|
|
|
Media Info
 'Guaranteed cheque' not worth the paper
21 October 2008
By Thandi Skade
She was supposed to be on her way to America to visit her boyfriend, but now Yolande Lehmkuh, 24, is devastated.
She was recently duped out of R7 000 after advertising her Nikon D40 digital camera on an electronic classifieds database.
Lehmkuhl says she placed an advert on Junk Mail on September 30. Two days later she received an SMS from a man we'll call K, who indicated his interest in the camera and offered to make an electronic bank transfer.
She gave him the banking details and later that day he faxed through proof of payment.
Since he was using an FNB account and her mother an Absa account, they were advised that it would take three working days for the money to reflect, but she refused to release the camera until the money had cleared.
When the money had still not cleared by October 7, Lehmkuhl says she realised that she had been scammed.
"I tried to call Mr K on his cell and there was no answer. I left a message on his cell to say that we assume that he is no longer interested in the camera (because) there was no money transferred," she said.
While conducting business with K, Lehmkuhl had received an e-mail from another person, whom we will call D, who had inquired about the camera. When the transaction with K failed, she contacted D, who said he was still interested.
Via e-mail correspondence, he told Lehmkuhl that he'd be using a bank-guaranteed cheque to make the payment.
She asked him what that meant and he explained saying: "A bank-guaranteed cheque is a means of payment which is convenient to use and easy to carry since it is a substitute for cash. It is just as good as cash because you can cash it over the counter at any bank."
"So I replied to him saying that I will accept the bank-guaranteed cheque (because) a lot of people told me this is a pretty safe way," she said.
She asked for a copy of his ID and work and cellphone number.
They arranged that D would meet Lehmkuhl's dad at his dance studio in Meyersdal to make the exchange. But on the day, he sent someone else to fetch the camera with a letter explaining he could not make the meeting personally as he had "work commitments".
"This person had all the documents with a letter from D apologising for not being able to make it. My father looked at everything and it seemed above board, so he handed over the camera," she says.
She went to cash the cheque at an FNB branch in Krugersdorp, but to her dismay, she was told that the cheque was a fake.
"It's devastating because I was going to use the money from the sale of the camera to buy a plane ticket to the US," she says.
Now Lehmkuhl said it was uncertain that she would now be able to raise the money for a ticket before her visa expires on December 15.
She wants to alert people doing business through the classifieds to be cautious with their deals.
"Go with these guys to the bank and have them draw the money from the bank there and then. If you have a gut feeling and you feel that something is not right, rather take an extra day or week to decide on the sale," she advises.
Eblockwatch founder Andre Snyman says fraudsters prey on people advertising items for sale in classifieds, usually contacting the victim on a Wednesday, promising a deposit by Friday.
"You see a payment into your bank account so you make the exchange thinking the money has cleared, but by Monday you realise that the money has been reversed and that you've been duped," he says.
He relays a story about a woman in Kempton Park who had wanted to redo her kitchen. She found a man who came to her house and gave her a very good quote.
"He told her she'd have to put down a deposit and the balance of 50 percent when the goods were delivered and the other 50 percent on completion," he says.
The men arrived at her house and they agreed upon a day, took out her old kitchen and brought in a truck full of wood.
They never returned and got away with her old kitchen and half of the total amount of the job. It was later found that the wood they had dropped off were offcuts.
"If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is," he said.
Tips For Sellers To Avoid Scammers
- Take a friend with you when meeting a prospective buyer - safety in numbers.
- Leave your valuables at home when meeting a prospective buyer.
- Meet in a public place such as your place of work, police station or shopping mall.
- Use your garage, garden or porch area to transact as opposed to taking strangers into your home.
- Know the potential buyer - have a name, telephone number, place of work and the contact details at hand. Verify these details.
- Cash should be your preferred method of trade. Accepting goods such as jewellery, investment opportunities or stocks as an alternative for cash is never a good idea.
- Hand over the item being purchased only when you have the full selling price in hand; small deposits, receipts or promises of payment should not be accepted.
- If you want to accept a cheque as payment, make sure that the cheque has actually cleared (which usually takes a few days) before handing over your item for sale. Also ensure that funds deposited into your account are available for use and not on hold with the bank. Call your bank. Insist that they make sure that the funds are cleared and available for your use.
- The prospective buyer should bring the cash to you. Going with the buyer to the ATM, bank or other source of revenue puts you at greater risk.
Danger signs:
- When a buyer seems almost too keen to purchase items and appears to want to buy whatever you have for sale, without regard for the price or condition of the goods, beware.
- Immediate requests for your bank account details to deposit money even before the items have been seen should be considered suspicious, especially when linked to a demand that the transaction be concluded immediately and goods collected/delivered within a few hours.
- The more complicated the deal becomes, the more likely that it is a scam.
Sell your item on your terms - do not drive great distances to meet the potential buyer or go to great lengths to enable them to make the purchase - such as buying airtime for them, depositing money into their account for petrol to be able to drive to your designated meeting spot and so on.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION www.consumerassist.co.za 0861 21 22 23 debt counselling call centre
Andre Snyman - CEO - Consumer Assist
aurelia.espag@consumerassist.co.za / 011 654 6018 (Languages: English, Afrikaans)
Source: The Star
|
Debt Counselling 
Employers 
Helping Others 
