Scam, Scam, Scam... Scamaroo.

[Mr. Lesbian]

Ever since I've listed my bike for sale online, everyday now I get about 10 e.mails from these fuckin' scammers trying to send me Cashier's Cheques.

Here's some examples so hopefully nobody falls for it:

From : sydney king <sydneyking@mail.com>
Sent : August 31, 2004 2:37:53 PM
To : "Thai Mac" <thai_mac@hotmail.com>
Subject : RE: 1999 Kawasaki ZX-6R (Ad #46589)

X-Originating-IP: 80.250.34.242

hi

the price is ok ,and i will love to be pay as soon as possible,i will be sending a check if its ok with you.i need a address where i can send the cheaque to thanks

From: roberto@galbusinesssolution.com
Regarding Ad: 46589 (1999 Kawasaki ZX-6R)

Goodday, I am Roberto Andrews,sale manager of Gal Business Solutions Limited.We specialise in the purchase of items for our numerous customers and we get paid in commission after payment has been confirmed from the buyer to the seller. At present,we have a customer that is interested in the item you put for sale. (1) 1999 Kawasaki ZX-6R --- $5995 Do endevour to mail us back to confirm your interest to sell,as to inform our customer of your intention to sell and for the payment to be done. Kindly add the pictures. Thank you,waiting for your reply. Roberto Andrews. Sale Manager.

From : mike <mike_90@fastermail.com>
Sent : September 1, 2004 8:12:27 PM
To : thai_mac@hotmail.com
Subject : RE: UpOnOne.com Classified Ad - '99 ZX-6R - FAST!

RE: '99 ZX-6R - FAST!

Hi Thai,

mike (mike_90@fastermail.com) has sent you an e-mail:

am very much interesting in purchaseing your '99 ZX-6R - FAST
which the price is $5995 and my mode of payment is by cashier check
and the payment will be issue by one of my deptor in the state
because he has promise to issue out of my money to the seller of
whati will buy, so all i need now is that i want to know
the last offer,so if you are okay by the mode of payment kindly send
me your name which we be on the cheque and your home address with your
contact phone number in order to contact that deptor of mine to issue
out the cheque in time,i await your quick response.
Best Regards.
paul.

From : james mark <jamesmark@didamail.com>
Sent : September 2, 2004 2:47:46 AM
To : thai_mac@hotmail.com
Subject : Ready to buy 1999 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R

Received: from europa.parangon.net ([216.187.126.25])

Hello
I saw your advert that you have 1999 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R for sale so i am intrested to buy it from you so i want you to tell me how much you want to sell it to me, i am located in Lagos Nigeria dont worry about the shipping my shipper would handle that okay, so i hope to hear from you as soon as possible Also i would like to know where you are located in..
Regards.

And my favourite:

From : Roberto Andereus <roberto@galbusinesssolution.com>
Sent : September 2, 2004 6:44:12 AM
To : thai_mac@hotmail.com
Subject : RE: 1999 Kawasaki ZX-6R (Ad #46589)

X-Originating-IP: [213.181.83.13]

Hello ,
Thanks for your reply,I have inform the buyer who is my
client of your intention to sell at $5,800 and he said the price
is okay with him,also his keen on getting it very soon.
I have billed him a total of $12,550 which will be for the payment,shippment
and my commission.You will recieve the payment with a bank cheque ,upon clearance
of the funds from your banking institution you will take out your payment and the remaining
balance will be sent to my shipper who will arranage for the pick up and singing of the necessary
papers.because I won't want you to bother about the shipping.
I will require to send me your fill details to enable the cheque get to you,that is your
your full name,address and phone number,so that I can forward it to my client for immediate
payment.
Thank you,while waiting for reply.
Yours sincerely,
Roberto.

more:

From : shaks smith <shaks001@europe.com>
Sent : September 4, 2004 5:01:33 AM
To : thai_mac@hotmail.com
Subject : 1999 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-6R

X-Originating-IP: 80.179.243.123

hi
i am shaks smith a citizen of usa based in finland.i transact on net
by buying goods for resale.i saw your ads while browsing and am very
much intrested in getting your{item}. actually i need the asking
price together with a little discount or make it affordable for me.i want
your personal information before any transaction.PAYMENT METHOD IS A
CASHIERS CHECK i make transaction easy for people by using my personal
shipper for pick up of goods.email me soonest.

and this just in:

From: collins_crawford@yahoo.com
Regarding Ad: 46589 (1999 Kawasaki ZX-6R)

Message:
Hello seler how are you doing, PLs could you tell me if the bike is still very much available for selas bcos i want to buy it for my son who is presently an under graduate in trinity college in dublin,Mind you the means of payment will be in form of us cashier's check and i will be shipping the bike to ireland for my son. Thank you i await your response asap. Including the asking price.

Now notice, every single one has bad grammar and spelling. Every single one wants to pay with a Cashier's Cheque. Every single one is either overseas or out of country when I had listed locally.

Pisses me off. I wish there was to counter scam these assholes. Any ideas?

[oscarcolumbo]

i wonder if it's just the same couple of guys, or is there a bunch of guys all over the world trying take advantage of people. in either case, it's screwed up cause you know that there's people that don't know or aren't really thinking that are gonna fall for it like others have before. Anyways, that's a good post for people trying to sell something to let them know about the scams that are out there. it reminds us what people are capable of, how low some people will go to take advantage of someone else. good luck trying to sell the bike and i'm glad you are being cautios.

[f2benny]

I'm not sure I udnerstand the scam. How does it work if you say we have a deal? are they just trying to obtain your bank information?

[Fabian]

Originally Posted by f2benny

I'm not sure I udnerstand the scam. How does it work if you say we have a deal? are they just trying to obtain your bank information?

I believe the "buyer" sends a cashier's check that'll be fake, bad, stolen WHATEVER and when you ship 'em the goods the check comes back as fraudulent and you're left being responsible for the money AND out of the goods sold!!

[Mr. Lesbian]

Does anyone here work at a bank? Any way to have these checks cashed and then the buyer be responsible if it's a fake? That way it's them that gets scammed and not the seller.

[dennisred69]

Why don't you tell them you are going to hold the bike until the check clears the bank and if every thing is good you will send the bike after the check clears the bank?

[RIDEORDIE]

The reason they want your home address is so they can steal the bike, they have no intention of sending you anything. So what you do is give them the address of some asshole you hate, then when they go to steal the bike it's not there but they will not leave empty handed. In the unlikely event these wetodd's actually have a profitable scam going, a cashier’s check is drawn off an account or paid for directly, there is no way you can fake a cashiers check, well unless the person you are giving it to is a complete idiot, then maybe, bottom line is you wanna sell your bike across any border. Go open a wire account a little account with like a dollar or two in it and have them wire the funds. I sold a car to a guy in Eindhoven Holland, he wanted to send me a cashier’s check, no way man wire transfer only, as soon as the funds are secured. close the account.

[Mr. Lesbian]

Apprently banks can't tell that it's fake for a few weeks after it's deposited. Wire transfer eh? Hmmm... I'll probably try that. They can't wire fake money to begin with so sounds fairly secure.

[3l1t3]

The scam works like this. They send you a forged check from a real bank, credit union, etc. for more than the amount listed. You then deposit or cash the “fake” check. Assuming the fraudulent check is deposited it may initially clear the bank and appear to be legit. At which time an “honest” person may be inclined to send the remainder of the funds appropriately (usually a money order).

However, because the check is forged the bank will, with time, sort matters out. If you have withdrawn monies amounting to or exceeding the value of the counterfeit check, then you will be held legally and financially responsible for them. Furthermore, if the amount of the forged check exceeds your annual average balance the bank is likely to close your account.

[3l1t3]

Originally Posted by dennisred69

Why don't you tell them you are going to hold the bike until the check clears the bank and if every thing is good you will send the bike after the check clears the bank?

A fraudulent check may take more than a month to be discovered. Funds may even initially clear only to be resolved at a later date. Additionally, as I stated in my post above, if the check grossly exceeds your average balance the bank will close your account and prevent you from opening future accounts. IMO it’s simply not worth the hassle.

[mercutio80]

there is no way you can fake a cashiers check

Yes, there is. They fake the check, you give them the bike, then a few weeks later, the bank discovers it's fake and takes the money away from you. I particularly like the one who wants to give the seller a check for 12 grand. That way, they'd have the bike PLUS a little extra.

[Hagios]

Everybody who's sold stuff--especially high dollar stuff--has had these experiences. Here's a really good story, though. The good guys really do end up winning.

http://www.p-p-p-powerbook.com/

[Mr. Lesbian]

Originally Posted by Hagios

Everybody who's sold stuff--especially high dollar stuff--has had these experiences. Here's a really good story, though. The good guys really do end up winning.

http://www.p-p-p-powerbook.com/

That's some funny shit.

[Süsser Tod]

I'm glad that kind of scam (the fake check) doesn't work here. The bank never clears the funds until the bank where the money comes from clears them, so the bank will make sure the check is legit and haves funds before giving you a cent.

I think that is the only advantage of having just a few banks, there are like 6 or 7 banks, but everything is controled by the big boys Banamex/CityBank, Bancomer/BBV and Bital, they set the rules and the rest must play following those rules (Serfin/Santander, Inverlat/Scotiabank, Ixe, and maybe one or two that scape of my mind right now).


In the "Mexican" e-bay there were a couple of guys trying the "dirt cheap scam", but they were SO DUMB, that didn't even talked spanish, never figured out how the site worked and never managed to scam someone.

[Rascus]

I got this type of scam on a local classified board. It seems this person/persons has been scamming the entire site. It's become an epedimic really. The few people who had fallen for it here were sent a check for a few grand over the price selling. The buyer would ask the seller to send them the difference along with the product. Couple of weeks later the check would bounce and the seller would be up shit creek and have to pay back all the charges.