Scam?

[Peerzy]

Basically I'm selling an old PC on the internet and through local papers and I've had someone email me asking how much for it. I replied with £200 then got this email;


Dear Seller,
Thanks very much for your honesy and
transparency.I will want you to know that i am okay
with the everything about the (ITEM ) and i will offer
you £250 for it.

In regards to the (ITEM ) from your place
(byairline)as soon as the transaction must have been
sealed. This is how the payment will be made ,a
client ofmine in UK who is owing me some fund
£3,500,I will instruct him to issue a cheque in your
name and once the cheque clears youwill deduct the
cost of the (ITEM ) compensation and any tax
incurred and my balance will be send back to my
shipper via western union money transfer for
immediate shipping arrangement. I want you to get
back to me ASAP with the following details below so
that i can instruct my client to issue the cheque
asap.

FULL NAME :
ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE:
POST
CODE:
COUNTRY:
(MOBILE AND LANDLINE PHONE NUMBER: )

Thanks for your understanding in anticipation and hope
to read from you today.Best regardsb N.B - I
willcompensate you with £50 for the running arround
and transportation and also to consider the (ITEM )
sold to me.......and i will wait until the cheque
clears in your bank before i arrange for the shipping
process and aslo i we like you to remove the advert
from sale.0702401XXXX

regard

Now don't get me wrong, this has got to be a scam but I just don't see how he's going to scam money from me:huh:

The way I see it, he's going to give me a cheque for £3.5K, ask me to bank it, then send him the money via Western Union apart from the £250 (I said I was willing to sell for £200 but he wants to give me £250) and any deductions.

What's stopping me from banking the cheque and then just never sending him the money.

Obviously this is a scam but it got me thinking whether you can scam the scammers.

[sear]

It definitely smells fishy. Can't see how he can get any money out of you though, and there's nothing stopping you from keeping the cash. But why would they trust you with this. The only thing I can think of is they want to use you to launder some kind of illegal funds like drug money and send it overseas :unsure:

[fook3d]

FULL NAME :
ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE:
POST
CODE:
COUNTRY:
(MOBILE AND LANDLINE PHONE NUMBER: )


Im guessing thats for you to reply for your details?

Whatever that is, I'm with the person above, Sounds like a money laundering program of some kind.

Nice way to launder really, Send the money to you, You do all the dodgy work and send them back a high percentage which is then pretty much clean money.

Tell them to screw their deal as its not really worth all the bullshit if it is a laundering attempt and you get screwed further down the line somehow. :dabs:

"If it looks too good to be true, It normally is" ;)

[100%]

I doubt he even wants the pc.

[zoe68]

I had some puppies for sale earlier in the year, I had the same thing from John Marcus in West Africa, at the time this was happening on a regular basis on ebay, with mobile phone purchases, he wanted me to post him one of my pups and the change from the £3500 cheque.
Anyways, it was a big money laundering scam, and if you did decide to keep the money, they simpley reported you to the police for money laundering and theft.

[vidcc]

Now don't get me wrong, this has got to be a scam but I just don't see how he's going to scam money from me:huh:

The way I see it, he's going to give me a cheque for £3.5K, ask me to bank it, then send him the money via Western Union apart from the £250 (I said I was willing to sell for £200 but he wants to give me £250) and any deductions.

What's stopping me from banking the cheque and then just never sending him the money.

Obviously this is a scam but it got me thinking whether you can scam the scammers.

Chances are the cheque or money order is stolen or forged. You may think you are scamming the scammers, but if it is money laundering (I can't see how it isn't), do you really want the money trail ending in your account?

[Skiz]

It is definitely a scam. I've gotten responses like this multiple times when selling things on eBay. If you send the item, you'll never hear from the responder again.

DON'T DO IT!

[vidcc]

Thinking about it you may find that you don't even get a cheque. It's asking for personal information which could be used for identity theft.

[Peerzy]

It is definitely a scam. I've gotten responses like this multiple times when selling things on eBay. If you send the item, you'll never hear from the responder again.

DON'T DO IT!

Cheers guys.

Always knew it was a scam, just couldn't see how they were scamming me:ermm:

[zapjb]

Definitely a scam. Couple points: offers to pay more, ship it to him (not local), all personal info, check over the amount (he trusts you why???).

Just 1 way this would work out as a scam, there are other ways. The check clears (but not really). Then a month or so later your bank goes after you for the funds.

I guarantee this is a SCAM.

[Skiz]

That email is about as genuine as the one I just received:



DEAR FRIEND.
This business proposal to you is strictly
confidential, with due respect. Sorry at this
perceived confusion or stress may have receiving this
letter from me, Since we have not known ourselves or
met previously. Despite that, I am constrained to
write you this letter because of the urgency of it.By
way of self introduction, I am Mrs. Mary Kobe, the
wife of late Brigadier - Gen.Maxwell Kobe former
ECOMOG ARMY COMMANDER [West African peacekeeping force
in Sierra Leone] who died in the Sierra Leone civil
disturbance [War]. My three daughters and I are
trapped in obnoxious custom and traditional norms.
We have suffered maltreatment and untold hardship in
the hands of my late husband's family, simply because
I did not bear a male child [heir apparent] for my
late husband. By tradition, all that my late husband
had, [wealth] belongs to his brothers/family. And
myself is to be remarried by his immediate younger
brother which I vehemently refused. They have taken
all that I suffered with my husband to acquire
including treasures, houses and his bank particular
seized by them. I wanted to escape to the abroad with
my children on exile, but again
they conspired and stole my international passport and
other traveling document to further frustrate me.
Thank God, two weeks ago, I received Key Text Code
from a Security Company in EUROPE, that my late
husband deposited U.S $14.2 Million cash with this
security company in ONE OF THE EUROPEAN STATEs. It has
therefore, become very necessary and urgent to contact
someone, a foreigner like you to help me
receive/secure these funds overseas in a reliable bank
Account (presumably an empty Bank Account, if
available) and to help invest it on our behalf as
well, while we find a way of getting out to meet with
you in your country.
These funds are kept
with the Security Company in EUROPE to avoid
detection, seizure or diversion. I have had several
telephone discussions with the Director of the
security company in Europe,who has express willingness
to help me on meeting the company's demands. This is
why I have contacted you to help save my children and
I, receive these funds on our behalf. But, you would
need to give me sufficient assurance that if you help
me, you would not divert the funds.
My children and I have resolved to give you 20% of the
total sum. This is all my children and I have got to
live on.
Please, I have reposed my confidence in you and hope
you will not disappoint me. I look forward to your
urgent response, including:
-name(s) in full
-your phone/ mobile No
-and also your fax no for easier communication
-your address
NB: The secret codes (e.g Pin No., Secret Access Code)
for this fund are safely kept with me which I can give
you as soon as you express desire to help me.
Stay blessed.
MARY KOBE
NB
you may send your reply to this address: [email protected]

[sear]

It's the great writing and grammar that makes it seem so genuine. I particularly like this little gem.


My three daughters and I are
trapped in obnoxious custom and traditional norms. :wacko:

[zoe68]

Heres another thing that could happen:
ur own bank will tell u its cleared after 7 days but then after ten days it will bounce and the 3,000 will be deducted from ur acount.
happened this way to someone else on another forum

[zapjb]

Heres another thing that could happen:
ur own bank will tell u its cleared after 7 days but then after ten days it will bounce and the 3,000 will be deducted from ur acount.
happened this way to someone else on another forum
I said that on page1. Can be longer than 10 days though.

[Mr JP Fugley]

What makes you chaps think this is money laundering. Laundering is the process of getting dirty money into the system and legitimizing it. This would be cash, taken from somewhere and sent via Western Union to somewhere else. It would just be stealing money from his bank account and transferring it to the thief. Hardly laundering.

On and whether it's a scam, he didn't even use the template properly, he left [Item] when he is supposed to replace that with PC, Watch, TV or whatever. To say nothing of the English and how preposterous the whole thing is.

Anyone fooled by something this transparent deserves all they get because the only way these things can get you is if you're greedy enough to accept bullshit.

[Peerzy]

But I want to give him all my monies :dabs:

[lynx]

You just can't trust thieves to use standard Scam forms properly these days.

However, I think I've got a way round this.

Send me the PC, and when I get the cash I'll send you £225. That way we both make £25 and there's no risk to you.

[Mr JP Fugley]

You just can't trust thieves to use standard Scam forms properly these days.



It's appalling, wouldn't have happened back in the day.

[vidcc]

http://www.westcountrylinks.co.uk/forsale/info.htm

[bigboab]

http://www.westcountrylinks.co.uk/forsale/info.htm

I wonder what would happen to the person 'used' by this money laundering scam. Would they be guilty of any offence?

If bankers can charge you £30 or so for a letter, calling it a service charge, then surely you could be entitled to 'charge' for your services in these scams. On the assumption that you plead ignorance*.



*That plea has always worked for me.:rolleyes:

[Mr JP Fugley]

http://www.westcountrylinks.co.uk/forsale/info.htm

I wonder what would happen to the person 'used' by this money laundering scam. Would they be guilty of any offence?

If bankers can charge you £30 or so for a letter, calling it a service charge, then surely you could be entitled to 'charge' for your services in these scams. On the assumption that you plead ignorance*.



*That plea has always worked for me.:rolleyes:

That's not money laundering. They are just using that term because people can understand it (or think they do). Stealing money from someone's bank account (the forgery option) then having them transfer it to you via an MSB is not laundering it's theft. You know that boab. Taking goods with an intention to permanently deprive. FFS the article even describes the criminals as "Fraudsters" on several occasions. How often as a Cop did you see this sort of thing. They call the crime one thing, then go on to describe something else. It's just making things easy for the reader to think they understand. Thinking about it, you may even have been involved in writing press releases or notes to editors.

In the option of the stolen cheque they would once again simply treat it as theft. The bottom line is, once the stolen cheque is identified as such, then if the money is debited against the victims account at the same time it is credited to the original victim's account. The net effect being the same as the forgery option. i.e. The person selling the PC (or whatever) has money stolen from their account and they transfer it to the thief.

Either way it's not money laundering.

There are ways you could argue that there was an element of money laundering under the terms of POCA 2002, however they are specious and you certainly wouldn't put them in the West Country Trading Post. In effect you would have to argue that the victim of a crime was knowingly assisting the criminal to retain, transfer or conceal the proceeds of the crime against him. That's just fucking mad.

[bigboab]

One of the West country Post links describes this as Criminal Cashback. Obviously they are not reading their own links. Caravan Club? They are probably barbecuing them.:wacko:

http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/money_transfer.htm


Never send money via money transfer service if you have been in receipt of cheque payment from someone in a sum greater that that you are asking (known as criminal cashback (http://www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/section/cashback_fraud.htm)) for the item you are selling or property you are renting. After the cheque has been paid into your account, the fraudster you will encouraging you to send to them or someone else the difference by money transfer or bank transfer. Never send these people money by any method. If the cheque is stolen or forged it often can take more than 3 days, sometimes considerable longer, before that cheque is identified as being stolen or forged. Not only have you already sent the funds by money transfer with no means of recovering it, you will find that you bank account will have the original debt reversed, leaving you with the loss of the funds withdrawn and sent via money transfer.

[Mr JP Fugley]

Indeed


As it is most likely an attempt at FRAUD with you as the intended victim. This is because a stolen cheque or bankers draft can be recalled by the bank even after the funds have gone through the clearing cycle and are showing on your account. Any money transfered by you cannot be recalled once sent.

You will not be reimbursed by the bank for your loss

The Met's capitals.

[snowultra]

everytime i sell something on craigslist---i get that exact e-mail almost. the check is fake

[NeoTheOne]

....he's going to give me a cheque for £3.5K, ask me to bank it, then send him the money via Western Union apart from the £250 (I said I was willing to sell for £200 but he wants to give me £250) and any deductions....

Dude dont!. Western union and those types of emails dont match it is a scam 99.999999999% . trsut me my friend is an ex scammer ,

[Skiz]

....he's going to give me a cheque for £3.5K, ask me to bank it, then send him the money via Western Union apart from the £250 (I said I was willing to sell for £200 but he wants to give me £250) and any deductions....

Dude dont!. Western union and those types of emails dont match it is a scam 99.999999999% . trsut me my friend is an ex scammer ,

Give him a swift kick in the nuts for me. :dry:

[KSA]

My advice, not to go with it, it seems to be a new tricky way to scam people, stay away m8.

[Mr JP Fugley]

My advice, not to go with it, it seems to be a new tricky way to scam people, stay away m8.

:sage:

[Colt Seevers]

Yes indeed scam city!


I am the King of Nigeria! GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!

[Mr JP Fugley]

Yes indeed scam city!


I am the King of Nigeria! GIVE ME YOUR MONEY!

Pop me a PM with your bank details and I'll transfer my vast wealth into it.

[snowultra]

i also would like to contribe to the nigeria royal family....where should i send the check?

oh wait, all you have to do is say its for the childern. people will give thousands.

[Snee]

My advice, not to go with it, it seems to be a new tricky way to scam people, stay away m8.

My keen senses have also detected something untoward, I think this guy might have a point, peerzy.

[Agrajag]

More a feeling than anything you can actually put your finger on.

I get the same feeling.

[Peerzy]

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c119/alexmm/o_rly_owl.jpg

[Snee]

That's an owl, in case you were wondering.

I know stuff like that.

[Barbarossa]

http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/user_images/pics/1/8455000/ngbbs44328f77ced80.jpg

[Chip Monk]

I think he's right, it does look very like an Owl.

[unattended]

I didn't read the whole thread, but I've seen very similar scams. I think they plan on you sending the money order prior to their payment to you clearing the banks. Once you find out that their payment has bounced, they've already got your money.

[lynx]

I've read the whole thread, and I've seen very similar owls. I think they plan on eating any mice and voles you leave out. When you expect them to cough up you only get a ball of fur and bones in return. They don't give two hoots.

[Skiz]

Can this be moved to the Lounge yet? :dabs:

Screw it....done.

[Proper Bo]

scam baiting, ftw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/419eater.com)


http://www.bbc.co.uk/radioassets/photos/2006/11/1/5339_2.jpg