Old scam, minor new twist

[Feanor]

I've had my Monarchy amps up for sale for a while and recently had an "offer" that turned out to be minor variation on an old scam -- one that everyone should be aware of.

• A guy replies to my Canuck Audio Mart ad; says he will pay my asking price and will send me payment immediately, please send my address & 'phone.
• I reply I need his address so I can calculate shipping; he says (via email) never mind, he'll arrange shipping and the shipping agent will pick up after I have payment. That's sounds a little different but I say OK and send my address & 'phone.
• I don't see any payment. He says he had to make trip to France but payment is in the mail. He emails a couple of times, then 'phones me; I say I'haven't got payment. He says it will arrive soon and I should follow instructions for the shipping arrangements.
• Finally his letter, payment, and instructions arrive, apparently from France. The "payment" consists of what looks like three Canada Post money orders -- each for more than the price of the amps. I am to deduct my price + $50 on account of delays, and send the difference via Western Union to some guy, supposedly the shipper. I get the very strong odour of Rat.
• Nevertheless I take the MOs to an actual post office (not the local convenience store outlet) where I express my suspicions even before trying to cash them. Of course, they are counterfeit. Fraud detected and no actual harm done. The post office clerk takes photocopies and my 'phone number.
• However when I get home I email the first guy that I have his payment and will follow instruction once I've cashed the money orders.
• A couple of hours later I hear from a postal inspector. He suggests I call the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre who will record the incident and possibly take action because the culprit might still think the ball's in play. I call the CAFC, but it's after 4:30PM so they've knocked off for the day.

Of course the scam of receiving excess payment then forwarding the difference to somebody is old, old, old. The only minor difference is that payment was via money order rather than cheque/check. Did the guy really think I'd forward the money without getting hard cash for the MOs? The postal inspector said that I was smart to go an actual post office because a local outlet might have cashed the MOs without checking them; (unlikely for almost 3 grand).

[dakatabg]

That is very common! I sell stuff on craigslist and the same mails come everyday to my mailbox!

[winston]

good catch Feanor, this guy's a professional scam artist he wants to get your (stuff for free plus free shipping and a free check) well that's a twist of lemon!!

as much as these things happen every day, and million's of people have confidence in them selves about those fraudulent schemes, the numbers are really shocking!! with the amount of people that get scammed daily. no one is susceptible, common sense common sense

thanks for shearing man.

[Feanor]

good catch Feanor, this guy's a professional scam artist he wants to get your (stuff for free plus free shipping and a free check) well that's a twist of lemon!!

as much as these things happen every day, and million's of people have confidence in them selves about those fraudulent schemes, the numbers are really shocking!! with the amount of people that get scammed daily. no one is susceptible, common sense common sense

thanks for shearing man.

The basic scam is ...

• Somebody who owns the "buyer" money will send a sum much larger than the purchase price to you in the form of a check which is often on a bank in a remote foreign country
• You will deposit check and see a credit in your bank account
• You will deduct the purchase price plus shipping and send the difference to the "buyer", (often via Western Union transfer which provides you no recourse in case of any problems)
• You will also ship the item to the "buyer"
• A several days or weeks later the check fails to clear -- it takes took long because it's from a remote country -- and the bank debits your account
• You are out your sale item plus the "excess" money you forwarded to the "buyer".

My "buyer"/scammer tried counterfeit postal money orders instead of a check; he was hoping that (a) I would consider the MOs as good as cash and forward the money right away or (b) the fake MOs being cashed buy the postal outlet -- in fact neither of these things were very likely.

My scammer said he would have a shipping agent pick up the amps, but quite likely he wouldn't have bothered since he really only wanted the cash.

[Hyfi]

If you get a response from a CL add within minutes of posting, it's part of the same or similar scam. I just delete the emails right away. They usually do not mention the actual item for sale but more generically ask if you still have sale item.

I have been selling a bunch of stuff on CL lately and get them for every item I post.

[Jack in Wilmington]

I usually just tell them on CL when they e-mail me. That it is strickly cash and carry and I never hear from them again. I never get any of that crap on ebay.

[LeRoy]

Feanor, thanks for sharing your experience. I have never traded online with reselling anything so your post was quite a head's up for me. Glad to know you had it all under control from the get go.

[JoeE SP9]

My brother was approached with almost the same kind of money order scam. He received an email that he had been selected for a Walmart "secret shopper job". The advance payment in "USPS" money orders was an over payment and he was to get new money orders for the overpayment and send them to the Philippines.

[Feanor]

My brother was approached with almost the same kind of money order scam. He received an email that he had been selected for a Walmart "secret shopper job". The advance payment in "USPS" money orders was an over payment and he was to get new money orders for the overpayment and send them to the Philippines.

I recognized the overpayment scam immediately, but I'll admit that I wanted to see if the money orders were valid -- if they were, well, maybe for the first time in history the thing was legit.

It was easy to go to the post office and have them checked out; of course they were fakes. What I wonder is whether this was his first time using MOs or whether they had actually worked on previous occassions -- I think that's unlikely.

[Worf101]

Having been online for a long time, the alarms always go off when I receive a frantic email felling me that some service I'm a member of, or bank I have money in, has noticed some strange stuff and they're freezing my account. Most of the time I just laugh as I don't own a bank account in most of the banks freezing my funds. But lately, like bank robbers of old, the thieves have gone to where the REAL money is.. Paypal. Lately I've received some very legit looking emails from someone purporting to be Paypal asking me to "verify my login". This email even had my full name in the title. But Paypal, like any reputable service says they'll NEVER ask for your password or anything like that EVER via email. Soo....

I checked the return address and surer than chit there was an extra "e" tucked in right after the @ symbol. Sure sign it's a spoof. I can see how they'd dupe many an unsuspecting person with this ruse but not moi. Bewared folks.

Da Worfster

[Feanor]

Having been online for a long time, the alarms always go off when I receive a frantic email felling me that some service I'm a member of, or bank I have money in, has noticed some strange stuff and they're freezing my account. Most of the time I just laugh as I don't own a bank account in most of the banks freezing my funds. But lately, like bank robbers of old, the thieves have gone to where the REAL money is.. Paypal. Lately I've received some very legit looking emails from someone purporting to be Paypal asking me to "verify my login". This email even had my full name in the title. But Paypal, like any reputable service says they'll NEVER ask for your password or anything like that EVER via email. ...
Da Worfster

'
The PayPal thing has undergone a revival. The very first phishing attempted I ever noticed was a PayPay "verify your information" thing. That was at least 8 years ago.

Even at that time, the appearance and text was pretty good. I was naive at the time about phishing, but, being a suspicious person by nature, I just didn't see why they would need to verify my information, so I didn't respond. Instead I went directly to the PayPal site and saw no irregularities; I immediately understood that it was an attempt to hack my account. Soon after PayPal issued a warning to the type they are sending out again.

[winston]

check this out I received this one (below) today!! and its not even fool proof but they send them out anyway because they know that suckers are out there

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND INVESTIGATION UNIT.
ADVISE: YOUR OUTSTANDING PAYMENT NOTIFICATION
FROM: SIR. ROBERT JAMES ELDER.
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND INVESTIGATION UNIT.

Hello.

My name is Sir. Robert James Elder of the International Monetary Fund investigation unit. We received a letter in our office here in London UK today requesting that your unclaimed fund should be paid to MR.CURRY WHITE.

In the said letter of change of beneficiary/ownership, representatives of MR.CURRY WHITE states that you are dead and as such your Fund/Estate should be paid to her as the next of kin to you.

Because of the elaborate global scam, we decided to contact you for confirmation. If after seven working days, no response is received from you, it will be assumed that you are dead and as such authorization and approval will be granted on behalf of MR.CURRY WHITE to claim/receive your fund.

Confirm this letter and reconfirm your Information and how you want your fund paid to you without further delay if you are still alive. Send your responce.

Below is the information you are expected to re-confirm,

1. Full Name:___________________
2. Address:____________________
3. Nationality:_____Sex___________
4. Age:_____ Date of Birth:__________
5. Occupation:___________________
6. Phone:_______Fax:_____________
7. State of Origin:_____Country:_____
8. Driver's lincence:________________
9. Copy Of Your Identity:____________


Thanks,

Yours Faithfully,
Sir. Robert James Elder
International Monetary Fund Investigation Unit.

[Feanor]

check this out I received this one (below) today!! and its not even fool proof but they send them out anyway because they know that suckers are out there

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND INVESTIGATION UNIT.
ADVISE: YOUR OUTSTANDING PAYMENT NOTIFICATION
FROM: SIR. ROBERT JAMES ELDER.
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND INVESTIGATION UNIT.

Hello.

My name is Sir. Robert James Elder of the International Monetary Fund investigation unit. We received a letter in our office here in London UK today requesting that your unclaimed fund should be paid to MR.CURRY WHITE.

In the said letter of change of beneficiary/ownership, representatives of MR.CURRY WHITE states that you are dead and as such your Fund/Estate should be paid to her as the next of kin to you.

Because of the elaborate global scam, we decided to contact you for confirmation. If after seven working days, no response is received from you, it will be assumed that you are dead and as such authorization and approval will be granted on behalf of MR.CURRY WHITE to claim/receive your fund.

Confirm this letter and reconfirm your Information and how you want your fund paid to you without further delay if you are still alive. Send your responce.

Below is the information you are expected to re-confirm,

1. Full Name:___________________
2. Address:____________________
3. Nationality:_____Sex___________
4. Age:_____ Date of Birth:__________
5. Occupation:___________________
6. Phone:_______Fax:_____________
7. State of Origin:_____Country:_____
8. Driver's lincence:________________
9. Copy Of Your Identity:____________


Thanks,

Yours Faithfully,
Sir. Robert James Elder
International Monetary Fund Investigation Unit.

It's amazing that anybody would fall for this at this point in history. Yet it seems to me I get this stuff daily. (Almost all of it is posted to my spam folder so I don't actually get to read much of it.)

But I suppose it only takes one in 100k fall for it to make the effort worthwhile to these guys.

[frankaai]

cant believe these guys think they can get away with this

[dwayne.aycock]

My Wife was subject to this scam about 3 years ago. Sounds similar, but the twist was she was mailed bogus money orders and instructed to deposit them. Next send the difference back to them by Western Union. She swore it was legit but I had my doubts. I asked her to wait until the money orders cleared and then if necessary proceed. The money orders were applied to her account as a deposit but not bank verified. A few days later she got a call telling her that the money orders were bogus. She looked at me as if I were a psychic......I just smiled. Craigs list is good if you can see an item locally. I never bring money just in case there is funny business, and I always take someone with me.

[StevenSurprenant]

Same thing happened to me. However, I told the guy before he sent the check, that it sounded like a scam and that I would wait till the check cleared before sending any money. He still sent the check. I called the bank it was issued on and they told me it was fake.

[Chas Underhay]

Hi Feanor

Apart from dealing with bona fide companies, I've bought and sold via the internet a few times on the strict following criteria.

If I'm buying, I tell them that I will come to their house / premises (not local pub) and if the goods match their description, I will pay them cash and take the goods away with me. If somebody does not want me to go (and I've had that before) the deals off.

If I'm selling, I tell them to come to my house with cash.

Too many crooks in thi world!

Cheers

Chas

[Worf101]

Hi Feanor

Apart from dealing with bona fide companies, I've bought and sold via the internet a few times on the strict following criteria.

If I'm buying, I tell them that I will come to their house / premises (not local pub) and if the goods match their description, I will pay them cash and take the goods away with me. If somebody does not want me to go (and I've had that before) the deals off.

If I'm selling, I tell them to come to my house with cash.

Too many crooks in thi world!

Cheers

Chas

I've only bought on CL before never sold.. I understand your logic on the buying end but why would you allow a potential theif into your home? I personally am more worried about theives seeing what's in my house and coming back with a truck than a guy trying to physically assault me during a theft. I'd have him meet me in front of local police station, that's safe enough.

Worf

[winston]

I've only bought on CL before never sold.. I understand your logic on the buying end but why would you allow a potential theif into your home? I personally am more worried about theives seeing what's in my house and coming back with a truck than a guy trying to physically assault me during a theft. I'd have him meet me in front of local police station, that's safe enough.

Worf

word

[Jack in Wilmington]

What does this sound like guys, legit or scam.
I just got an offer on Audiogon from someone called "Wesley Global Corp." No discussion, just an offer. They have no feedback and I tried a goggle search and got nothing. They haven't mentioned how they were paying. Sounds fishy to me.

[Feanor]

What does this sound like guys, legit or scam.
I just got an offer on Audiogon from someone called "Wesley Global Corp." No discussion, just an offer. They have no feedback and I tried a goggle search and got nothing. They haven't mentioned how they were paying. Sounds fishy to me.

That sort of offer shouldn't be taken at face value; come to that, the "face" in this case is pretty murky.

When dealing with a buyer, the important thing is that they pay you in some irrevocable manner. Personal checks are totally unacceptable; Paypal can be OK if you send to only to confirmed addresses; USPS (or Canada Post) money orders are OK but cash them and allow a few days for it them to clear; Western Union transfers should be OK but only an idiot buyer would pay for anything via WU transfer.

Be very careful dealing with anybody with no feedback, but of course everybody has to start some where. If the offer seems reasonable email back: ask about means of payment; ask for a Zip or Postal Code (to computer shipping charges), and ask for a telephone number (for you to call them not vice versa).

[winston]

What does this sound like guys, legit or scam.
I just got an offer on Audiogon from someone called "Wesley Global Corp." No discussion, just an offer. They have no feedback and I tried a goggle search and got nothing. They haven't mentioned how they were paying. Sounds fishy to me.

yes it sounds Fishy! "But I would say that your still in control of the situation" IMHO (IF) the offer meets your expectation, "and I'm assuming that you have a (preferred) payment option posted with the adds, it maybe worth trying", based on all monies are cleared and verified before any tracking number is given out... (Period)

just remember to played it out like "Feanor, did in (Post # 1) even if its not the same type of exchange

Good luck

[Mygaffer]

These scammers are the worst examples of humanity you can imagine. I still find it hard to have too much sympathy for the idiot that falls for the scam.