E-Check Scam?

[matthewmirelez]

I have been contacted by someone who requested I contact them via phone number. They are talking about movers, financers, e-checks and just said they cleared my check for almost ten times the original price. Everything says scam from the moment he contacted me. What should I do?

[dentalsales4u]

I never return a call if I don't know who it is or what it's about. I research the phone number first and then I decide if I want to call them.

I would contact my bank since they are stating they cleared a check for more than it was written for.

Not much info to go on from your statement, so that's about all I could recommend at this time.

Good luck to you

[bonjourami]

Big fat scam, of course do not contact them, and put him on your blocked bidders list. As a newbie seller, you are a scam magnet.You will have to be proactive here and learn to protect yourself.

[b86fiero]

Sounds like a big scam to me.  

Contact your bank to see if there is a problem.

If bank says never happened, ignore them or send a message back stating you notified law enforcement. 

[matthewmirelez]

Thank you ! I can usually call a scam when I see one but I will admit I got careless when reaching out to this person. But I will block them now 👍

[onefootflipper]

I do 30 transactions a day and have done so for years. Last time I had to talk to a customer on the phone was around 2004 when they bought an arcade game and were picking it up in person. You haven't been able to pay with any sort of check on ebay in many years.

You have zero feedback and expensive items, this is 100 percent a scam. End all your auctions that don't have bids and change them to buy it now with the price you want/expect. That will stop the scammers cold.

[bonjourami]

Yes the sooner the better...good luck.

[matthewmirelez]

I have yet to accept the money or move forward with conducting business with them, I felt like it was a scam and wanted to make sure before I make a mistake. Thank you !

[bonjourami]

There is no money.

[eburtonlab]

The e-check scam is a variation of the old cashier's check scam.

One common scam is to send a cashier's check for an item that is to be picked up later. The seller receives the check and deposits it in the seller's bank. The check amount is usually greater than the transaction amount, with the seller instructed to pay some extra to the shipper who will pick up the item. After a few days, the bank shows the funds as available in the seller's account, and the seller assumes the check has successfully cleared.

The buyer then claims to have a problem with the shipping service -- they all got covid and can not pick up the item. The buyer demands the return of the full amount of the check, as quickly as possible. The seller eventually agrees to send the money via other non-refundable means such as a cash app.

Later the seller finds out from the bank that the cashier's check was phony or stolen, and the original deposit amount disappears from the seller's account. The seller is out the entire amount of the "refund".

[donsdetour]

if you gave them money its gone man.

Were and how did you find this??

[dentalsales4u]

One thing to remember is ALWAYS keep all communications through eBay. Never  take if off eBay with a call or text.

If you get a request to call or text, it's always a scam.

Buy it Now listings with immediate payment required will take care of a lot of the scammers.

If they buy and don't pay, your listing remains active like it wasn't purchased. Scammers don't want to mess with those types of listings and you will get rid of the non paying buyers too.