We have created this article to warn other car exporters out there about the current Cheque scams going around. This is how it works:

Stage 1

At this stage the fraudster will visit your website and submit an enquiry, claiming to want to purchase one of the vehicles you have for sale. He will say that he is writing from a company based in Africa (Uganda & Nigeria in most cases). The following is an example of an enquiry we received that turned out to be Fraudulent-

"Hello,
I want to buy this car but try to reduced the price for me.And find out how much is the shipping charge to Mombasa port.
Mail me back on time because of new year break."


You will reply to their enquiry and eagerly await their response

Stage 2
At this stage the "customer" will reply to you email and advise that he is willing to proceed with the purchase. They will request that you provide your bank details in order that they can send the payment. At this stage, they will also reveal that they are buying the car on behalf of a wealthy client who wishes to remain anonymous. See the extract below please


"Hello,
Send your bank details with bank address in full. So i will tell my client to make the payment on time bcos we will close for new year break soon. Send the details fast.
Thanks."

Stage 3

At this stage you will probably be very pleased with yourself, thinking of the nice profit you are about to make when the sale goes through. However, a week passes and there is no money showing in the account, so you start to wonder whether the seller was genuine or not. Out of the blue, you receive an email from the the buyer, reading as follows:

"Dear Jacob,

I have been advice by my client that i said he should forwarded the fund to your account that, his financial services department sent a cheque of 47,000 pounds into your account instead of 22,699 pounds as agreed.

Due to errors and blunders made by his financial services the funds meant for another account went into your account. So kindly confirm/acknowledge the payment and get back to me asap. I do apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused you. please accept my apology at this moment.

Best Regards,

James"

Stage 4

At this stage some of you may already be suspicious of the "customer". However, the rest of you will be hoping that the cheque turns out to be legitimate and all goes well. Sadly, it doesnt work out like that because you will receive a letter from the bank informing you that the cheque bounced. The bank will also inform you that there will be a charge of £120 or so to cover their costs.