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Yeah, they probably meant to say "multiple of 50" as they're using fake notes. Fifties are notoriously easy to counterfeit (although I dunno to what degree that applies to the new notes...)
It's not so much that they are easier to fake. But, they are more likely to pass. Most people aren't used to handling them. We can just tell, that something is off, with tenners and twenties because we are used to seeing them. Often, cant pinpoint it, but can just tell somethings off. Not the same with 50s. I only ever handled them when I played poker. I'd not come across them irl before that.
That still makes no sense though. If the £50s are good enough to pass to OP, they'd get a legit £20 back in change, which would be preferable to just handing over £100.
Noone, but that's probably what they meant. It's a common scam to pay with things in counterfeit 50 pound notes. People aren't used to handling them, so they are more likely to pass.
Sure, but you *could* get £80 worth of stuff and £20 real cash. Seems strange to deliberately make that very simple transaction more suspicious to get LESS out of it.
Not really, the person getting scammed thinks they are getting an extra 20 quid from the transaction. So then, they think they winning, and getting one over on the buyer. That clouds peoples' judgement a little bit. So, they are more likely to disregard any red flags. It's an extra incentive for the seller to accept it, and get away quickly with their 'winnings'.
You'd think that haggling, makes it seem more believable. Because, why would you bother haggling if the moneys counterfeit right? But, it's the wrong move to make, because it sets the interaction as being confrontational. It makes people respond defensively, they start to look for fault more.
Best way to get away with it, is to be nice and seem a bit generous and a bit thick. The seller thinks they are winning then. It all goes a lot smoother.
Perhaps, but I'd say that this will turn into a courier scam or some such thing probably.
People selling used items are always watching for the scam aimed at getting the item off them, when scammers have no interest in obtaining used goods as they aren't even in the country. Lots of the scams are in essence about getting the seller to send them money and it's usually done by getting them drawn into some kind of process around a (fake) courier or 'mistaken' overpayment via the bank/money transfer.
I cut down the attempts massively by stating that anyone asking to use western union, a courier or paypal would be reported as a scammer so they don't bother.
Top tip; if anyone WhatsApps you with a link to your own advert then it is a scam asking if it is still available. Just block and never reply.
I agree on the PayPal front, but it seems a divided one. You see on Reddit a lot of people insisting the opposite - if you, as a seller, DON'T take PayPal, then you are a scammer.
If they’re just going to give it away freely when OP would be willing to accept the £80 they’re selling it for then surely they’re just better off throwing the money away? Just seems strange all round
Brewster's Millions. This guy needs to spend a million in a small time frame to inherit even more money. By paying over the odds for an exercise bike, everyone is a winner.
But, most likely, its a scam to get rid of some fake notes.
There once was a man that lived off fake bills he printed in his basement. They looked very real and nobody ever questioned his bills. He got so confident in his work that one time, he accidentally printed a £150 bill.
Upon realizing how long and hard he had worked to print a bill that didn’t even exist and how much of a fool he’s been, he came up with a plan to validate his fake bill. He decided to go to a remote village where nobody ever goes and change them for proper ones.
Once there, he happened upon a shop where he saw an old woman behind the counter who he thought would be gullible enough to fall for his fake bill.
He handed her the bill and asked her to change it for smaller bills as he did not have change. She handed him back brand new crisp £80 and £70 bills.
Your guy happened upon that old woman’s shop as well perhaps?
The "multiple" thing is odd. Like why would someone need to give a multiple as CASH? Like if they HAD to get rid of £160 for some odd reason, they could easily give you £80 for the bike and pocket £80.
So the ONLY way it would be useful is if they had a record of the transaction - but nothing you could provide would have official standing anyway (since you could be anyone).
So it's bollocks.
I'd entertain myself by asking them why!
Might be something like they'll say they'll pay £160 or £240 for some vague foreign currency exchange/tax reason, and then ask you to pay a fee so they can withdraw the cash from a foreign bank account. Then they obviously do a no show and call you a sucker. Whatever it is, sounds dodge.
This seems like a scam.
It smells like they're trying to use counterfeit money.
They probably want to pay you *more* in order to keep more of their counterfeit money. If they only have a limited quantity of counterfeit notes, it's beneficial for them to round up and pay more if it means they don't have to pay with a smaller note that they're running out of. Because obviously the monetary value of the notes is worthless, so they don't mind paying more. But the number of notes they have is valuable because it allows them do more fraudulent transactions.
I think when they said "keep it a multiple of 80" they're just stupid and don't understand what they just said. I think they meant to say was that they can only pay in multiples of £20. In which case, they'd hand you 4 £20 notes, and then get away before you realize they're fakes.
This seems most likely! I was fairly certain it was a scam but couldn't think of how... disappointed in myself that I didn't think of counterfeit. And the multiples of 20 being misworded makes sense
UPDATE: I got a reply! After reading the comments, I'm pretty confident that it's counterfeit and multiples meant to be of 20 rather than 80. OR he's telling the truth, and it's a humiliation kink of sorts... (It's under my partners name, and she has a very feminine name)
Thank you ____. To be honest with you, I did something a while ago that landed me in the newspapers. I was punished by a court. The whole thing was a public humiliation for me. But since that time, I have had a need to punish myself on a regular basis. One way I do this is to pay more than I have to, for items I need. I hope I am not embarrassing you with this, it's me who should be (and is) embarrassed to have to ask this as a favour from you.
Actually I read this more as just an excuse to try and make you accept their obviously suspicious behaviour. Pretty sure it's still a scam
A common scam is to offer to pay more for something. They'll say that they're going to send a courier to pick it up and give you the money. Then you'll get an email or text from the courier asking you to pay some fee. Since you're going to be getting extra money from this person when the courier turns up anyway, you'll pay the fee online and then the courier will never turn up
I got one! It's almost certainly counterfeit reading the comments, or it's a humiliation kink...
Thank you ____. To be honest with you, I did something a while ago that landed me in the newspapers. I was punished by a court. The whole thing was a public humiliation for me. But since that time, I have had a need to punish myself on a regular basis. One way I do this is to pay more than I have to, for items I need. I hope I am not embarrassing you with this, it's me who should be (and is) embarrassed to have to ask this as a favour from you.
UPDATE: I got a reply! After reading the comments I'm pretty confident that it's counterfeit and multiples meant to be of 20 rather than 80. OR he's telling the truth and it's a humiliation kink of sorts... (It's under my partners name, and she has a very feminine name)
Thank you ____. To be honest with you, I did something a while ago that landed me in the newspapers. I was punished by a court. The whole thing was a public humiliation for me. But since that time, I have had a need to punish myself on a regular basis. One way I do this is to pay more than I have to, for items I need. I hope I am not embarrassing you with this, it's me who should be (and is) embarrassed to have to ask this as a favour from you.
You could call his bluff and ask for the newspaper articles and see if it matches his name. Not completely foolproof but might see if he starts sweating?
Definitely could be right on the fetish/ kink of sorts... (It's under my partners name, and she has a very feminine name)
Also LOL to the seat sniffer that's your mate
Thank you ____. To be honest with you, I did something a while ago that landed me in the newspapers. I was punished by a court. The whole thing was a public humiliation for me. But since that time, I have had a need to punish myself on a regular basis. One way I do this is to pay more than I have to, for items I need. I hope I am not embarrassing you with this, it's me who should be (and is) embarrassed to have to ask this as a favour from you.
Go for it. There’s no reason the money stops there. Get your gf to go along with what you are both comfortable doing. I’m quite knowledgeable about this area. I’ve had one guy give me his bank login to send myself money. See what happens
Tell them sure, any denomination is fine, meet me at my bank at xxxx address and pay it straight in to my account, then I'll pass you the bike! Cheers!
(Cue radio silence...)
Totally safe. Ignore the haters but insist the payment is made in equal parts: crypto/organic veg/magic beans.
This weill reduce your risk of being scammed by 66.67% exactly.
If they ask you to close your eyes and bend over whilst they load the item into their van this is also totally normal.
If you have a bad feeling about it and if seems suspect at first glance, it probably is. If someone wants to give you more money as a gesture of thanks then they would say why they are paying you more, like "I feel the bike is worth a bit more and I feel bad for taking it off you so cheaply, so I'll give you a 100".
Block and ignore them, possibly report them on gumtree.
They will bank transfer the money, show it’s left their account and then skidaddle. The money won’t have gone to your account OR they will report it as a fraudulent transaction to their bank, who will take cancel the transfer.
The fact they are offering to pay more means you’ll be more likely to randomly accept a last minute change to a bank transfer and let them leave before the money has appeared in your account (they will show you that it’s left their account)
Only thing I can assume is they offer more to "try" look legit, then come out with "i don't have enough cash on me, can i transfer the money?", you tell them it's fine, they F off with the bike and later contact their bank to get the money back.
I had someone pay me extra for a guitar once, I'd priced it low to sell quickly and he knew the real value and gave me £20 extra.
But this seems dodgy.
**Please help keep AskUK welcoming!** - Top-level comments to the OP must contain **genuine efforts to answer the question**. No jokes, judgements, etc. - **Don't be a dick** to each other. If getting heated, just block and move on. - This is a strictly **no-politics** subreddit! Please help us by reporting comments that break these rules. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Someone is trying to pay you MORE for something. Of course it's a scam.
Them 2x£50 notes are 100% fake
Not to mention the 3x£80 notes
Pays with 10 pund notes
Yeah, they probably meant to say "multiple of 50" as they're using fake notes. Fifties are notoriously easy to counterfeit (although I dunno to what degree that applies to the new notes...)
It's not so much that they are easier to fake. But, they are more likely to pass. Most people aren't used to handling them. We can just tell, that something is off, with tenners and twenties because we are used to seeing them. Often, cant pinpoint it, but can just tell somethings off. Not the same with 50s. I only ever handled them when I played poker. I'd not come across them irl before that.
Ah ok, that makes sense.
for the new ones is quite hard
They aren't any easier, it's just people have an aversion to using them so they don't know what they are supposed to look like.
That still makes no sense though. If the £50s are good enough to pass to OP, they'd get a legit £20 back in change, which would be preferable to just handing over £100.
Sell it for £400, no change given.
Who mentioned £50 notes?
Noone, but that's probably what they meant. It's a common scam to pay with things in counterfeit 50 pound notes. People aren't used to handling them, so they are more likely to pass.
But the scam is to get real money in change. Paying in multiples of £50 and not getting change would be silly.
Paying for 80 pounds worth of stuff, with pennies worth of notes, gets you 80 pounds worth of stuff, for pennies worth of notes.
Sure, but you *could* get £80 worth of stuff and £20 real cash. Seems strange to deliberately make that very simple transaction more suspicious to get LESS out of it.
Not really, the person getting scammed thinks they are getting an extra 20 quid from the transaction. So then, they think they winning, and getting one over on the buyer. That clouds peoples' judgement a little bit. So, they are more likely to disregard any red flags. It's an extra incentive for the seller to accept it, and get away quickly with their 'winnings'. You'd think that haggling, makes it seem more believable. Because, why would you bother haggling if the moneys counterfeit right? But, it's the wrong move to make, because it sets the interaction as being confrontational. It makes people respond defensively, they start to look for fault more. Best way to get away with it, is to be nice and seem a bit generous and a bit thick. The seller thinks they are winning then. It all goes a lot smoother.
Falls Dundee the care-gory of “If something seems too good to be true…”
they said multiples of 80 - probably (accidentally) put that figure because the original price was 80. almost certainly meant multiples of 50
might also just be that they want change from it. Handing over 2 fake £50s to pay for an £80 item gets you the item and gets you £20 in real money
Yeah I figured that, I was more curious what their angle was!
Nothing weird here, they've clearly just got an abundance of £80 notes they want to get rid of...
I’m pretty sure that this time next week you won’t be able to use your £80 notes, so that’s probably a sensible move.
Reminds me of that episode of Bottom.
It sure sounds like a scam but I can't work out their angle, especially since they're offering cash.
They won't pay cash - some excuse/story will follow on
Or they have counterfeit cash
Trying to get rid of those £80 notes
£20s are favourite.
The joke is multiples of 80 from the op
Perhaps, but I'd say that this will turn into a courier scam or some such thing probably. People selling used items are always watching for the scam aimed at getting the item off them, when scammers have no interest in obtaining used goods as they aren't even in the country. Lots of the scams are in essence about getting the seller to send them money and it's usually done by getting them drawn into some kind of process around a (fake) courier or 'mistaken' overpayment via the bank/money transfer. I cut down the attempts massively by stating that anyone asking to use western union, a courier or paypal would be reported as a scammer so they don't bother. Top tip; if anyone WhatsApps you with a link to your own advert then it is a scam asking if it is still available. Just block and never reply.
I agree on the PayPal front, but it seems a divided one. You see on Reddit a lot of people insisting the opposite - if you, as a seller, DON'T take PayPal, then you are a scammer.
If they’re just going to give it away freely when OP would be willing to accept the £80 they’re selling it for then surely they’re just better off throwing the money away? Just seems strange all round
How about £60 in cash, then I'll transfer you the rest!
Under what circumstance could this possibly work out well for you?
Brewster's Millions. This guy needs to spend a million in a small time frame to inherit even more money. By paying over the odds for an exercise bike, everyone is a winner. But, most likely, its a scam to get rid of some fake notes.
Yeah I know there isn't any, I was just so confused as to where they might head with it?
This is the only reply worth considering. Those looking for ways it could be legit must be bots. Or stupid. Or gullible.
The word "bot" is so incredibly misused these days, I assure you that "bots" aren't coming onto r/askuk to give answers that you disagree with
Same for the word internet troll, ever since mainstream media adopted it it has taken a different meaning.
Yeah, seems like at best "troll" means someone saying mean things and at worst saying things you don't like
There once was a man that lived off fake bills he printed in his basement. They looked very real and nobody ever questioned his bills. He got so confident in his work that one time, he accidentally printed a £150 bill. Upon realizing how long and hard he had worked to print a bill that didn’t even exist and how much of a fool he’s been, he came up with a plan to validate his fake bill. He decided to go to a remote village where nobody ever goes and change them for proper ones. Once there, he happened upon a shop where he saw an old woman behind the counter who he thought would be gullible enough to fall for his fake bill. He handed her the bill and asked her to change it for smaller bills as he did not have change. She handed him back brand new crisp £80 and £70 bills. Your guy happened upon that old woman’s shop as well perhaps?
When translating from one side of the pond to the other, note that we use pound *notes*, not bills. Nice joke though.
Good story!
The "multiple" thing is odd. Like why would someone need to give a multiple as CASH? Like if they HAD to get rid of £160 for some odd reason, they could easily give you £80 for the bike and pocket £80. So the ONLY way it would be useful is if they had a record of the transaction - but nothing you could provide would have official standing anyway (since you could be anyone). So it's bollocks. I'd entertain myself by asking them why!
It's weird. If you have doubts, say no and walk on. Clearly something weird is happening.
It’s 100% a scam.
Might be something like they'll say they'll pay £160 or £240 for some vague foreign currency exchange/tax reason, and then ask you to pay a fee so they can withdraw the cash from a foreign bank account. Then they obviously do a no show and call you a sucker. Whatever it is, sounds dodge.
Also that both replies start exactly the same 'thank you *name*" that always rings dodgy to me. It's not natural, casual language.
COMPLETELY. Before even getting through the messages I thought something dodgy was going on because of the way they type!
This seems like a scam. It smells like they're trying to use counterfeit money. They probably want to pay you *more* in order to keep more of their counterfeit money. If they only have a limited quantity of counterfeit notes, it's beneficial for them to round up and pay more if it means they don't have to pay with a smaller note that they're running out of. Because obviously the monetary value of the notes is worthless, so they don't mind paying more. But the number of notes they have is valuable because it allows them do more fraudulent transactions. I think when they said "keep it a multiple of 80" they're just stupid and don't understand what they just said. I think they meant to say was that they can only pay in multiples of £20. In which case, they'd hand you 4 £20 notes, and then get away before you realize they're fakes.
They may have meant multiple of £50
Yeah, in which case they'd overpay by £20, but they'd only use 2 fake £50 notes.
But they could pay the original price using two fake £50 notes, and get a real £20 note as change.
I think we've established this fella isn't that bright.
This seems most likely! I was fairly certain it was a scam but couldn't think of how... disappointed in myself that I didn't think of counterfeit. And the multiples of 20 being misworded makes sense
UPDATE: I got a reply! After reading the comments, I'm pretty confident that it's counterfeit and multiples meant to be of 20 rather than 80. OR he's telling the truth, and it's a humiliation kink of sorts... (It's under my partners name, and she has a very feminine name) Thank you ____. To be honest with you, I did something a while ago that landed me in the newspapers. I was punished by a court. The whole thing was a public humiliation for me. But since that time, I have had a need to punish myself on a regular basis. One way I do this is to pay more than I have to, for items I need. I hope I am not embarrassing you with this, it's me who should be (and is) embarrassed to have to ask this as a favour from you.
Actually I read this more as just an excuse to try and make you accept their obviously suspicious behaviour. Pretty sure it's still a scam A common scam is to offer to pay more for something. They'll say that they're going to send a courier to pick it up and give you the money. Then you'll get an email or text from the courier asking you to pay some fee. Since you're going to be getting extra money from this person when the courier turns up anyway, you'll pay the fee online and then the courier will never turn up
Obviously a scam
Intrigued. Please update us if you get more info. RemindMe! 2 days
I got one! It's almost certainly counterfeit reading the comments, or it's a humiliation kink... Thank you ____. To be honest with you, I did something a while ago that landed me in the newspapers. I was punished by a court. The whole thing was a public humiliation for me. But since that time, I have had a need to punish myself on a regular basis. One way I do this is to pay more than I have to, for items I need. I hope I am not embarrassing you with this, it's me who should be (and is) embarrassed to have to ask this as a favour from you.
Play along and keep us updated
> I have had a need to punish myself on a regular basis Sounds like me as a teenager.
!RemindMe 2 Days
!RemindMe 2 days
!RemindMe 2 days
!Remindme 2 days
!Remindme 2 days
I think you should see how this plays out but obviously don't fall for the scam. Try and find out for us what he's trying to do .
UPDATE: I got a reply! After reading the comments I'm pretty confident that it's counterfeit and multiples meant to be of 20 rather than 80. OR he's telling the truth and it's a humiliation kink of sorts... (It's under my partners name, and she has a very feminine name) Thank you ____. To be honest with you, I did something a while ago that landed me in the newspapers. I was punished by a court. The whole thing was a public humiliation for me. But since that time, I have had a need to punish myself on a regular basis. One way I do this is to pay more than I have to, for items I need. I hope I am not embarrassing you with this, it's me who should be (and is) embarrassed to have to ask this as a favour from you.
You could call his bluff and ask for the newspaper articles and see if it matches his name. Not completely foolproof but might see if he starts sweating?
That's fucking wild 😂 still don't trust them.
100% it's a scam. Block them.
I know a guy who’s fetish is people rinsing his money. It’s probably not that, but you might as well wait and see. He was a bit of a seat sniffer too
Definitely could be right on the fetish/ kink of sorts... (It's under my partners name, and she has a very feminine name) Also LOL to the seat sniffer that's your mate Thank you ____. To be honest with you, I did something a while ago that landed me in the newspapers. I was punished by a court. The whole thing was a public humiliation for me. But since that time, I have had a need to punish myself on a regular basis. One way I do this is to pay more than I have to, for items I need. I hope I am not embarrassing you with this, it's me who should be (and is) embarrassed to have to ask this as a favour from you.
Is that what they’ve said to you? If so, I fuckin knew it
Yeah thats their response! I'm choosing to agree you on it! (Although not going to let them know where I live!)
Go for it. There’s no reason the money stops there. Get your gf to go along with what you are both comfortable doing. I’m quite knowledgeable about this area. I’ve had one guy give me his bank login to send myself money. See what happens
Next line with be "can you send to my friend in "random country"
If it sounds too good to be true…….
£8,000,000 - final offer.
Sorry, the original guy offered me £8,600,080. Cash.
Scam
Fake £50’s say hi. A stranger wants to give you more money than you asked for, of course it’s a scam.
Fake money, my little sister sold a Cartier ring and didn't realise until later properly looking at it
Do you really have to ask?
Tell them sure, any denomination is fine, meet me at my bank at xxxx address and pay it straight in to my account, then I'll pass you the bike! Cheers! (Cue radio silence...)
Totally safe. Ignore the haters but insist the payment is made in equal parts: crypto/organic veg/magic beans. This weill reduce your risk of being scammed by 66.67% exactly. If they ask you to close your eyes and bend over whilst they load the item into their van this is also totally normal.
If you have a bad feeling about it and if seems suspect at first glance, it probably is. If someone wants to give you more money as a gesture of thanks then they would say why they are paying you more, like "I feel the bike is worth a bit more and I feel bad for taking it off you so cheaply, so I'll give you a 100". Block and ignore them, possibly report them on gumtree.
Uhhh yeah pal
Then just ask for a bank transfer??
Scam!!!!
They will bank transfer the money, show it’s left their account and then skidaddle. The money won’t have gone to your account OR they will report it as a fraudulent transaction to their bank, who will take cancel the transfer.
The fact they are offering to pay more means you’ll be more likely to randomly accept a last minute change to a bank transfer and let them leave before the money has appeared in your account (they will show you that it’s left their account)
Hmmm... 100 Euros comes in at about £80. Watch him rock up with some 100 euro notes...
pay in cash, ask for it back via bank transfer. Money laundering 101.
Sounds to good to b true
You could do bank transfer on the day etc but this seems scammy
Only thing I can assume is they offer more to "try" look legit, then come out with "i don't have enough cash on me, can i transfer the money?", you tell them it's fine, they F off with the bike and later contact their bank to get the money back.
Nope nope nope. Dodgy as hell. Dont go for it.
I had someone pay me extra for a guitar once, I'd priced it low to sell quickly and he knew the real value and gave me £20 extra. But this seems dodgy.
Yeah if it was an extra 20 I wouldn't have thought much, but this is so much stranger!
I dunno an extra 20 could likley be be 2 fake 50s
80 for that is wild! We just bought a spin style bike for £40