Question about getting paid

[Gary Huff]

Originally Posted by Dave Blackhurst

Looked to me like the request was for use/license of already shot video, not a contract to shoot? Not sure HOW that would turn into a scam (but you never know).

Anything can turn into a scam. There's always the classic, "Hey, here's a check for more than the amount we agreed upon to license your video. Can you deposit it and write us a check for the difference?"

[Vince Pachiano]

Originally Posted by Noa Put

How is that possible? If you give them the name of your bank or the accountnumber, how are they getting access? The only way to get money from my account is if you know the username and password.

It's actually quite easy. Take my electric bill for instance. Years ago, I signed up for automatic bill pay through my checking account. I merely gave them my bank account # and routing number. Then every month they initiate an ACH debit ( Automated Clearing House) for that amount. Now imagine a scammer. Same thing, they initiate an ACH debit, your money disappears, then they disappear. What's worse, is there are no consumer protection laws governing what happens if you're cheated on purpose or in error. Your bank may try and fix things, but unlike a stolen credit card, they are under no obligation to help.

[Dylan Couper]

Paypal is fine for a seller/vendor in most cases, though still vulnerable to payments made by stolen credit cards and chargebacks.
There is pretty much only a single way to not get scammed by a buyer... it's so foolproof scammers were using it for years to sell stuff.

Yeah...
You guessed it...

Western Union Money Transfer. :)

[Paul R Johnson]

My business account is with Santander, and the only way anyone can remove funds from your account is if you give permission. Most of my clients pay by electronic funds transfer now, and none of them, despite having my sort code and account number have any ability to randomly take my money. If I set up a direct debit from my account, then they can draw from it - but I only use this method when I really have to, and usually with very large, well known companies - such as gas, electric etc - and of course Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs for Tax and VAT.

Santander can set up international payments quite easily and swift and Iban codes are available.

[Chris Harding]

There is no way anyone can access your bank funds just with your account number and Swift ...One simply identifies the bank location in the world and the 2nd identifies your account. I use them for all overseas transactions with no hassles. In most countries you have to use both the Swift Number and your Account Number to receive funds but there is no way the depositor can access your account.. the transaction BTW is NOT done by the depositor but by their bank so unless it's a fraudulent bank which is highly unlikely, being a bank to bank transaction you shouldn't have any problems at all.

Just open Wordpad on your computer and create an invoice and give it a number like 6001 or whatever and include your bank details (inc Swift) on the bottom and the depositor will simply hand it to his bank and they will transfer the funds.

Just bear in mind that if the guy that wants to pay you is a commercial business he will need either a PayPal account or a credit card to send you money...for him that's just a hassle. Email him an invoice with all the transaction details and let him pay you direct to your bank.

Chris

[Dylan Couper]

I'll back up what Chris is saying, in that, this is very common in the corporate world. If you place orders with international countries, they will send you all their bank deposit info right off the bat. Very common.

Is it impossible to commit fraud this way? Well... like McGuyver said, when there's a will, there's a way... but given how common this is, it seems likely to be 99% safe.

[Kajito Nagib]

I sent him an invoice via Paypal everything seems to being going OK except I need to resend him the PO # which was missing from the invoice in order to get paid. I'll let everyone know how it how it goes.

[Kajito Nagib]

It was a scam but I kind of knew it since there wasn't much info on their site and the form he sent me was missing a lot of info. I had reedited the film he wanted and had remove certain clips in case I got scammed. Anyway they downloaded a compressed version of my video not the original. Next time I'll have request payment in advance.

[Paul R Johnson]

I regularly pay Chinese suppliers by using the international systems Iban or swift. My bank have an online facility for this. If you are worried and don't trust them, then set up a new account specifically for this transaction. I'm confused when you don't know how to generate and invoice? What do you normally use to bill a client? Word and excel both have invoice templates, just use one of those. The only thing to watch with Iban and swift is that the charge can be quite high, typically thirty pounds or so here in the UK and the system allows for the sender or recipient to pay the charges, usually them, if you can get away with it.

It does seem a little odd for users abroad to volunteer to pay you for rights, so it could be a scam of some kind, but if money appears in the new account, why worry?

[Kajito Nagib]

Originally Posted by Paul R Johnson

I I'm confused when you don't know how to generate and invoice?

Invoice was generated and sent to them via Paypal.