I was chatting to a guy a couple of days ago. The story is that he's currently working on the oil rigs, but looking to stay in the UK for a few weeks, soon. He's looking to rent somewhere while he's here. Could I possibly look into it and get back to him?
We'd literally exchanged a couple of messages on here and then a few texts via WhatsApp. I hadn't even heard of him an hour before, and here he was, asking me to go out and find a short term rental flat for him.
That was the last message in our exchange. I didn't bother to reply. It smells of some kind of scam setup to me. "Oh, can you pay the deposit for me. I will send you a cheque for 10 grand and you can wire the balance back to me." Then, three months on (long after the money is credited to your account) the cheque bounces, and you're left 10K out of pocket.
Is this a one-off, or do others here have a similar experience? |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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That does sound so dodgy. Good job you hv yr head screwed on and sussed him out.
I got offered a flight to Amsterdam last weekend. A guy there on here as a couples profile but was really a single guy. Asked if i wanted to join him in Amsterdam and he wld pay for the flight.
I didn't reply and just blocked him. Do they really think that ppl are stupid enough to do something crazy like that? |
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By *SAchickWoman
over a year ago
Hillside desolate |
Had a guy I spoke to but not met yet ask for a loan of twenty quid in my first couple of weeks of joining here  .
Like others I've been offered several holidays to various places.
One guy asked me if I'd call his ex wife and pretend to be his current girlfriend to cover up some lie he'd told her  |
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"I'm more surprised you gave your phone number out after an hour  x"
It's an approach that works for me. Getting a phone number is a good indicator that someone is serious about meeting.
You do things your way. I'll do them mine. |
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By *issT35Woman
over a year ago
Cambridge |
"I'm more surprised you gave your phone number out after an hour x
It's an approach that works for me. Getting a phone number is a good indicator that someone is serious about meeting.
You do things your way. I'll do them mine. "
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"I was chatting to a guy a couple of days ago. The story is that he's currently working on the oil rigs, but looking to stay in the UK for a few weeks, soon. He's looking to rent somewhere while he's here. Could I possibly look into it and get back to him?
We'd literally exchanged a couple of messages on here and then a few texts via WhatsApp. I hadn't even heard of him an hour before, and here he was, asking me to go out and find a short term rental flat for him.
That was the last message in our exchange. I didn't bother to reply. It smells of some kind of scam setup to me. "Oh, can you pay the deposit for me. I will send you a cheque for 10 grand and you can wire the balance back to me." Then, three months on (long after the money is credited to your account) the cheque bounces, and you're left 10K out of pocket.
Is this a one-off, or do others here have a similar experience?"
Whenever I try and sell something on gum tree or free ads I get these kind of scams. The buyer is always out of the country, can't speak on the phone and always want PayPal details for payment. I don't know how the scam works but you're right to trust your gut instinct |
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"Whenever I try and sell something on gum tree or free ads I get these kind of scams. The buyer is always out of the country, can't speak on the phone and always want PayPal details for payment. I don't know how the scam works but you're right to trust your gut instinct "
The classic scam that I'm aware of is as follows:
They buy an item from you for an agreed price. Let's say it's a car for 4 grand.
They want to pay with a cheque from a foreign bank for 10 grand. You cash the cheque and agree to wire back the difference to them, using a certain service that you get a mail ban for even mentioning here (seriously.)
You pay in the 10 grand, and it clears within a few days. You wire the 6 back to them and wait for the arrangements to collect the car. That's the last you hear from them.
Several months later, your bank realises the cheque is a dud and issues a reversal. They debit 10 grand from your account. The 6 that you wired to them is untraceable. No comebacks.
So you're left 6 grand out of pocket, and still have a car to sell.
Perhaps they do something similar with PayPal: overpay and ask you to return the excess via an untraceable money transfer service. |
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