IntelGold said:
Hi,
The person is not a member of this site. He has sent me photos of the cpu's which i believe are his. I have his name, address, telephone number, bank details and have spoke on the phone. He has sent me a legit invoice with vat number and all company details on.
Still think i should avoid it??
That's your call. If you feel you can trust him, then take that gamble. Bank information, just like PayPal can be spoofed. No matter which account he gave you information on, have him send a deposit to your account, like PayPal does to verify the account. It can be done through bank account/wire transfer or PayPal. Tell him to send you (upto) $1.00 USD and then you verify the amount by replying back to him. Then, you send the money to THAT account. That way you have a record of the transaction. Also, what you can do is since you have the banking information, CALL the bank and let them know that you're asked to send money to the account, and you want them to verify the account. Ask them if the account holder been a customer with them long.
Banks and other financial institutions are not going to be getting involved into raw deals and being investigated..... with that said, if you know how to ask, they'll give you all the information you need to know.
* Make sure you're calling a real institution. Once you have their phone no#, do a Google search on them and see what comes up.
* When you first call the institution, give them your name and ask "Whom am I speaking to?" As far as I know, banking and financial institutions MUST tell you their name (Here in the USA). Write it down.
* Get friendly with the person on the phone and they'll tell you more than you think they will. It works for me whenever I use this. If you still feel unsure, let them know the type of transaction you're planning on making and make sure to let them know what country/city/state..etc,. you're from.
Before you do anything, make sure you let the person know that you plan on verifying the information. If he has a problem with it, then you've uncovered a plot to rip you off. Make him deposit less than $1.00 into your account (agree to pay for the transaction).
[UPDATE]
If the account is new... DANGER! DANGER! DANGER!
Kevin