'Buyer' tries to scam with fake cheque

Chris Vedelago June 23, 2012

Agents need to be aware of a new - and potentially costly - scam that was tried recently on a premium property listed for sale in the city's eastern suburbs.

It began, legitimately enough, with an offer to buy the $1.5 million residence. The eager ''buyer'' mailed in a $150,000 deposit cheque, without having signed the contract of sale.

The cheque, however, was drawn from a British bank in New Zealand dollars and could have taken up to a month to clear.

A few days later, and having never returned a signed contract in the meantime, the ''buyer'' called the agency to cancel the deal and request the immediate transfer of the money to his bank account.

The agency called its bank to check on the cheque, so to speak. As it turned out, it was a fake.

Fortunately, the money was never transferred.

The ''buyer'', who used the name Clark Edward, is purportedly an Englishman with Australian residency (and an American accent to boot).

Maybe that's just part of the scam, but he is still out there.