Bank transfer reversed?

StuartH

StuartH

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Just after bit of advice here..can a bank transfer be reversed?.I have just placed two cameras up for sale and they have sold instantly! Guy is in ethiopia and sent me all his details plus his brothers details he wants me to send cameras to in the UK..he even rang me on the phone.English guy working for charity company called mercy corps. Money is now showing in my bank account but just a bit wary can it be reversed at all
 
if it sounds to good to be true IT ALWAYS IS . stolen cards etc come to mind .do a google for mercy corps ,they must have a office phone number ,ask if he works for them etc .but in reality your first line of defence is your bank if they say o.k then its kosher
 
Personally I would check with your bank in the morning, the only real guarantee you would have is if the bank tell you that this specific transaction cannot be reversed.
 
Bearair said:
Personally I would check with your bank in the morning, the only real guarantee you would have is if the bank tell you that this specific transaction cannot be reversed.
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Yeah already plan on that if they can assure me all is ok then fine.
 
I personally would contact Mercy Corps to ask for them to check with him that this is genuine. If he's genuine he's not going to worry that you are checking carefully before sending a camera to someone in the UK when the purchaser is in Ethiopia
 
Yep same name and he has got his brother to email me at company address he gave me.Just seems bit too good too be true
 
That's why I"d check with Mercy Corps
 
Just spoke to natwest and they confirmed cash is in my account and available and cannot be reversed..oh well happy days and weirdest sale I have ever had! lol
 
If fraud has occurred then the transfer can be reclaimed. The whole thing smells like a scam to me.

If all of the information you have is available in the public domain then again I'd assume scam.

Charity worker like army soldier is a classic scammers choice of occupation.

You might be the one in a million genuine purchase but I'd be alarmed. I think transfers can be reversed within the first 24 hours. Seems to be some discussion on whether FPI ones can be or not. BACS certainly can.
 
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srichards said:
If fraud has occurred then the transfer can be reclaimed. The whole thing smells like a scam to me.

If all of the information you have is available in the public domain then again I'd assume scam.

Charity worker like army soldier is a classic scammers choice of occupation.

You might be the one in a million genuine purchase but I'd be alarmed. I think transfers can be reversed within the first 24 hours. Seems to be some discussion on whether FPI ones can be or not. BACS certainly can.
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So is it worth delaying postage for a day or two?
 
On the one hand it may be genuine

and on the other .........
Do all the checks you can- and then you'll have to make your own mind up
 
StuartH said:
So is it worth delaying postage for a day or two?
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I probably would. Or tell them it's been sent on a 2 day service and see if money is still there and send it a day later on a next day lateish in the day of it still is. I'd certainly use a fully insured track able signed for service. Is the delivery address the charity Address? If not, again that's rather suspect.
 
Sending it to Mercy Corps is an excellent idea
 
I know it's the the same as checks, but I remember my dad called the bank to make sure a cheque had cleared for something he had sold, they confirmed it had and then 1-2 weeks later money was taken out (this was a long time ago mind) but I'd really get the bank to absolutely state, in writing if you can, that it can't be reversed.
 
No delivery address is same as address he gave for his brother s buisness in london
 
So a guy that is currently out in Ethiopia phones you from Ethiopia with a supposed brother in the UK after searching the Internet for second hand cameras in the UK from Ethiopia? Their phone and internet coverage seems rather good.

Id bet the email headers from this guy don't point back to an Ethiopian ISP that this charity would have to be using to give this fairy tale a whiff of legitimacy.

The whole thing is still screaming scam to me.

Plus if the brother isn't that far from the London office of this charity then it makes less for it not to be delivered there as they could easily forward it on or this brother could pick it up from them.

The camera thing may just be part of it. If you have given them important personal info then they have the outline for identity fraud too. I'd definitely keep an eye on your credit file as well for the next 6 to 12 months.

But I'm a miserable cynic :)
 
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Certainly seems odd I admit and will be contacting mercy corps today to see if it checks out.Very strange indeed.
 
It's pretty rare but yes, BTs can be reversed. The usual reason would be if the sender had fraudulently accessed the account or if the account didn't have the funds. That second one is really rare because most bank transfer methods won't credit yours until they have clear funds but there are some shady things you can do with pending deposits and closing accounts.

However, if Natwest say it can't be reversed then they shouldn't be able to go back on that. BTW the next question after something like that should be "and is this call being recorded?".

Looks like one of those rare occasions when everybody is telling the truth. Either that or it's an overly elabrorate scam ;)
 
Sorry, but this all sounds a bit strange?

Has someone just phished details of `someone & his brother` as a front?
If a genuine acct has been compromised, I'm sure the bank/acct holder will be re claiming their funds later.
Have you given them enough of your details to enable your acct to be compromised? (or for them to set up a fake page/deals in your name)
 
I'd be surprised if a director (a pretty senior position) at a well-known accountancy firm were to jeopardise his reputation over a camera scam. He will be on a six-figure salary!

Maybe I'm being a bit slow, but I can't see how the scam works if it's not the people claimed to be involved - even if they can reverse the payment, they've gained nothing as the camera has been sent to an accounting firm in London.

Edit: aah, I guess the idea is to get enough bank/personal details to commit ID fraud. Seems quite an elaborate way to do that, but scammers are often pretty ingenious.
 
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Could be a variation on a courier scam as well? Claim it's been delivered to the wrong Mr X and it was meant to go to a Mr X in another business with a similar name?
 
I'd be cautious as well. My brother in law sold a bike in a similar situation to this about 8/9 years ago. He was paid by cheque, he waited until the bank informed him that the funds were cleared and in his account for him and then shipped the bike. The funds were then reversed out of his account. It took him a lot of time and work to eventually get the money back from the bank (as they had told him it was cleared). As has been mentioned above, perhaps you can get something from the bank stating that the funds can't be reversed (although my instinct would be that the bank would not guarantee that)

I hope that this works out for you though.
 
SteveSc said:
As has been mentioned above, perhaps you can get something from the bank stating that the funds can't be reversed (although my instinct would be that the bank would not guarantee that)
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And even if they did guarantee it they would go back on their word. They are a BANK, they are not normal people. After reading this thread I would just sell my stuff to someone else.
 
Well good news I think..I emailed Marcus (his brother at accounting firm in link and had no reply) so rang the company and asked to be put through but he was busy so I left a voicemail eventually 3 calls later his PA put me through to him and I just said I wanted to confirm he was expecting a parcel on behalf of his brother in ethiopia to which he replied "Yes thats all fine and please send the cameras to my work address he gave you"..I purposely said parcel and he knew it was cameras.

He also replied to the email I sent from the contact page on his website so think its genuine even if rather odd lol..Also went in natwest this morning and they were not very helpful and the cashier actually told me he could cancel the payment and to not touch the money for a few days,totally contradicting what I was told on the phone!Hopefully its all genuine if not weirdest trade I have had lol.
 
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I always wondered how someone who genuinely was on an oil rig in the North sea would buy something, as we get so many scams these days saying that. This does seem very strange, but could well be genuine. Id be ringing the brothers number and getting him to tell me what was bought, Id be ringing the charity confirming who the guy is and if he's there and Id also get them to tell me what was bought. It wouldn't be hard for the buyer to pass that info on to them to relay to you.
He must know this smells fishier than a fish factory, so surely he wouldn't mind it taking a bit longer whilst you make checks.
 
I have spoke to his brother today who works for the accountancy firm and number I got him on was the number on the website.I just mentioned a parcel it was him that said it was 2 cameras so either a very good guess or he has liased with his brother.He also emailed me again to make sure package was clearly marked for his attention as there are 600 odd people in his building.
 
StuartH said:
Well good news I think..I emailed Marcus (his brother at accounting firm in link and had no reply) so rang the company and asked to be put through but he was busy so I left a voicemail eventually 3 calls later his PA put me through to him and I just said I wanted to confirm he was expecting a parcel on behalf of his brother in ethiopia to which he replied "Yes thats all fine and please send the cameras to my work address he gave you"..I purposely said parcel and he knew it was cameras.

He also replied to the email I sent from the contact page on his website so think its genuine even if rather odd lol..Also went in natwest this morning and they were not very helpful and the cashier actually told me he could cancel the payment and to not touch the money for a few days,totally contradicting what I was told on the phone! Hopefully its all genuine if not weirdest trade I have had lol.
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Sounds weird but legit. There's probably zero chance the other brother can get stuff shipped direct to Ethiopa (would YOU send it?) so sending it to his brother for safekeeping/onwards forwarding is probably his best bet.

Even if anything does goes wrong, you know where he works, so could make life very uncomfortable for him (report to Police, inform his employer, inform his professional body).

No surprises that the bank were rubbish - it's unlikely any one person (let alone the low-level flunky you'd have spoken to) know or understand all the policies and procedures, and people have a tendency to invent stuff to fill the gaps in their knowledge rather than admit ignorance. You could write a letter to complain, but in the absence of any actual loss, you'd probably get little more than template "sorry" letter in reply.
 
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StuartH said:
Well good news I think..I emailed Marcus (his brother at accounting firm in link and had no reply) so rang the company and asked to be put through but he was busy so I left a voicemail eventually 3 calls later his PA put me through to him and I just said I wanted to confirm he was expecting a parcel on behalf of his brother in ethiopia to which he replied "Yes thats all fine and please send the cameras to my work address he gave you"..I purposely said parcel and he knew it was cameras.

He also replied to the email I sent from the contact page on his website so think its genuine even if rather odd lol..Also went in natwest this morning and they were not very helpful and the cashier actually told me he could cancel the payment and to not touch the money for a few days,totally contradicting what I was told on the phone!Hopefully its all genuine if not weirdest trade I have had lol.
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Lots of people work abroad, so not really a sure indicator of a scam, and having spoken to the brother I think it's safe to now assume it's a genuine person you are dealing with.

You could always hold off posting until Monday (unless you have offered next day delivery) if you want to give the transaction a few more days delay. Personally, I would be satisfied enough to go ahead now if this was my sale.
 
I have said I will post rmsd Saturday and his brother said thats fine..they are certainly brothers as well compare the pics of the brothers profile to guy in the video lol.As I say very odd but money is still in my bank and cashier said its normally cancelled within 24hrs.
 
Spoke to natwest on the phone again as wasnt happy with what cashier told me..he apologised profusely and said the info she gave me was totally incorrect.The money is cleared funds in my account the only way anything can be done now was if the buyer contacted his bank to request money back if there was an error made or he had paid wrong person by mistake but even then they would not take the money from my account and would need to notify me that buyer was requesting the payment to be reversed for whatever reason.
 
I could lol but not going to close the account :D
 
Spookily, I've just been doing a bit of in depth research on these brothers.

It seems they've been setting up scam profiles, business links, youtube clips etc for a few years now & scammed millions of dollars from around the globe. :eek:




.

Only kidding. ;)

Glad everything seems kosher for you. :cool:
 
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