nightjar wrote:
"Laurie R" wrote in message
...
nightjar wrote:
You only have to send
your bank details, which they say is needed to get the money past
currency controls, and that gives them enough information to empty
your account.

But your bank's address and your account name, number and sort code
appears on every cheque you write - it's hardly secret. Surely you
need more than that to empty someone's account.

You wouldn't normally have sent a cheque to these people, so they
wouldn't have that information. The only other thing needed, besides
your bank details, is a copy of your signature. The early Nigerian
scams used to ask you to send a blank, signed, sheet of paper, but
that did tend to make people suspicious. However, most people will
obligingly sign the letter in which they send the details, so it only
needs a modest skill in forgery to create a letter of authority to
transfer funds out of your account.

Colin Bignell

It would be much easier to set up a (semi!) legitimate Ebay business - DIY
tools for example - taking cheques only. That would give you account name,
number, sort code and a signature.
--
Laurie R