Resident's warning over cheque scam

Carol Burnett, of Tiverton Drive, is warning anyone selling unwanted items to be wary of unscrupulous conmen after placing an ad to sell her black three-piece suite in the Friday Ad for an asking price of £995.

Shortly after placing the advertisement, Carol received an e-mail from a man offering £950. He gave his name as Alex Morgan, and claimed to live in France.

Carol said: “I asked him if he wanted to see the suite before he paid for it but he said he didn’t have time.”

Mr Morgan informed Carol by e-mail that he needed the suite shipped over to an address in France and offered her an extra £50 for her “time and effort” if she would make all the arrangements.

An e-mail from the buyer said: “ The payment will be made via bankers draft or cheque.

“You don’t need to bother yourself about the pick up because my shipper will be responsible for handling the collection and shipping arrangement at your residence down to mine.

“As soon as you must have receive the bankers draft or cheque in the mail, I want you to get back to me with your payment details such as full name, and contact address.”

Carol then received a letter with instructions along with a cheque for £4,000. She was told to deduct £1,000 and the remaining £3,000 was to pay shipping costs.

Carol already had doubts that the transaction was genuine, and said she was not surprised when her bank advised her that the cheque was fraudulent.

She said: “All the way through I thought it was a bit dodgy.”

Carol’s bank also told her many people with similar stories can be easily taken in by confidence tricksters. Believing them to be genuine people will often send the tricksters thousands of pounds of their own money whilst waiting for the fake cheques or bankers drafts to clear, only to find out they are worthless.

Local police have been informed of Carol’s plight and the cheque is being investigated.

Sgt Trish Reeve-Fowkes from Bexhill police station said similar scams happen a lot.

“This is a common scam and has been going on for many many years. Most people who advertise in the Friday Ad, especially selling cars, get this.”