A bank warning - Don't take a deposit slip at face value when a buyer offers to pay cash into your bank account, it could be a dud cheque.
The latest scam works like this. A victim, who has advertised a valuable item such as a car for sale, is approached by a con artist. Once a price is agreed, the fraudster insists on depositing "cash" directly into the seller's bank account.
The scam works in two ways.
Scam one: The fraudster deposits some cash into the seller's account (say R200) and later amends the duplicate deposit slip to reflect the full amount owed (say R20 000). The amended duplicate slip, which bears the bank stamp, is handed to the seller "as proof of payment". The fraudster may also deposit a dud cheque to the account for R20 000 because the seller may check to see whether the cash deposit of R20 000 is reflected on his account.
Scam two: The fraudster deposits a dud cheque for the correct amount into the seller's bank account. He then manages to amend the duplicate deposit slip in such a way that the seller will be under the impression that cash (not a cheque) has been deposited into his account and there will be no clearance period.