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Cleared Fraud Check - Charged Back (Consumer Law & Fraud)

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 14:16:00 GMT
Tags: back, charged, cleared, consumer, fraud, internet, law, received, rundown, scam, situation, victim, wheels

I was the victim of an Internet scam. Here is a quick rundown of the situation:
I listed a set of wheels for $1000. I received a check for $2800. The buyer asked me to wire his 'shipper' the difference of $1800. I thought the check was fraud, but had no real way of verifying the validity of the check. So I thought that if the check had cleared that I would be OK. I deposited the check, and informed the bank's [Bank of America] 800 number that I felt that the check was suspicious and possibly fraudulent.

3-4 days go by, and the money was in my account. I then called the bank's 800 number again, and the service rep said that the check had cleared and quote "that I was protected, that the feds released the funds". Once I was informed by the rep from customer service that the check was 'cleared', I thought that it was a legitimate case. So I wired his 'shipper' the difference of funds ($1800).

About a week goes by after I wired the funds and the bank charged me back the $2800 from the check that they told me was clear. Apparently, the account number on the check was a fake.

Obviously, at this time... I am aware that the check is a fake. My initial thought that it was a fake, until the bank said that it was good.
I would have NEVER wired the 'shipper' the funds if I wasn't told that the check was good from the 800 number rep at Bank of America. I feel like I was acting under supervision from the bank, and that they should assume the liability of the check. Their rep said that it was good, and that is why I wired the funds out.

At this point in time, I have contacted local police, the Attorney General, The Office of the Controller of Currency, FDIC and a few other places.

I never shipped the wheels out, so basically I am only out the difference of $1800. I feel that Bank of America should assume the liability of these funds. They now say that they made the funds available because I am such a good client with them. Meanwhile, they put a hold on my payroll check...lol! Go figure!

Do you feel that I can sue Bank of America for these funds? As I said above, I was acting under direct supervision from them before I wired the funds out.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

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  • Sat, 05 Apr 2008 07:19:00 GMT(1)
  • I do my best to alert people to this fraud, as it's always fraud. If it weren't, the buyer could wire the money to the shipper himself - and he would, because he doesn't know you from Adam.

    Quoting Online Auctions and Classifieds

    A person claiming to be an international buyer responds to an advertisement, offering to pay a premium price for the item being sold - often more than the asking price. They tell the seller that they will send a money order for the purchase price, plus an additional sum for the international shipment of the merchandise. The seller is asked to wire the shipping costs to a shipping company identified by the buyer. The money order is later dishonored, and the seller is out several thousand dollars.

  • Fri, 04 Apr 2008 21:55:00 GMT(2)

  • Quote:

    Do you feel that I can sue Bank of America for these funds?

    Probably not. Particularly since you've already stated

    Quote:

    I thought the check was fraud, but had no real way of verifying the validity of the check.

    You actually could have had the bank check it out prior to depositing it. It takes time, but it can be done. Trust your gut. If it sounds fishy, it most likely is.

    Typically, when you open an account, your terms will include a clause explaining that if a check you have deposited is returned as invalid, the bank will debit the funds from your account - the check was no good, so you don't have a right to those funds.
  • Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:42:00 GMT(3)
  • Not again.

    I hang around a few discussion boards, and I see this happening several times a year. Each time, a scammer comes up with a convincing story.

    The last one I heard, was a buyer mails a phoney "bank check" in payment for some car bought on ebay, and tells the out of state seller that he'll be driving in with a freind to drive the car back.

    Not long after, the seller gets a story that the buyer found himself short of funds for the long journey, and would the seller please wire back $2,000 of the $12,000 check the seller just received and already deposited. The buyer claims to have some funds in transit, and he would show up in a few days, and take the money out of a local ATM, repay the $2,000, and pick up the car at the same time.

    The seller figures he got the check, still has the car, so why not?? If I haven't followed the discussions, I probably would've fallen for it.

    Meanwhile, the buyer never shows up, the next thing the seller hears is from the bank, and the check is phoney.
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