Cheque fraudsters are out to cheat you

1 October 2004 - Pretoria News

The Ombudsman for Banking Services has warned the public to be careful of fraud involving false or stolen cheques.

John Simpson, manager of investigations, said his office had received complaints from people who sell goods to a buyer only to discover that the supposed deposit into their bank accounts was made with a fraudulent or stolen cheque.

"We have received a number of complaints on this issue and we would like to warn the public what to look out for," Simpson said.

He said the scam could be perpetrated in several ways.

One is that the seller advertises his goods and the thief establishes contact and offers to buy. He then offers cash into the seller's bank account and promises to fax the deposit slip as proof of payment.

The thief then deposits a stolen or forged cheque into the seller's account. A deposit slip is forged to reflect that the deposit was made in cash and the slip is faxed to the seller. Only after the seller has handed the goods to the buyer does he realise that the deposit was not made in cash.

The thief can also deposit a stolen cheque for a larger amount and ask the seller to transfer the balance back to him.

"The seller, thinking that deposit was in cash, does so, only realising later that the deposit was fraudulent."

Simpson said a deposit slip should never be accepted as proof of payment. Written verification should always be obtained from the bank before goods are handed over or money is given back to the buyer.