All I can suggest is be EXTREMELY cautious. Many of these are nothing but a scam.
I was recently selling a house and got emails from a couple of different people who were supposedly from the U.K. and who were interested in the house. I even got a phone call from one of them who had sent an email.
Upon investigation, I was able to determine that the emails were NOT coming from the U.K. but were actually being routed through several different countries before I received them.
When I quized one of them about it, I never heard from them again.
You’re welcome. And thank YOU for posting your findings. I would hate to see anyone taken in by one of these scams.
I’ve heard that they will come up with all kinds of reasons why they need you to deposit some money back into their account. But the long-and-short of it is, as you pointed out, they send you a phony cashier-check in an amount more than what they owe and then ask for you to deposit some back into their account. Then you’re left holding the bag when it’s discovered the cashier-check was fake.
I suppose one very simple way around it is to just tell any foreign buyer that you will hold their cashier-check in an escrow account until it clears.
I like to use one year leases that role into a m2m. I find lenders are more co-operative when I want to pull $ out.
Jim
Greetings Brian,
All I can suggest is be EXTREMELY cautious. Many of these are nothing but a scam.
I was recently selling a house and got emails from a couple of different people who were supposedly from the U.K. and who were interested in the house. I even got a phone call from one of them who had sent an email.
Upon investigation, I was able to determine that the emails were NOT coming from the U.K. but were actually being routed through several different countries before I received them.
When I quized one of them about it, I never heard from them again.
Again, just be very cautious.
My 2¢
Brian,
You’re welcome. And thank YOU for posting your findings. I would hate to see anyone taken in by one of these scams.
I’ve heard that they will come up with all kinds of reasons why they need you to deposit some money back into their account. But the long-and-short of it is, as you pointed out, they send you a phony cashier-check in an amount more than what they owe and then ask for you to deposit some back into their account. Then you’re left holding the bag when it’s discovered the cashier-check was fake.
I suppose one very simple way around it is to just tell any foreign buyer that you will hold their cashier-check in an escrow account until it clears.
: )
*FTC toll free hotline: 877-FTC-HELP (877-382-4357)
* FTC online complaint form (www.ftc.gov)
* Internet Fraud Complaint Center (www.ic3.gov/)