BIKE SCAM ALERT [RETURN]

A number of UsedBikes users have contacted us regarding email scams received while advertising on UsedBikes.co.uk. Whilst these scams have only affected a minority of our users it is a scam that has the potential to remove thousands of pounds from your wallet.

Officially known as the West African advance fee or 419 fraud involves a purchaser from overseas (we’ve had examples from Dubai, USA, Nigeria) posing as international dealers who wants to buy your motorcycle. They claim that they are owed money by a client in the UK who will send a bankers draft for the full asking price of the vehicle, plus a few extra thousand to cover the cost of the shipping without viewing the vehicle or proof of condition and usually put their lack of contact telephone number down to a temporary fault.

The emails are often full of spelling mistakes and poor grammar to persuade the seller (victim) that the fraudster is an uneducated person who wouldn’t have the ability to defraud them. The fraudsters also try to make themselves seem genuine by stating that the vehicle is a present for a family member and use this as a reason for the urgency involved in the purchase. Many of the emails are signed off with a comment like ‘regards to you and your family’ or ‘may the peace of lord be with you.’

The seller is then asked to pay the draft into their bank and transfer the excess money to the buyer to pay for the shipping costs. The bank draft itself may seem genuine but be wary; we’ve had reports of bank drafts being accepted which have watermarks and bank branch stamps on them but are revealed as forgeries after being paid into the bank.

After the money has been sent, the seller hears nothing more from the ‘buyer’. Normally, the bank will contact the seller after a few days to tell them that the bankers draft was stolen, forged or that it has bounced. The money may look like it has cleared initially but can go on to be returned days later so check with your bank how long it will take for a bankers draft to completely clear and do not release the vehicle until your bank confirms the funds have cleared.

If the bankers draft is forged the money will be stripped from the sellers account, leaving them thousands of pounds out of pocket. If you are caught up in this you will find that neither your banks nor your insurance companies an help to mitigate your losses. The Metropolitan Police suggests that if you receive an email which you believe could relate to a scam, cause the sender some inconvenience by forwarding a copy of the email to the Internet Service Provider from where the email originated.

For example:-
abuse@hotmail.com
abuse@yahoo.com

If you receive a letter through the post, throw it away – the sender has not targeted you personally. UsedBike’s advice is to be extra vigilant when selling a vehicle – particularly if there seems to be anything out of the ordinary. Remember; never release the vehicle until you have secured the funds and the bank can confirm this. With this scam it can be days before the seller is told that the cheque is fake or stolen, so be wary.

UsedBikes has recently received feedback from another buyer about a scam where the seller is advertising a Bike at a price that seems too good to be true. On enquiring about the motorcycle he found that the bike existed in another Country and the seller has asked for an upfront Shipping Charge. Basically if it "sounds too good to be true" then it probably is!

Click here for feedback about fraudsters.

Important links
National Criminal Intelligence Service - http://www.ncis.gov.uk/uk.asp
Other scams - http://www.consumer.gov.uk/
Trading Standards - http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk
Police links - http://www.police.uk
Metropolitan Police Fraud Alert - http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert
Report a scammer fraud.alert@met.police.uk