FRAUDSTERS tried to con a man selling his sports car online.
Martin Marshall put his Panther Kallista - a rare, 1984, soft-top sports car - up for sale three weeks ago.
Immediately there was a lot of interest in the £7,250 car and people from across the UK began making appointments to come and see it.
Then 49-year-old Mr Marshall received an email from a man claiming to be in Greece and using the name James Paul.
He offered to pay Mr Marshall £12,000 by cheque. He asked him to cash it and give the remaining balance to an associate, who would be picking up the car.
But Mr Marshall, a textile manager, of Millers Court, Liversedge, smelled a rat.
He said: "At first I just thought he was a genuine guy trying to buy the car from another country.
"But when he started emailing me and talking about paying me more alarm bells started to ring.
"Without thinking, I sent him my address, so he could send a cheque. But then I realised I should not get involved.
"I told him a buyer had arranged to come to see the car. I then said it had been sold."
But James Paul sent a string of furious emails demanding that the cheque - which was in the post - was put in Mr Marshall's account.
He wanted him to then pass the money on - and offered £500 for the trouble.
And when the cheque arrived - postmarked from Nigeria - it was made out from the Royal Academy of Arts.
Mr Marshall said: "I told him we were not doing business and I was very dubious about the cheque.
"By this point I had realised something dodgy was going on.
"I spotted it, but some people might not have. I am not sure if he is laundering money or if it is just all a con."
A spokesman for the Royal Academy of Arts in London said the cheque was a fake. Other forgeries had also been stopped.
A police spokesman said: "This sounds very suspicious. Mr Marshall has done the right thing by refusing to deal with this person.
"Luckily, he did not give out his bank details, which is vital when you do any business online."
