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Is a wire transfer from Global Credit Union safe?

I do a lot of online business transactions and I have an individual interested in an item I have for sale. He wants to send a wire transfer to my bank from his (Global Credit Union, 9329 E. Montgomery, Spokane Valley, Washington 99206 phone # 509-838-6171) for an amount exceeding $600. He said he would need my account number and routing number but I told him I'm not comfortable giving that out to him. So he said I could call his bank and give them my information directly and that way he would never have it. Does this sound fishy to anyone else? I originally told him I only accept PayPal or a Postal money orders as form of payment. But he said this would be cheaper (because I would require him to include 4% on top of the total because that is what PayPal would charge me), and faster than a Postal money order. But don't banks, or credit unions in this case, charge fees to make wire transfers? Any advise would be greatly appreciated. I just want to make sure there's no way I could get ripped off somehow!

Public Comments

1. Well, that is the correct phone number for Global Credit Union, but the address is slightly incorrect. Their Spokane Valley branch is actually at 9227 E. Montgomery. You could call the credit union directly and ask them if they will keep your account number and routing/transit number confidential, but I'm not confident that this deal is legitimate. As long as you are the one making the call, you will know you are actually talking with a legitimate employee of the credit union. But, don't use the number he gave you. I recognize that number as a number that was used by the credit union in the past - I've lived in Spokane for 15 years and worked for a couple of different credit unions here. I believe Global Credit Union is now using (509) 455-4700 or (800) 676-4562 as their central phone numbers, according to their website. There is a charge to make a wire transfer. But if he is making the wire transfer, he will have to pay the fee ($17.00) to his credit union. It doesn't make sense that he would pay $17 to do a wire transfer to save you the cost of a PayPal transaction. And, 4 percent of $600 is $24, so that's not a big savings compared to cost the wire transfer. You are correct to be concerned about disclosing your account number plus routing/transit number to a stranger. That is all the information that is needed to compromise your account. How much is your asking price for the item you are selling? If this person is planning to wire you more money than your asking price, then it is likely a scam. I think you should probably stick to a postal money order or PayPal. And, if you receive a postal money order through the U.S. Postal Service, confirm that it is legitimate and not counterfeit before you ship any items sold.