Ebay fraud?

[filthiestfis]

One of the items that Im selling on ebay has been "purchased" by a member from POLAND with 0 feedback. At first he said he would send payment by post, now he is asking for my bank account details to put the money in.
Is it possible for this person to clean out my bank account just by knowing what its number and sort code is? Should I contact ebay?

[knobbynonuty]

Methinks filthiest is pulling our plonkers again here.

[Ethel]

Direct bank transfer is perfectly safe and is commonly used throughout Europe and is cheaper than PayPal - and safer. No chargebacks for a start.

As already said - the information needed (bank account number and sort code) is on all your cheques - but no signature.
So it is safer than a cheque.

[pond50]

if this person wants to pay through western union then he probably comes from africa (nigeria) not poland the worst country for fraud

[Tichfield]

Pond.

How is this person going to defraud the seller if the seller has the cash in their hand via Western Union before they send the item?

Answers on a postal order please!

[filthiestfis]

Jeremy Clarkson had his account raided after publishing his bank account details.

[knobbynonuty]

More fool him then

[slark]

tichfield has given you the best solution accept the western union idea. money in your hand then send item.send it international signed for and you then have proof of delivery.

[druiaghtagh]

Run a mile from this DONT TOUCH IT

[filthiestfis]

druiaghtagh: why? He has already sent me the western union number, I need to collect the money from an agent now.

[slipnot]

I'd definitely contact Ebay. You don't say how much money is involved but Paypal has been OK for me - I know you pay a fee, but better safe than sorry. I'd never give my bank details to 'anyone' except a large well-known business etc. If you need more advice, contact your bank branch/credit card centre. I recently had an attempt by someone in US to get a large amount of money from my credit card. Card Centre fraud section contacted me and when I agreed it was not a valid transaction, I had to have my card cancelled and a new one issued etc. Be careful..

[slipnot]

P.S. to my posting........WESTERN UNION was involved in the scam to get at my credit card !!

[filthiestfis]

True. I did contact ebay and their response was that its ok to accept western union as payment and rather to follow the sale amicably. Otherwise I can opt for an unpaid strike on the buyer. I sure he doesnt care since he has 0 feedback.
But its true that the risk with western union is when making a payment rather than receiving it.

[foodluva]

Filthiestfis

In answer to your original question, if someone gets hold of your bank details they could clear out your bank account in the following ways:

They could set up a standing order on your account with their own bank account as the recipient.

They could purchase goods by direct debit with your bank details quoted.

The fact that your signature on either mandate would be incorrect would not matter a jot as banks don't check most standing orders or direct debits unless they exceed a certain amount (the bank I used to work for had a limit of �5000 - nothing was checked below this amount). Technically, you would be entitled to a refund of any fraudulent standing orders and direct debits from your bank but it's the hassle involved.

Additionally, if criminals were able to marry up your bank details with your name and address you could have your identity stolen! I used to troubleshoot for victims of identity theft and trust me, you do NOT want to go there. I would recommend that people shred anything (letters etc) that has any type of personal info contained in it. Fraudsters pay people to go through your bins to locate items like that.

Ethel is quite correct in stating that cheque books contain your bank details. However, in 17 years of banking I have never seen fraud been traced back to acquiring bank details from someone's cheque book as generally cheques are written to trusted sources for legitimate transactions. That said, I no longer use one!

Hope this helps! People BEWARE!!!!!!

[knobbynonuty]

Oh for gods sake filthy is winding you all up.

[filthiestfis]

who is this knobbynonutty and whats your beef with me, huh?