2007 06:07:58 PM new
YOU are not in trouble....send the M.O.s back with Delivery Confirmation. Tell her you only accept Paypal or cancel her bids.
Ralphie is rolling around on the kitchen floor, howling at the top of his poor liddle doggish lungs:
"Amber! PLEASE READ:"
How to Recognize a Counterfeit Cashier's Check Scheme
Here’s a scenario where a counterfeit cashier’s check may be used:
A seller of a high-priced item receives a request from a foreign bidder to accept a foreign cashier’s check as payment or deposit for the item.
Cashier's check amount far exceeds the value of the seller's item.
Buyer asks the seller to send the overpayment amount via instant cash wire transfer service (through Western Union or MoneyGram).
The problem is that the cashier's check is most likely fraudulent and it can often take weeks or even months for the seller's bank to know if a check is real. Some checks may appear to be from a U.S. bank. However, upon closer inspection, the check includes foreign country or city names.
If the cashier's check is fraudulent, the seller is held responsible.
You should never accept overpayments from buyers for items where the buyer is asking to be reimbursed for overpayment
posted on May 11, 2007 06:42:45 PM new
I would probably just write and ask her what she wanted me to do with the fake money orders, return them to her or send them to the AG in her state.
Chances are very good she will never be heard from again.
posted on May 11, 2007 07:14:41 PM new
First of all,they may not be fake,but did you check her bidding history,are the sellers on her bidding list?
Also where is she??
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Lets all stop whining !
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posted on May 11, 2007 07:45:02 PM new
Oh, Amber, you are far too nice in even suspecting that this may be legit. Let's leap the huge gap of credibility and assume they are legit. Who is responsible for the mistake and who is responsible for correcting it? Not you. Return the M.O.'s, file a NPB - cancel her bids and block her from your listings. If it was an honest mistake, it's up to the buyer to correct it. If you're still in doubt, take Ralphie's advice and try to cash it at your PO. I heard a clerk tell one customer who was thrilled that her paintings were sold to a Nigerian art gallery - "I'm sure the Money Order is probably legit, but it's not on our list - you'll have to take it to your bank". Yeah, right
posted on May 11, 2007 08:32:36 PM new
Amber if it's a postal MO & it's good they will cash it, but I'm sure it isn't.
Banks don't cash money orders, so I'm told, I know mine won't. You have to deposit them.
Listen to Ralphie & everyone else. By the time it's found out it's a counterfeit it will be impossible for you to recover your money.
SEND IT BACK & even if it's good (which it's not) I would send it back. You are not in the business of cashing money orders.
posted on May 11, 2007 08:39:13 PM new
I would call the bank or credit union or who ever issued those money orders,they would tell you what to do.
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Lets all stop whining !
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posted on May 11, 2007 09:48:52 PM new
Amber, this is a scammer. Now that she has found out that she can't get cash from you , she is going for merchandise.
She'll have those items resold long before your bank can notify you that the MOs were fake.
Do us all a favor and list a sold item number for us.
[ edited by LtRay on May 11, 2007 09:50 PM ]
posted on May 12, 2007 10:32:50 AM new
They are International Money Grams. Buyer is in Texas. I have taken them to my Credit Union this morning, and they are going to check into them to see if they are genuine. I really feel that this was a genuine mistake. The buyer has over 550 positive feedback, just a couple of NPB's about 4 years ago, I can't imagine that she will suddenly start forging money orders. She sent the invoice from the other seller, and I checked her winning bids, and all pan out. She buys mostly vintage sewing patterns, and the other seller was also in Canada, so I really think she got confused and sent them to the wrong sellers. I think she is quite elderly, she had put a note on the invoice for the other seller saying that she had sent the $30 money order for her package to be sent express, and the writing was very shaky. I don't want her to feel I don't trust her, but I need to make sure if these m.o.'s are genuine before I sent her package.
I appreciate all the advice. I am glad I didn't send the money, but I wasn't expecting her to bid on enough to cover them. I am hoping I don't have to send them back, she would have to buy another for me, and then also for the other buyer.
posted on May 12, 2007 09:50:48 PM new
amber wrote: ...I had a buyer bid on 2 of my store items. She said she was mailing a money order. Well, today 2 money orders arrived, one for $150, and one for $30. They had my name on, but the invoice was for another buyer. Mine should have been around $10. I wrote and told her, and she wants me to cash them and send her the money. I am very reluctant to do that.
Your best and safest course of action is to simply return the money orders. Ask for a new one in the correct amount.
Verifying Money orders:
If they are USPS or CanadaPost issued money orders you can check whether they are genuine at any US Post Office. With Western Union or TravelEx issued money orders you can call the 1-800 number printed on them to verify them. Bank issued money orders sometimes have a phone number listed on them, or you can look up the phone number of the issuing bank branch and call them to verify a money orders' authenticity.
posted on May 13, 2007 10:36:29 PM new
I hope you under no circumstances send her the money...this is a scam, no question about it...the scammers have gotten pretty good. This one is pretty good. Send them back. The fake money orders and cashiers checks are getting to the point where I am considering not accepting them - or at least limit to USPS money orders.
posted on May 13, 2007 11:35:25 PM new
Agit, the last time I received a Western Union Money order, the local contract WU office refused to cash it. They said they do not have to cash them unless they want to. I called WU #800 and was told to deposit it into my bank.
IF I had wanted to risk a charge back from my bank, I would have already gone there first. Even my bank is smart enough to put a 10 day hold on a WUMO. To say the least, I was seriously PO'd with WU and I will no longer accept one of their Money Orders.
Amber, congratulations! You have managed to get everyones attention with a $10 question
[ edited by LtRay on May 13, 2007 11:35 PM ]
posted on May 14, 2007 10:26:50 AM new
It's pretty clear that it is NOT a scam. The over-reactors here simply don't get it. Money orders are easily verified.
Although in this case, I would return the money orders and have a corrected one sent back. That would be the safest route for all involved including your buyer.
posted on May 16, 2007 08:49:13 AM new
You are right Stone, the money orders were genuine. However, they could easily have been a scam. I would never send money back under these circumstances. It did seem like a genuine mistake, but you can never be sure. I decided not to send them back, the buyer bought more items up to the extra amount she sent, so if I sent them back, she could just send them back to me, they are in my name. It ended up that I did well out of it because I got to sell more.
I appreciate all the help and comments, I was concerned about it, but it has all turned out well. By the way, the original correct amount has just arrived in the mail!
posted on May 17, 2007 12:59:14 PM new
Thanks for the kind comments Stone and otteropp, I am happy it turned out well. We do all have to be careful however, there are a lot of scammers out there.
posted on May 17, 2007 02:23:45 PM new
Truthfully Amber, I often trust the majority of customers. I only get suspect when somehtings goes wrong and check and see they have low feedback or wrong contact info.
In those few cases, I usually find their info via google and give them a call. It is amazing how much personal info you can find about people on the internet.
[ edited by LtRay on May 13, 2007 11:35 PM ]