CRIMINAL CASHBACK
What is criminal cashback?
Never send money via money transfer service if you have been in receipt of a cheque payment from an individual - in a sum greater than what you have asked. This is known as criminal cashback for the item you are selling or property you are renting. After the cheque has been paid into your account, the fraudster you will encourage you to send the difference to them, or someone else by using a money transfer service or bank transfer. Never send these people money by any method. If the cheque you have received is stolen or forged, it can often take more than 3 days before that cheque is identified as being fraudulent, and by that time you would have already sent the funds by money transfer with no means of getting it back, and also find that your bank account will have the original debt reversed, leaving you with the loss of the funds withdrawn and sent by money transfer.
How can we protect ourselves against Criminal Cashback
Be particularly wary of any sale where:
• The ‘buyer' appears to want to remain distant from you - such as not wishing to meet you or see the goods prior to purchase. Always question whether a buyer is genuine if they use a third party as an intermediary or ‘shipping agent'.
• You receive a cheque or banker's draft in payment that is for more money than your asking price – either at the time of receipt or later on you receive a request from the buyer to send all or some of this difference to him/her, a third party or a ‘shipping agent' via money transfer - irrespective of whether their cheque or banker's draft has already entered your account.
• These points most likely signal an attempt at fraudulent activity, with you as the intended victim. This is because a stolen cheque or bankers draft can still be recalled by the bank - even if the funds have cleared and are showing on your account. Note that any money transferred by you cannot be recalled once sent. The bank will not reimburse you for your monetary loss.
If you do become concerned during a sale:
• Ask questions of your ‘buyer'
• Never be hurried along by your ‘buyer' – Fraudsters often use this tactic in the hope that you will make a mistake or overlook an important detail.
• Check the details of any payment received. Do the details correspond with what you know of your ‘buyer’? If payment is in the form of a company cheque or banker's draft, try to contact the company directly to verify its authenticity.
• If you suspect a buyer may be fraudulent, turn them down. Trust your instincts they are usually right...that's why we have them. Walk away.
What help is available to victims of Criminal Cashback?
If you do lose money to this type of fraud report the matter to your local police.
Talk to your bank, as they will be able to give you guidance and clarify the status of any payments received.
Examples of Criminal Cashback
There are many examples of criminal cashback attempts around the sales of motor vehicles, mainly due mainly to the value of these transactions.
Sale of a Porsche car - A man advertised his Porsche 911 cabriolet for sale for £37,990 in ‘Autotrader' and was contacted by a ‘buyer' by email claiming to be in Holland. He was then asked to accept a UK banker's draft for £43,680 from a third party in the UK who apparently owed money to the ‘buyer', and to send the £5,690 difference via money transfer to a ‘shipping agent' once the funds cleared.
Sale of a Mercedes car - A man advertised his wife's car in ‘Autotrader' and was contacted by a ‘buyer' claiming to be in Spain. He was asked to accept a bankers draft from a third party in the UK for £14,300,which was £4300 more than the asking price, with the understanding that once this cleared he would then forward the difference by way of ‘money transfer' to a shipping agent.
Sale of a Motorcycle - A man advertised his motorcycle for sale in ‘Biketrader' for £3800. Within a week he was approached by 3 different ‘buyers' abroad offering to purchase it by banker's draft or UK cheque for a sum significantly above the asking price, on the understanding that he then transferred the difference via ‘money transfer' to a ‘shipping agent'.
Note: ‘Autotrader' and ‘Biketrader' now carry fraud prevention advice to ‘sellers' on their websites. However, this method of fraud is not limited to vehicles. The sale of expensive items present the opportunity for criminals to make a substantial profit, and as the method is virtually always the same, we ask you to remain vigilant at all times when selling items, and stop the sale if you have any doubt in your ‘buyer’.