ok, so I sell cookie bouquets from home. I got an email from a girl who wanted one for her husband. I told her the price, we layed out a design for the cookies, everything was going fine.

She wanted me to deliver it as a surprise and I told her that would be no problem but that she would have to pay either all of it before or atleast half. THen she can come 2 days before the delivery date and pay me the rest and take a look at how the cookies are coming out. She wasn't sure if she wanted to come over to pay me because she lives a bit far from me , 30 minutes or so, not much but I guess it was an issue for her.

SO she asks me if I wanted her to just deposit the money. I was like deposit? How does that work. She then says, you just give me your account number.

<--------- ME

I told her I didnt feel comfortable doing that in my nicest voice possible.

She then tells me its because I dont want her to see all the money i have and that she understands.

YEAH THATS EXACTLY WHY....either she was going to scam me or she's an idiot.

She was giving you, practically a stranger, the power to transfer money from her account into yours???!!!

I don't think the bank would let you do that anyways, they would request ID from the owner of the account which is not you, of course.

But still, who gives out personal bank account numbers for withdrawals...

no, even worse, she wanted MY account information so she can deposit money into my account.

I was shocked by it.

What about paypal? Could she send you the money that way?

I've never used paypal as a seller, only when I was buying from ebay, so I don't know how much they charge you, but I know it's a good way to send money to someone without having to give them even a credit card number (I'm so paranoid after my id theft problems)

She was going to do a transfer DEPOSIT. She can't do a withdrawal, and the bank would not give her your balance - unless she did it in the bank AND the teller was an idiot.

Yes, scams happen - but I can assure you, this isn't one of them. Especially when you have her number, her e-mail address, etc.

I would recommend you set up a PayPal account. They will get a portion of each transaction, but it's the best way to get paid. I require a 50% deposit on ALL orders, but usually they go ahead and pay the whole thing via PayPal in advance. Works out great for me.

You also want to be careful about setting up accounts that can be tracked. It isn't legal to sell baked goods from home in Florida. You might get caught.

It probably was legit, but definitely a little out of the norm. With my bank, you can transfer info anyone's account online. I guess they figure its your money and you can do what you want with it. It will not, however, give you any info or access into anyone else's account.

What about check??? cann't she mail you one ?

I don't care what she was trying to do but please don't ever give out your account number to anyone!!!!!Don't you all read the newspaper or watch the news? This is on everyday!!!

It is pretty common here, we call it direct deposit I pay almost all my suppliers this way (a lot of them have their info on the bottom of their invoices) & all my staff, we have a BSB (branch number) & account number (Not sure if it works differently over there or not) and pay online with internet banking - I can only deposit money into the account I can't see how much money is in anybody's account & I can't withdraw anything. You also get the money faster than a cheque (usually goes in overnight here).

I have never had any problems but I don't know if your banking system is the same as ours but it is your money & you have to do what you feel comfortable with.

to be honest, over here that is a very common practice. Like Ozcake said, suppliers have their details on the bottom of their invoices and i receive payments into mine all the time with ebay. Its a savings account, they are generally alot more secure then credit accounts. The only time i have ever had a problem is with PAYPAL.

Wow I wouldn't give out my account number - very weird request. I'd prefer a check, cash or cashier's check - western union would work too - How about meeting her half way between the houses? Weird one in my book

Yah, unless your out of the US, then I dont consider that the norm here. Its probably easier for her to do paypal, takes a few minutes to set up an account with it and she can directly pay you and it goes into your account. Ebay uses it all the time. But with the way ID theft is lately, I would hesitate to give a complete stranger my account number. And thirty minutes is NOT out of the way. I drive 2 HOURS to meet people for my cakes, etc. so tell her to either mail you a check, set up a paypal account or I would dismiss the order. If a red flag is coming up to you that this might be something to watch out, go with your instinct.

It's normal here also. In fact, on a lot of business cards you'll find their bank account number. My parents have a hotel here, and to confirm your reservation from Costa Rica, you have to send a deposit into their account. I thought most of the people in the states paid their bills online? Not sure what the difference would be....

I guess you still gotta love the laid back world.

For those who are worried about giving our your account number I have news for you... its on the bottom of every check you write! Its not exactly considered highly guarded data. I'm sure its also on the millions of bank statements floating around in the mail each month. Why? Cause no one can do anything bad with it. They still need a signature, social security number, SOMEthing else to access the account. If your bank gives info to someone without the proper authority #1) its their problem to cover it and #2) get a new bank!

Not everyone is out to get you, guys, its ok to let the guard down a little bit

For what it's worth, the number you need to guard is your social security number. Every check you write and hand to someone has your tracking number (the first group of numbers on the left) and your account number (all the rest of the numbers). Even if someone gets your deposit slip all they can do is deposit money into your account.
While this is a different request than most are used to, I don't think she's trying to scam you. Go with your gut.
By the way, I work at a bank operations center I have access to 60,000 plus statements every month.

Jibbies

It's a good idea to establish up front with customers how you'll accept payment. My order form says, "Payable in cash or by check payable to..." I tell them verbally as well. If you do a lot of business, I'm sure a PayPal account is well worth it.

Personally, I'd think it was just weird if someone asked for my account number. If she came to your location specifically to pay you, why wouldn't she be prepared to do that? She may have wanted to delay paying you by telling you she would make the deposit but not done it, and then when the delivery was made, give you a song and dance about the bank messing up, etc., etc. You probably would never have seen payment.

What can I say except WTF! I know several identity theft victims and they all, in retrospect, say the same thing. Give out as little personal information as possible, unless you enjoy spending HOURS on the phone and in offices of the police, FBI, FTC, SSA and credit card companies. If she'd asked for my bank account #, I'd have told her to pay me in CASH ONLY.

We do pay our bills online but the transaction is between you and the bank. The bank actually either wires the money to the payee's account or they physically mail out the check to them.
The only time you would give an account number is if you were being called by a payee and they want you to do a check over the phone. Then you would give the account number and routing number and a check number.
But we dont give account numbers to nonpayee's due to identity theft and hackers.

I'd never give an individual my account number. I am aware that the bank's routing # and your account # are printed at the bottom of each check that you write. That's why I have stopped writing checks to individuals, PTOs, etc. We have had some major problems in my area with PTO members stealing identities and money from parents. We have had our identity stolen so everything is suspicious to me.

Paypal is a quick and easy option and anyone can send you money as long as you have a valid email address. Note that the money stays in the Paypal account and you have to request Paypal to transfer it to your bank account. Sometimes I just leave money in Paypal so I can use that to make other purchases without having them access my bank account.

This is common practice over here too.

No way. I think Pay pal is the way to go. I would never give out my account number.

My sister was is a car accident and had a brain injury and has short memory loss gets married
and makes her husband do all of the bills because she cant remember if she paid them he died and she had to do them her self first check she writes
was to a magazine subscription some one steals the routing number and account number off her check
and start withdrawing 500 a week out of her checking account they set up a dummy company
and start sending her invoices saying she owes them more money she thinks her dead husband my have ordered something she didn't know about so she sends them money she went to the bank to get money out to pay the rest of the funeral off and finds out they took all of her money. OK this is where stupid comes in they put a real phone number on the invoice I call them and told them what they were doing to my sister after she just lost her husband they started sending money back I know this is a scam so I contacted the police who trace the phone number and arrest the people they scammed a lot of people she was the only one that got her money back. sorry so long

The more I read about the USA, the stranger a place it seems to me (no offense intended!). There are no such things as cheques in The Netherlands. We pay each other and bills either in cash or by giving our account details so the money can be transferred directly. So it's not strange to me at all!

I wouldnt have given it to her either...Although I have heard of people doing this before..I wouldnt..especially in Miami, there is so much fraud and scams going on here that anything is possible...

the teller is not supposed to give an account balance without an ID..but Ive had tellers give me my balance w/ out asking for it..just tell her to mail you the check...it will only take like a day anyways

Oh dear. i would not ever give my account number out and I think you did the best thing on this scenario.

Propay is the way to go. i have a paypal account but have not been as happy with them as propay. You can even do an e check if she doesnt have or use credit or debit cards.
Here is how we used to teach our clients at my bank to handle this situation. You clarify to them Mypayment procedures are in place in order to be certain that you my client are safe and that your bank account is safe. With your safety in mind I have setup an account with ***** fill in the blank***** with "propay or paypal" or "I use only a check or cash basis".
This ensures you and your clients are safe. If they prefer to not use these methods reccomend the deliver the check or cash.
Yes she could make a deposit directly to your account with out ID without a problem in most every bank in the USA but here is the thing she does not need to know your account to do this just the name of your bank and a contact person there. You could have one teller or a bank officer be your main contact. This contact could take the deposit and issue a reciept to the client with just the info pertinante to them. The deposit amount, time , date and no personal info, no bank account number or balance info. But be warned banks HATE this becuase that actually can cause them a lot of hassle and some banks have policies against this because it takes time out of thier day. She could wire the money to in with your account info as well but that usually incurs fees for the sender AND the reciever of the funds eating into the funds sent to you via wire. I would just ask for cash/check or setup a pro pay account. Safety is the goal here for all.

Also, some banks automatically print your balance on your receipt...