Greater Sudbury Police have issued a press release warning the public of an ongoing attempted fraud scheme.
According to police, who were made aware of the scheme by a couple of citizens who were targeted, the scenario starts when a vehicle is put up for sale on the Internet or in a publication. Someone who claims to be an interested buyer contacts the seller by e-mail indicating his or her intention to purchase the vehicle.
The buyer and seller communicate for a period of time, mostly on-line, and come to an agreement on the purchase price (the buyers were not willing to give phone number or address information to the sellers). The buyer says a cheque will be sent by mail.
Some time later, the seller receives a cheque for an amount that well exceeds the purchase price. When the seller contacts the buyer as to the reason for the extra money, the buyer requests that the seller take the extra money and send it to a third party, as the third party will be the one who will travel to Sudbury to pick up the vehicle. The buyer hopes that the seller will take money out of his or her own account and send it, prior to the cheque being validated for authenticity.
In both cases, the cheques that were sent were fraudulent and neither of the sellers sent the money. There is no information as to where the suspects are residing or as to their identity and it is suspected that all names given in both incidents are fictitious.
Police are warning that when selling any item, you must ensure that there is no exchange until it is certain that the method of payment is legitimate. Anyone wishing to purchase an item should be able to provide you with personal information such as phone number or address. You should become suspicious if anyone is offering more than the asking price.
