Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Warning to Sellers - SCAM ALERT !!

It's not war, it's theft.

Calling it WAR masks that it is just theft.

People too lazy, or too stupid, to get a job...so they decide to steal....

Am sure their momma is proud

I would have thought that the finance company would not have a leg to stand on legally. They would be the ones defrauded and they would not be able to pass the consequences of that fraud off onto a third party, ie the legitimate seller who accepted the payment in good faith. After all it was not the seller who asked for a loan.

I had a similar experience with the sale of a motocycle in Australia. The buyer had stolen bank account cheque and deposit books from a neighbour who had gone on holidays. He started by making deposits in the account and chatting up the bank staff. He then started getting bank cheques (also known as a cashier's cheque) to pay for purchases; furniture, electrical items, stereo, and my Laverda. He filled up a container and shipped it to New Zealand and the theft/fraud was discovered when the neighbour returned from holidays. In the meantime I had banked the cheque (I had phoned the bank to be sure it was legit before accepting it). Much to my surprise the bank cheque had been cancelled and I had a visit from the police. At the end of the day they missed him at the airport by a couple of hours and the container, even though they could only surmise that it existed, was untraceable. They told me it was not worth starting extradition proceedings because the cost would be greater than the money stolen, so he got away with it.

In the end I won against the bank and received a replacement bank cheque as it was judged that the bank could not pass off the consequences of a fraud on to a third party, ie me, who had accepted a legitimate payment to me that had been made by the bank.

Thanks for sharing your experience. It’s good to know it is worth some legal advice to challenge it.

A timely warning Simon. As it happens I am right in the middle of selling a car right now, through Gumtree, and although not the loan scam, I have had at least 3 people offer me the full asking price with a courier to collect, sight unseen, with some flimsy excuse for not being able to view it. Always done through PayPal interestingly.

I always tell them that I only deal with people in person and they have to pay cash, or else the courier has to pay cash at the time of collection. It always seems to go quiet after that. Funny.

I wonder if that would happen here as well? Perhaps you were fortunate in that you had rung the bank for confirmation, and they had failed by allowing the frauder to use these cheques after he had spoken to staff (guessing no ID so he did it by building up trust).

My initial thoughts on the OP's scenario would be that once the fraud was discovered the money would be removed from your account as it is not yours, and you never had an guarantee from the bank but rather assumed it was legitimate and released the vehicle - meaning you would lose the money and vehicle in question.

Either way it is worrying that it is that easy for someone to apply for a loan, chances are when you sell a vehicle the person will know your name/address and bank details for the transfer.. so if he manages to figure out just a few more you are a bit stuck unless you do a lot of due diligence on the payment recieved via your credit report and wait a certain amount of time before handing over the keys..

i do giggle at these talented fraudsters, clearly i don't condone it, its just a pity they do not use their talent in more legitimate ways.

Once you have someone's name and address and especially bank details it is very easy to find out enough information to get a loan in this world of social media. Take Facebook for example, look at your profile you have probably put your birthday details in there, same on LinkedIn now they have where you work also will be able to obtain a photo of you for false ID. You can join online sites that with the above information will reveal all your history, marriages, finances, legal issues, family history, properties purchased, etc. etc. It's amazing how much info is out there on each of us just takes a little knowledge of how the system works and where to look.

Yep ....you try to buy a new coffee maker and next thing you know some identity theif has gone on tinder as you and now you're married!!

Bloody modern world! .... glad I don't use the internet!!





K

Abso-bloody-lutely, the dark truth is that you don't have to be an internet user for someone else to gain the information, just look at your county or local records!!!! Back in the good old days before the internet in the Security Services we could find out all about you and your habits right down to what you ate, just took a bit longer and more manpower.