If someone has a personal cheque, they can use those numbers to set up auto-pay to a credit card (which is not in their name). Transaction will take a day or three to process, and may be repeated until you note the activity on your next statement. By then, the cards have been used to purchase goods or allow cash withdrawals. The Nigerians have done a number of scams similar to this, most famously the "Please allow me to deposit a huge amount of money in your account -- and I'll let you keep enough to buy a new car!"
If that were the case, then how is that anyone uses personal checks? If having someone's account number alone allows you to "set up" auto payments and withdrawals from their account to some credit card? How do you set that up?
The US bank where I do business doesn't work like that. German banks don't work like that. You need a lot more than someone's account number to manipulate their funds. Banks have a certain liabilty to their customers.
The Nigerian con is totally different: it works on greed and ignorance. The pigeon gets a check for a lot of money with some wild excuse as to why the Nigerians need help in accessing their own funds. The pigeon gets offered a big cut to deposit the "check" in his account and then transfer a big chunk of the money on to the Nigerians... at another bank... thing is, the check is stolen/forged/bogus and as soon as the pigeon's bank presents that check to the
issuing bank for payment, the check bounces, the funds are taken off the pigeon's account and he's out whatever he foolishly transfered to the Nigerians.
The key to any type of check/money order that is deposited into your account: there are two places the instrument must clear, 1. your bank, which happens when you hand it in for deposit. This is pretty much meaningless becasue your bank can't immedaitely verify the check! 2. The instrument must be paid by the issuing bank which happens when your bank actually collects the money for you. Once the funds have cleared the issung bank and are in your account, they are yours. Not before. But once the funds are there, it takes legal action to ever recover the money. There are no "I changed my minds"
This can take up to 6 weeks! So check with your bank. Never release goods until the payment has cleared the issuing bank!! But once a transfer is on your account and your bank confirms receipt of the funds, the sender cannot have his bank take it back. He can have his attorney sue you for it, but that takes time.
This is one reason the people who transfer money to the Nigerians can't just get their money back: the transfer has been paid, the money is gone.
I tell anyone wanting to use an international money order for pament that they'll have wait until their bank pays it and that may take a while, depending on the banks involved.
Best bet on any type of financial transaction where you are unsure: talk to your bank! And if necessary, get it in writing from them.
