Official Check??

Alright, I recently sold my car and the guy sent me the down payment via money order. The other day I received the remainder in the form of a "Offical Check".

Is an official check like a money order, good as cash?? Can it be cancelled before being cashed?

I haven't been able to make it to the bank yet and now it's the weekend. I haven't heard from the guy. I do however still have the car. Just never dealt with an offical check before and wonder if it's as good as gold.

Any help is appreciated.Thanks,Jc

Hey buddy, my wife works at a bank. She says an official check is the same thing as a cashier's check. It is guaranteed funds when you deposit it in to your account, but it can be cancelled just like a regular personal check because it is bank funds. You will find out if it has been stopped when you deposit the check into your account.

Ok, thanks for the info!

make sure ask the bank how long it will take before the money is definetly yours. someone sent my neice 2 checks from some "canadian lottery", her bank said they were good, and even gave her 5000 dollars of the 22,000, 2 weeks later, she went to see about the rest, somehow the bank fucked up and she got a free 5000 dollars from the bank because it was their messup.

I know its alot of reading but I have run into this alot lately.... have even gotten two checks like it....

Overpayment Scams Target Online Sellers

The Internet has become a very popular and relatively simple way for ordinary
people to buy and sell items and services of every description. Unfortunately,
con artists have found ways to capitalize on the popularity of online selling.
One method that scammers use to prey on those who sell online is a scheme
involving an apparent overpayment for an advertised item or service.

There are a great many variations of these overpayment scams, but, typically,
such scams work like this:


A seller places an Internet advertisement for a particular item or service. The
item or service is generally something with a fairly substantial price tag.


Later, the seller receives a generous offer for the item, usually via an email.


The seller agrees on the price, and, often, also agrees to the proviso that he
or she refuses any other offers for the item.


The scammers then send a cheque for the item. However, the cheque is for
substantially more than the specified amount.


The scammers invent some excuse for this overpayment and ask that the balance be
electronically transferred to a specified bank account. For example, they may
claim that the extra funds are to pay the fees of an agent, who is handling the
sale, to cover third party shipping costs, or to settle an unrelated debt.
Usually, the scammers will claim that the transaction needs to be completed
urgently.


The seller dutifully transfers the amount out of his or her own funds.


Later, the seller finds that his or her bank has dishonoured the cheque. In some
cases, the bank may actually have cleared the funds, but discovers later that
the check is a forgery or was stolen.


Thus the seller has been bilked out of a substantial amount, with little chance
of recovering the money. Furthermore, the item remains unsold and the seller may
have rejected legitimate offers in the mean time.

In some cases, the scammers may also attempt to trick victims into revealing
sensitive personal information. If the scammers can collect enough information
they may then be able to steal the victim's identity.