In the past we have spoken about how fraud is conducted on the internet. Every country has its fraudulent citizens that think there is nothing wrong by ruining your life to make a profit. Some of these schemes are so outrageous that they are almost laughable. It is just a lucky thing that the people who usually try to perpetrate them are stupid. A friend of mine was contacted by someone who read an ad he had posted for his business, on the internet, over two years ago. He thought this kind of strange. He had since retired but did have some items that he wanted to clear out. He had received several letters by email and they just didn't’t sound right. Then he got the clincher which was an obvious attempt to defraud him of $2,000 and maybe steal his identity. I thought it would be interesting to post these communications here. I have left out the names.
Correspondence #1 from Trickster:
Dear Seller,
I went through your advert today and I am interested in your products.I am (delete),a businessman from Athens,Greece.
I deal in mobile electronics,automobile above all general merchandise.I also distribute goods to various people in anywhere in the world.I want to buy the below merchandise, of which I want you to calculate the total cost. Also I will be in need of your full name,address and telephone . Payment will be made via cashier check as soons as the informations listed above are provided. For the shipping, I will contact my shipper to come for it as soon as the payment is made. I shall be the expectant of the reply in your earliest convenience.
Feel free to ask me any question, I will always be delighted to answering the questions.
(deleted)
Warm Regards, |
Correspondence #1 from Seller:
Hello,
Funny to hear from you since the ad must be about 2 years old. I quit the business but I do have 3 boxes of new, wrapped (delete). Each box is 16 in long X 12 in wide X 10 inches deep and filled to about 1 1/2 inches from the top. There are a lot of (delete) and the boxes are heavy. The price is $990 plus shipping. Payment to be by money order or if by check the merchandise will be sent after the check clears in about 8-10 business days. These are the same (delete) I sold on Ebay for between 4.00 each to 12.00 each. You should be able to make quite a profit on your money even if you wholesale them. Normally I would ask a lot more but since this is the end of my stock I am willing to let it go cheap. As I said the only reason I am selling them so cheap is that I am out of the business since I retired from work and all other commercial activities.
Have a great day and thanks for the inquiry. If you are interested drop me a line at (deleted) my private email address.
Best, |
Correspondence #2 from Trickster:
Thanks for the reply.The price is OK.Please let me have your full name and address for the check.
Regards
|
Correspondence #2 from Seller
My name is(deleted) and my address is *(deleted) Since I am not in business anymore, if you make a pickup I will arrange to have it at my house. Tell me how to package the merchandise, if I need any special tags etc since it is going to Greece. I never packaged for over seas before. I used to only sell domestically. If you want me to ship it I will find out the cost and details and let you know.
When the check is received I will notify you and when it clears I will also let you know and will notify you about the pickup arrangements if you want to use your own carrier, else I will notify you of the shipping and carrier info and any tracking numbers I have.
If you prefer you can send the money to my Paypal account using (delete) as my account address. If you send the check by mail let me know and I will make sure to check my PO box every day.
Speak to you soon and thanks again.
Best,
PS I am using yahoo because MS Outlook isn't working properly.
*A little note here. The seller was smart enough not to supply any address other than a Post Office Box as this deal didn't feel right to him. No money is ever kept in his Paypal account so there was no danger there. |
Correspondence #3 from Seller
Hello,
1. I haven't heard from you about the check, do you still want the (delete)?
Best, |
Correspondence #3 from Trickster
Ok be expecting the check.
Regards |
Correspondence #4 From Trickster:
Hello,
Thanks for your patience.Please I will have to plead for this I am very sorry it is the fault of my client that wants to issue out the check. He is out of the state and he will be back for Friday. I called him last night that was when he disclosed all this to me.He has also promised me that he will send out the check unfailingly that friday so by next week Tuesday your will receive payment I will also update up as soon as he has sent it.Please mail me back to be assured that I still have a business with you Please ASAP.
Regards, |
Note - The client turned out to have a so called London address and was not in the states. The trickster had forgotten what he had said.
Correspondence #5 From Trickster:
Hello(delete)
1. How are you business and your family,hope you are all having a nice time over there? Thanks very much for your patience so far. Also Sorry for late delievery of the payment it was due to some reasons beyond my client control. However he as promised me that you will surely recieve the payment by next week wednesday or Thursday through post. He also informed me that he sent the whole amount he was formaly owing me a sum which i more so that will be able to make up with shippment,which is very good of him. Immediatly you contact me that you have received the payment i will email you with all the shipping instruction about how we will commence with the transaction and make it a success. Thanks for your understanding and patience so far, please continue holding on till you get the payment. I will like you to please reply this mail to confirm that you truely got it.Bye for now and thanks once again for your patience.
REGARDS. |
Correspondence #6 From Trickster:
My client told me that you should received the payment today saturday or monday, Hope you are fine over there? You should proceed cashing the check at any cashing center in your area. My client also told me that he sent the whole amount he was owing me a sum of $3000 to you which is very good of him. So that i will be able to make up for the shippment. I will like you to deduct your price and send the balance to my shipper through western union money transfer if you have received the payment,so that he can come over to see it and pick it up for me. Here is my shippers current location where you will send the money to so that he can come for pick up. Western union information to my shipper:
(Delete)
Send the balance through any of the western union outlets i have provided below in your area:
A grocery shop,money mart or gas station in your area. It will be very cheap,you can use out of my balance to send the money thanks,easy for you to send and also easy for him to collect please do that as quick as possible, so that I do not loose my shipper. I will like you to do all that i have told you as quickly as possible so that my shipper can come to your Location this week becos i don't want to loose any more time, my shipper must show a valid(passport and a valid ID (card) Please provide me with all the wester union
informations you used in sending the money like:
Senders Name;...
Senders address;...
control number MTCN;....
TEXT QUESTION e.g(WHAT IS THE YEAR? ,TEXT ANSWER 2004)
Amount sent;....
Please make sure you do all that i have told you
today,
Bye and God bless your family i will be expecting your
reply.
Regards |
Note - The shippers address was London, how could he come and pick up packages and why would he bother. The airfare alone would be as much as the packages. The shipper listed was a private individual not a company.
Correspondence #4 from Seller:
Hello,
I read your instructions but the check will have to clear first and depending on what type of check it is, it may take awhile, there is nothing I can do about that, it is up to my bank and their policies. Another thing I am not clear on is did you want me to send the shipper 2110 dollars minus the Western Union cost? Is that correct? I get that amount by subtracting $990 from $3000 which leaves $2010 - Western Union Fees?
Let me know if this is correct?
Best,
|
Note - The seller now felt there was something definitely wrong here, none of this made sense. Can you imagine letting a stranger handle $2000 and relying on him to send it to you? This is the carrot to bait the trap. This was to gain the trust of the seller so the seller would either supply personal info or fall for some bigger fraud in the future. The check would take maybe 10 days to bounce giving the trickster time to defraud the seller.
Correspondence #7 from Trickster:
Hello(delete),
Thanks very much,i guess that that means you have received the payment right?
Yes,you got all the calculations right and will be very glad if you send the balance tommorrow cos the check that was sent to you will surely clear so you dont have to worry you know. Also you can deduct the western union charges from my balance at the outlet.
I will be expecting your reply,os to see your reply quickly
Thank you,
|
Note - This is so stupid, it is laughable. The trickster now believes that the seller is honest from his replies and tries to get him to send the change from the check before it clears. He also knows that if this happens he might get certain personal info from Western Union such as the seller's full name and address and he may be able to use this or even set up a burglary if he feels it is worth it.
The seller decided enough was enough at this point and told the trickster to forget the deal and not to contact him again.
There were certain things that became obvious along the way. We have talked about the Nigerian frauds on the internet. The so called shipping agent seemed to have a Nigerian name. In the correspondence it seemed the deal was just too good to be true because it was too easy. The trickster never tried to get the price down. This in itself means nothing but taken with the style of the correspondence which definitely seemed to be the same as the Nigerian fraud letters, the fact that a two year old ad was used (hoping the seller was desperate), the spelling in the emails which was again similar to the Nigerian fraud letters, and finally sending of 2,000 dollars extra to a stranger with the plea to not wait until the check clears to send the change was as they say, "just too much for the old ticker."
So be very careful when making any deals online or anywhere, but especially on line. Again, if it sound too good to be true or you are given an opportunity to make dishonest gain, it probably is a fraud. Do not let anyone unknown to you get any of your personal information.
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