The usual form of this fraud is an enquiry for a longer than normal stay, often in low season, written in poor English or from a foreign web address. The perpetrator will then ask you to accept a larger deposit than you have asked for, by quite some margin, using some excuse about company cheques or foreign exchange. They will ask you to return the balance having taken out what is owed to you once the cheque has been deposited. Despite appearing to have been bona fide the original cheque will not clear and you will have returned a large amount to the bad guys.

The example below illustrates this point:

Thanks for the quick response to my enquiry. I want you to know that the price of the House which is £1,000 is okay by me. Pls i want you to know that you will be getting a cheque of £4,500 which you will deduct the price of your apartment and then send the rest fund to my personal assisstant who will be signing necesarry documents, okay...... So I will want you to immediately send your details like:
Full name (as you will like it to appear on the cheque).......
Address (where the cheque should be sent to)...........
Telephone Number..................................................
So i will forward it to my supervisor for immediate payment to be made out to you. Hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks..

If at any point you do not feel comfortable with a transaction or become suspicious of an enquiry please contact your local Business Relationship Manager who will do their upmost to help.