Internet Scammers

[Anonymous Poster]

Ok, so the scam here was to get the property. Forged check, get the car, disappear with the car. Maybe move it out of the country, maybe chop it for parts, maybe get the title from a junked car and change the Vehicle ID number plates (although you end up with a salvaged title there). Once again, people selling something are trusting that the buyer is who they say they are. They probably don't even check ID once an official looking cashiers check is presented. Then they end up with, surprise-surprise, a bogus check and no way to identify the people who took the car. Furthermore, it may be a week before the bank tells them the check is bogus. If it is drawn on a distant bank, you have no way to go to the bank and verify that it is valid. A week is a long time to hide the vehicle. If the scamers are really good, they have a license plate for the same make and model of car that they immediately put on the vehicle so that if stopped, they have legitimate papers except that the VIN number on the registration doesn't match the registration.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

As a matter of fact the woman had taken the check to the bank and asked them if it was good and the bank had said it was.
It seems to me that the bank bears some of the responsibility. But we all know that wont happen..
Ralph

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Just tell him to send a cashier's check made out to you. Of course the check will never come and if it does it will be forged. If he needs a business partner to withdraw the money, why doesn't he just get some one in Sierra Leone. I guess people in Sierra Leone are just not trustworthy.

 

[normde2001]

How is Mr. Brown going to make money on this thing unless you happen, for some reason, to give him an account # that has existing funds in it?

 

[normde2001]

OH, I get it....He's going to deposit a fake check in the account and then withdraw funds before the bank finds out the check is fake, and the bank will come after you for the money.

 

[buppy69]

What a cheapo. I was offered 30%

Eugene

 

[Tractors4u]

I received that same e-mail today as a reply to my classified listing. I told as long as he was in Africa to go find a hungry lion to feed himself to.

 

[Inspector507]

Yeah, I got the same e-mail.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

The scam is either to get you to pony up your money based on you--and perhaps your bank's--assumption that a cashier's check is good (If the scam is really good, the scammers have inside information as to actual cashier's check numbers issued and the amounts so a call to the bank indicates that yes that check has been issued and is that it is good) or it is to get your account number and routing information to suck funds out of your acct. If you have an empty acct, they can't suck anything out.

Amazing what you can do with a little information. Apparently they are hitting the heavy equipment sales these days.

 

[normde2001]

Doc., I believe the idea behind a cashier's or certified check is that you don't have to wait for the funds to clear, so one can deposit the bogus check in an otherwise empty account and immediately begin withdrawing money from it.

 

[pruntyc]

I am a retired minister, I have a hard time believeing what people do in the name of Christ. Saying they are Chriistian and saying God bless and all that, and all they want to do is rob you. I believe there is a place waiting for them, and it will be alot hotter than it will be for most that go there.

 

[jimstractors]

I guess we all have opinions and feelings, but a "real Christian" accepts the Bible as God's word. - Like Revelation 22:15 - "Outside are the dogs and those who practice spiritism and the fornicators and the murderers and the idolaters and everyone liking and carrying on a lie.'" Plain and simple, no interpretation needed here.
Jim

 

[jimstractors]

Hey guys,
On Monday, FEDEX delivered an International envelope with a $7,000 check in it. Talk about a convoluted mess, the check came from England, the rip-off artist wants money sent to Africa /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif, and the (i'm sure its phoney)check is drawn on US Bank, using a Travelers Express Company check . I will probably call the FBI and see if they care to chase down this guy. All this for a $3,500 tractor. /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

"All this for a $3500 tractor."


Well, these people probably have $15 in a fed-ex bill, and $2 in creating a bogus check. If they can get you to wire back the $3500 extra for shipping, it is a huge return on investment. If they get you to pay to ship your tractor your are out the tractor and the money for the shipping. They may only get the tractor, but still for less than a $20 investment and virtually no chance of being caught they can do this all day. Imagine if you sent out 50 of these a day, at a cost of $1000 and got 20% response, then you made over $20,000 in profit in one day alone.

Remember, don't ship overseas. I doubt the FBI will bother even try to look into it much unless they think there is someone in the US involved.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I was searching on the web. Its called the Nigerian 419 scam. Your bank may credit your account for the amount until the check is found to be bogus. The return address on the fed-ex is non-existent and fed-ex will track the package back to another country (nigeria or an adjacent country). Apparently this scam is within the top 5 industries in Nigeria.

I guess you have to hold any check, even a certified check for ten days, Call the issuing bank, verify the account, the certified number, the amount, etc., etc., etc.. Easier just to say that you don't do business with people out of the country.

 

[Von]

The reason they use FEDX instead of the Post office, is there is no mail fraud. So the feds won't chase them down. If the check is written from a bank in the US. What stops you from cashing it at one of their branches? If they wrote the check and checked to see if it was good, you take the cash and run! Then ship the tractor out. Of course we all know the check is bogus.

 

[Anonymous Poster]

They will select a bank a long distance from you. Are you going to travel half way across the country to try to cash the check? It's bogus, It's bogus, It's bogus. Everyone here keeps hoping that they can scam the scammer or maybe the deal is on the up and up. Not likely, they have been doing this a long, long, long long time. They know a response to every suspicion and action on your part. You can never know how deep the scam goes and who they have working with them. Don't bite. It's a scam, scam, scam. Just ignore it or send the check to the proper authorities.

 

[Inspector507]

I got several e-mails from a guy that is a "distributor" of Ag equipment and wants my Yanmar. He "needs my help" to get through the red tape and shipping to Nigeria. I responded with "When you send me US cash, I'll be happy to forward the balance to your shipper". Never heard from him again /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[Anonymous Poster]

Another thought.....Imagine someone wants to launder some money and are willing to pay 10-15% for the service. The individual overpays for a tractor or other equipment and gets money wired to another account. It appears to authorities that a tractor was bought (and compared to a non grey-market tractor a similar price per hp was paid). What actually happened is someone bought a tractor which he may have later resold and took the illegal money and laundered it.

This certainly could be happening--imagine when the FBI comes knocking on your door about you laundering money for terrorists.

Almost all of these are probably scams, but there might be other reasons to overpay.