not stolen domains, stolen money

[draqon]

I haven't ever had a problem like this, but it can't hurt to be prepared for theoretical problems in the future...

Lets say that someone is willing to pay me 5,000 dollars for a domain thats only worth 1,000. Therefore I sell it to them. However, a month later I find out the person paid using a stolen credit card or using stolen funds via wire transfer. I'm suddenly out a lot of money and the domain.

Are there any things I can do in order to prevent such a scenario from occuring?

[GeorgeK]

Use Escrow.com -- they'd lose the money, not you.

[draqon]

I thought that Escrow.com has all sorts of legal clauses to remove any liability from themselves. Even if they had sent me the payment, wouldn't I be required to send it back to them?

[Acro]

Once your check is mailed off, there is no liability.

[draqon]

interesting....

thanks guys.

[.biz]

Once your check is mailed off, there is no liability.

Hey, it's good to know what you said. But do you have any statement to support it? Just to make sure that your info is correct.

[jberryhill]

Money is what we call "fungible". That means that if I steal 10 dollars from Bob, and then I go buy a gram of crack from Jim for 10 dollars, we really can't say that I used Bob's "stolen 10 dollars" to buy the crack from Jim - especially if I had 100 dollars in my pocket before I robbed Bob. But the point remains, Jim does not owe Bob ten dollars .

After every domain transaction, simply change your name, close your bank account, and move. Escrow.com will never find you, and then they might just seek to get payment from the person who ripped them off instead of you.

[Steen]

Once your check is mailed off, there is no liability.

I would be suprised if that were true.

[Domagon]

...Lets say that someone is willing to pay me 5,000 dollars for a domain thats only worth 1,000. Therefore I sell it to them. However, a month later I find out the person paid using a stolen credit card or using stolen funds via wire transfer. I'm suddenly out a lot of money and the domain.

Are there any things I can do in order to prevent such a scenario from occuring?

Research the domain and the seller.

Even with physical real estate, doing research is a must, plus better yet purchasing title insurance ... but there is no such title insurance for domains as of yet ... so it's both buyer and seller beware!

With all that said, if the money is what was stolen as opposed to the domain itself, well that's a different issue entirely ...

I'm not an attorney so I won't go into the issues regarding stolen funds (John explained it better than I ever could) ... with that said, I'll throw my 2 cents in regarding payment method ... accept funds (this applies to escrow funding as well) via regular Bank Wire (alternatively, Western Union or E-gold) and NOT via credit card nor ACH (direct deposit) nor PayPal - all of which can be easily "reversed" months later; checks upto 10 business days after deposit in most instances.

Ron

[mppedersen]

I'm not an attorney so I won't go into the issues regarding stolen funds (John explained it better than I ever could) ... with that said, I'll throw my 2 cents in regarding payment method ... accept funds (this applies to escrow funding as well) via regular Bank Wire (alternatively, Western Union or E-gold) and NOT via credit card nor ACH (direct deposit) nor PayPal - all of which can be easily "reversed" months later; checks upto 10 business days after deposit in most instances.

Ron

I would think Western Union would be the best from a sellers viewpoint because they have to give the "clerk" cash. However if it is a legit buyer he might be concerned that you are going to rip him off and not transfer the domain name.

The whole idea of escrow is to protect both the buyer and seller, the escrow will not release funds if they don't have control of the domain name and they will not release the domain name unless they have legit funds.

[Banned: biznews]

If the domain sale accounts for a high price and Escrow does not satisfy sellers comfort zone as far as buyer credentials is concerned, then make the sale and identity of the buyer authenticated by attorneys representing both, the buyer and seller. Before the Escrow transaction, have the buyer commit to a no liablity clause favouring the seller.