this is a strange one!!

[Margaret]

He wanted to pay by cheque and there was a massive deterioration in the English between the 1st and 2nd emails.

One new thing which seems to have crept into scams is the insistence on wanting to get everything settled well ahead of arrival to avoid hassles. I have not yet had a genuine enquirer make that particular comment.

[paolo]

Agree Paolo, he sounds legit to me, but understandably cautious?

From his perspective, he thought he was booking through an agency in Thailand, then that changes to a UK bank account, so that must ring alarm bells. Although it would probably be easier for him to recover the money from the latter than the former.

[phil_UK]

Just another update that others may learn from.

As I said the guy who answered the phone at the number I was given was NOT the same guy who was emailing me.

I have just phoned the car hire company who don’t know anyone by the name of the guy in question.

I emailed the guy telling him that paying into a UK bank is safer than posting a cheque half way round the world to a strange country, as Paolo also said. (and it is strange here! lol)

I also pointed out that the phone number he gave me was not his and asked if he owns the car hire company. Assuming I don’t get a reply then that says it all! The B*****d, lol

Margaret, can you tell me how you check the electoral rool? Is it free to check?

Thanks,

Phil

[Margaret]

I can't remember! I know I went into one of the directory enquiry sites. That told me that the address existed and that the name I put in was not the name of the subscriber there. It wanted money to tell me who the subscriber was. Then there was a link from there to the electoral roll, which also confirmed the address but not the name and wanted money to tell me the names of people who do live there. I wasn't prepared to spend any money to prove to prove it was a scam!

[phil_UK]

Just a few tips, as well as checking prospective customers IP address, it’s amazing what you can learn from simply Googling their actual email address, phone number or address when you get it.

I also have a tour business and a few months ago had an enquiry from an Indian guy who I learnt from his email address that he was just a competitor who also had an air ambulance business, and an escort agency website. He was also a doctor specializing in gynecology in India!!

All from the one email address! 

Phil

[KathyG]

Margaret, can you tell me how you check the electoral rool? Is it free to check?

Thanks,

Phil

Phil, I use http://www.192.com, it's free.

[phil_UK]

Thanks for that Kathy, however to see any details on the person, you need to buy credits, see below,

Phil

Get More Credits (Optional)
5 Credits £9.95 (£1.99 each) + VAT

100 Credits £34.95 (35p each) + VAT

300 Credits £84.95 (28p each) + VAT

600 Credits £149.95 (25p each) + VAT

Credit packages are valid for 6 months.

[KathyG]

Do you need more info than the names of people at that address though?

[Margaret]

I found that you get confirmation that the address existed for free. If you wanted to know the names of the people living there, you had to pay.If you searched for a particular name at an address it will tell you if they are NOT registered there. That was enough for me.