Question about getting paid

[Kajito Nagib]

Just recently I was approached by a someone overseas to pay me a 6 month license of a video I shot while visiting Asia. To get paid they are asking me to send my invoice and they also want my Swift/BAN #. I'm assuming it’s my bank routing # or bank info. Does anyone know what a Swift/BAN # is? I feel uncomfortable about sending any bank info I usually do all my transactions through Paypal. They already sent me a PO (Purchase order) which I signed and sent back to them but they explained that they can't accept countersigned POs as invoices. I don't have any readymade invoices does anyone know where I can download a standard invoice preferably for videographers are photographers on the net? Any suggestion about how to proceed with this transaction would be appreciated.

[Mark Williams]

Get a Paypal business account. I does not cost anything. You will have to link a bank account so that might take a week or so. You can create an invoice in the merchant tools section to email to the client. The invoice will have a pay now button that accepts credit cards. You can take a tour of how things will look without getting an account. This is how I have been receiving payment from clients for the past several years.

[Kajito Nagib]

Wonderful! thank you so much.

[Gary Huff]

Hey Kajito, have you done any google searches on the information (name of individual, any company names, ect.) to make sure that this is a good faith request and not a phishing attempt?

[Josh Bass]

Do they take a percentage of each transaction?

[Mark Williams]

Yes, approx 3%. But that is something I would gladly pay to be able to accept credit card payment as well as Paypal does all the work.

[Josh Bass]

Thats about what the "square" app takes. Its an app for accepting credit cards. Ive had several clients who said they simply "couldnt do that", or paypal (regular ol' paypal not biz account) for that matter (larger corporate clients) and insisted on the bank transfer with the info mentioned in the OP here. Is there some reason the paypal business account would be different?

[Kajito Nagib]

Originally Posted by Gary Huff

Hey Kajito, have you done any google searches on the information (name of individual, any company names, ect.) to make sure that this is a good faith request and not a phishing attempt?

Gary that was the first thing I did.There website is kind of iffy but I'll see how it goes. thanks!

[Kajito Nagib]

Originally Posted by Mark Williams

Yes, approx 3%. But that is something I would gladly pay to be able to accept credit card payment as well as Paypal does all the work.

For me 3% isn't bad at all.

[Rob Cantwell]

there are a few things you can do to ensure the website/company is legit;
do a whois search on the domain - see who it's registered to, research the results, note the date the website was created.
See if you can use a company credit report.
Check their contact details - look for genuine telephone numbers
See if they are affiliated to any regulatory body in their particular industry
Are there any reviews of the company

a BAN is a Bank Account Number and a SWIFT is an address assigned to the bank, over here its called a BIC Bank Identifier Code it's used to send automated payments, it identifies the country and the bank's name National Sort Code, I've used them in the past but only when purchasing stuff from abroad.

[Kajito Nagib]

Are there any security issues that you know of in giving out your BAN and swift #?

[Ervin Farkas]

Kajito,

Please be very careful. Craig's List is full of these ads - they all start just like your story. You give them your bank info, they will empty your bank account faster than you can cry: thiefs!

Another scenario I've seen: they will indeed send/or deposit a check "to help you with initial expenses" (e. g. plane tickets). But the check will be for a larger amount and they will ask you to pay for another guy's tickets or some other expense. By the time your good money purchased this additional something, you get a call from your bank stating that "their" check was fake.

So please do your thorough research to make sure the above scenarios do not apply.

Good luck,

[Noa Put]

You give them your bank info, they will empty your bank account faster than you can cry: thiefs!

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 to log into the software my bank supplies and if there would be a transfer of a large sum to a new account you'd need to confirm first with the use of your bankcard and a 4 digit code with the use of a hardware password/code generator that supplies you with a unique code before you are even allowed to do the transfer.

[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).

In theory, a hacker with "information" can devise various ways to counterfeit financial instruments/requests, there is ALWAYS some risk, that's why putting your "personal info" out to anyone you don't know (and sometimes to someone you THINK you know) is bad practice in general - the advantage to taking credit cards is there are at least a few protections in place, there SHOULD be with bank accounts as well, but it doesn't help if your account gets overdrawn etc. and you have to sort out the mess...

Identity theft is a major "business", and the more "info" a hacker has, the more damage they can do, better to do your due diligence and be safe than sorry. When in doubt, protect yourself.

[Ervin Farkas]

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 to log into the software my bank supplies and if there would be a transfer of a large sum to a new account you'd need to confirm first with the use of your bankcard and a 4 digit code with the use of a hardware password/code generator that supplies you with a unique code before you are even allowed to do the transfer.

There is an additional step: they will direct their bank to initiate direct deposits into your account. So the other bank will deposit one or two very small amount of money (a few cents) and ask you to tell them what was the amount they deposited. Once you tell them, they have full access to your account.

And this is not "stories I heard" - it is what happened to me when I opened up my account to a contractor so he can pay me for work I am doing for him. There was no wrondoing whatsoever, this is a contractor I trust. The "reverse payment" part is something I confirmed with my bank. Later we just reverted to checks as I did not feel comfortable.

These are the US bank laws, this is how PayPal works also. Once you give PayPal access to your bank account, they can directly deposit and also debit your account without any further approval from you.

But hey... don't trust me; go ask your own bank.