There’s a discussion going on at the UK Bike Forum regarding a scam that one of the members encountered through Ebay. He is selling a car for £3000 and the "buyer" offers to send a cheque for £6500. The idea being that he gives her the car and the difference – because, apparently, her employer has raised the cheque for that amount and it can’t be changed.
Now to me (and the others discussing it) this has SCAM written in big friendly letters flashing neon pink. I’m having difficulty, though, grasping just how the scammers get away with it. After all, savvy sellers will allow sufficient time for the funds to properly clear before parting with anything. Which seems to me a potential flaw in the scheme. UK banks will only accept sterling cheques, which seems like another one (although in this case, the cheque proffered was supposed to be drawn on a UK bank). While I can see that the delay in clearing allows the scammer to potentially make off with the car and a cool £3500 bonus, the whole thing seems so flaky. Or is it just me?