Kuba Ober wrote:
My assumption is that they are hijacking accounts.
I've recently sold, but not received payment or
shipped, a lovely Sencore SG80.
Why did you ship before being paid?!
Read again: "but not received payment or shipped, a lovely..."
The bidder was from Bulgaria; he called and everything. His website was
awesome! I don't believe they have PayPal in the
Baltic States and was warned to beware.
Turns out that he wanted to make a wire transfer.
Hmmmmm, account info.
I don't know where's the problem in the US mentality about not giving out the bank account numbers. If your bank is so bad that someone just knowing your address and account number can do unauthorized transactions, you're gonna be screwed anyway -- look for a better bank.
In Europe, bank account numbers appear on stationery -- next to the address, along with VAT/EIN numbers etc. To do a transaction, you either have to go online and have the credentials (password & token-generated number), or have a proper ID and go to the branch. Easy.
I'd like to amplify one thing further. Everything that is needed for a
wire transfer *into* your account is on the bottom of your check.
There really isn't any reason to worry. Your bank will *not* wire anything
out of your account unless you have prearranged the transaction. You can
do it by phone, but it will require you to know all of the magic numbers
and runes both they, and you know about you.
-Chuck Harris
