Fraudulent payments

When you’re selling your Figaro it’s important you know how to spot the signs of a fraudulent payment.

Remember:

• Never send money abroad
• Never pay a large deposit
• Don’t hand over your car until you are satisfied the funds are in your account – check with your bank that you can withdraw funds safely on the Cheque
• Your bank will not honor fraudulent drafts or drafts that cannot be cleared through lack of funds
• Don’t be pressured into releasing your car – a genuine buyer will not mind waiting until the draft has cleared

Forged bankers’ Cheque’s

Sellers should be aware of the possibility of receiving a forged bankers’ draft.

Typical scenario:

• You receive a Cheque from the buyer
• Your bank informs you the Cheque was forged days later the buyer has already taken possession of the car and you’re left without payment
• Don’t release your car until you have confirmation the Cheque is genuine and has been paid by the buyer’s bank. Check with your bank to ensure the draft has been ‘given value’ rather than merely ‘cleared’.
• Be particularly wary of buyers who view your vehicle after the banks have closed and produce a bank draft already made out for the full asking price.

Fake escrow services

An escrow service mediates between a buyer and seller:

• The buyer transfers the payment to the escrow service
• The buyer takes delivery of the goods
  
• The escrow service releases the payment to the seller

Fraudulent escrow services appear legitimate but are run by fake ‘sellers’.

The ‘seller’ places a fake car advert with an unusually low price to grab the buyer’s attention. When the buyer enquires about the car they’re sent a standard reply, promising to waiver the shipping costs, suggesting payment is made via a particular escrow service.

Signs it may be a fake escrow service includes false license numbers, logos and copyright details, as well as a mobile phone number disguised as a foreign landline. After the money is sent, the buyer becomes impossible to contact and untraceable.

How to spot a legitimate escrow service:

A legitimate escrow service will never ask you to wire the funds directly to another party
Avoid sites which don’t have a padlock icon at the bottom of your screen and a ‘https://’ at the start of the website address – this means the site is not secure. Avoid sites which have a dash in their name and those which end in ‘.org’, ‘.biz’, ‘.cc’, ‘.info’ or ‘.us’ Ensure the escrow service has an address and a landline telephone number – try the number and make sure you talk to a person, rather than just a fax tone or answer phone message. If you’re suspicious, type the company’s name into a search engine – a legitimate escrow service will have a number of results listed – a fake escrow site will have very few.

Figaro Trader will never recommend an escrow service. If you receive an email claiming to be from Figaro Trader which does – beware, it’s probably be a scam.

Forward it to the Figaro Trader Customer Service team –

If you think you’ve been targeted by a scam, contact Figaro Trader immediately by emailing figarotrader@o2.co.uk