The Ombudsman for Banking Services (OBS) has warned consumers about scams involving fraudulent cheque deposits.
Advocate John Simpson, the manager of investigations for the OBS, says deposit scams can take place in numerous ways. Two of them are as follows:
- A seller advertises that he or she has goods for sale. A thief contacts the seller and offers to buy the goods. The thief promises to deposit the cash amount into the seller's account and to fax the deposit slip to the seller as proof of payment. The thief deposits a stolen or forged cheque, and then forges a deposit slip to indicate that the deposit was made in cash. The thief faxes the forged deposit slip to the seller, who hands over the advertised goods. The seller only realises that he or she has been conned when his or her bank reverses the bogus deposit.
- The thief, posing as a legitimate buyer, "accidentally" de-posits a larger sum than the selling price, and asks the seller to refund the balance. The thief makes the deposit using a stolen or forged cheque, and then forges a deposit slip to reflect that the deposit was made using cash. The seller, thinking the deposit was in cash, refunds the money, discovering only later that the deposit was fraudulent.
Here are some tips to protect yourself from cheque fraud:
- Do not accept a deposit slip alone as proof of payment. Obtain written verification from your bank that cash has been deposited into your account before handing over goods or refunding money.
- It is better not to accept cheque deposits. However, if you do, ask your bank for special clearance on the deposit. This way the cheque is sent to the drawer's bank for verification before it is paid. Remember that even a special clearance is not a guarantee that a cheque payment cannot be reversed, if, for instance, the bank discovers that the cheque was forged.
- Be wary of buyers who offer to pay you without having seen the goods, or who say they will send someone else to pick up the goods.