PPRuNe Forums - Guys - Beware of this Scam

As if times are not hard enough; all operators are warned to be on the alert for this nice little scam that has already been effected in the Asian and Pacific area.

An email arrives (this one from England) claiming that a family are coming out to your Area early next year and require a helicopter for 1 hour a day for 5 days. These people are well versed in the local area indicating the types of places they would like to visit and offer some 'confirmed' dates and suggested itineraries. (They are very convincing and quite savvy!) They seek a quote for your services which you duly forward.
They then make further contact seeking to pay a reasonably hefty deposit 'up front' and do so with a credit card. The card transaction actually works and goes through without any troubles at all. This is the start of your problems!
They then make contact again seeking your assistance in forwarding a payment to their booking agent who doesn't accept credit cards - this smaller payment (in this case $8000) is forwarded by direct deposit from your account using the funds provided by the credit card transaction.
Herein lies the main problem! The credit card payment was fraudulent and probably wont be discovered until the real owner trys to use their card or receives a statement. When they do eventually discover the fraudulent transaction; it will be reversed and the original deposit will be deducted from your account. (This could occur anytime up to 12 months AFTER the initial transaction!) Naturally, the $8000 you onforwarded to the booking agent on their behalf is long gone too.
BE WARNED! Every operator/owner must be vigilant for suspicious bookings but even more so when the client is asking you to handle/forward monies onto other people!
As an aside, this one didn't quite go to plan (for the robbers) - the fraud squad were called in and the transaction was reversed before any damage was done!