Car Buying Scam? Phising?

well heres an update. Received a cheque this morning to my work address & believe it or not it is for €4500 above the asking price.....

Why are you even entertaining this? Do you think it's normal for randomers to offer €4500 over the asking price for a car they haven't seen? Even by exploring this you're putting yourself at risk...do you think the type of people who perpertrate these scams would take kindly to being messed around? This person now knows your name and has an address for you. This is crazy stuff.
 
This is a known scam

However, be aware that in some cases, the cheque may not be drawn on an overseas bank, instead it may be a counterfeit cheque or draft drawn on an Irish bank, often to a very high quality.

I note one poster said ask for the cheque to be made payable to cash. That may not protect you. Some banks nowadays when you present a cheque payable to cash, lodge the cheque to your bank account and then give you the cash by debiting your account back. If the cheque bounces, they will then debit the amount to your account, leaving you out of pocket and no car
 
For the record John Rambo all this person knows is my name & email address. Address is my work address. The cheque doesnt even have this guys name on it. It has an individuals name on it together with a company name of which i googled but to no avail! Anyway i now have their bank acc. no. & branch etc.

Would it not be the right thing to do but to inform the bank in question of whats going on. Its a UK account by the way. Would be better than ignoring it & letting them do it time & time again. And from the Cheque no. im the 4th person to receive a cheque.
 

Not meaning to alarm you, but to 'get you' your name and your work address are more than enough information. Also, in your earlier posts you were citing a wish to actually sell the car, getting as higher price, and curiosity about there being other scams. The civic mindedness seems to have only developed in the last half hour. All I'm saying is be very careful.
 

Well John rambo as you may or may not be aware this whole thread started because yes i wish to sell my car. All im saying is that people should be aware of whats happening & i wanted to know if people had been contacted or heard of a scam like this.
 
Well John rambo as you may or may not be aware this whole thread started because yes i wish to sell my car. All im saying is that people should be aware of whats happening & i wanted to know if people had been contacted or heard of a scam like this.

Scallan, I'm well aware you are trying to sell your car. What's happened is you have been contacted by fraudsters who you have engaged with. This may be dangerous. Nobody offers more than the asking price for a car unless they are up to no good. Fraudsters thrive on information. They now know your name and where you work. If you lodge the cheque perhaps they'll be able to find out your bank details. What you are doing is crazy.
 

At no stage was i offered more than the asking price, it was in fact lower than the asking price. The cheque arrived today for more than the asking price. Nor did i say that i would be lodging the cheque. Whats the point in lodging it? Would it or would it not be more beneficial reporting this???
 

Scallan, I've no interest in going down dead ends with you over this. I'm worried about you, just be careful. It's a scam.
 
I agree with John Rambo. What you are getting involved in is absolutely crazy.

In response to your second question above, you need to report it immediately to the Gardai and be prepared to answer some fairly direct questions about your participation to date in what is a suspicious and possibly fraudulent transaction.

By handling the cheque, you may have put yourself in an awkward position and you may also have damaged or eliminated finger-print evidence.

Take the cheque and envelope to a Garda Station now.
 
You need to get on to the Garda Bureau of Fraud Investigation in Harcourt Street Dublin.

Their telephone number is 666 3740 / 41 / 42 / 43

Please let us know what happens as it may be useful to other people in the future.