matt_sallis Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 <P>It appears that scammers are currenetly going through the photo.net classifieds, as I've just had the following email:</P> <P>"Dear Seller,I am interested in purchasing your (Contax 21mm f2.8 Distagon) without any further delay. But before i proceed on this transaction i will like to comfirm the following details from you:1. Do you accept a ( Cashier Check or money orderss) as mode of payment? 2. What is the final asking prize? 3 Will you let my shipping company agent in U.S come to your doorstep to pick it up? cuz I would' nt want you to bother yourself about the shipping problems.If so, you are to provide me with your NAME, ADDRESS, TEL Number, to mail out the payment ASAP.I will also want you to know that the payment you will receive will include the fees for the shipping company, so you will have to deduct the cost of your sales only from the payment and send the shipping cost and insurance fees in cash to the shipping company agent in U.S through western union money transfer. This will enable me to make a schedule with the shipper to come for the pick-up of (Contax 21mm f2.8 Distagon) at your doorstep and they will deliver it to my relative in the U.S as well."</P> <P>WARNING! DO NOT RESPOND TO ANY OFFER LIKE THIS.<br>If you are advertising anything for sale, they will take your item, have you send cash to them, and leave you with a dud,stolen chashiers-check or money order.<br>These people are scum and have been trying to rip off artists is Cornwall in the UK recently, some artists have sadly had their work and money stolen.<br>I'm sure they're trying the scam all over the world. Don't get caught youself.</P> <P>Best wishes,<br>Matt</P> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitmstr Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Old news - those guys are everywhere and frankly, any one that falls for that needs to re examine their radar... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zacker Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 LOL...that scam is still kicking around? Im surprised folks are still falling for it. Basically, stay away from anyone wanting to use Western Union and / or any third party "Agent" or "Escrow" accounts or any type of third party delivery service.. I only ship UPS and state so in all my auctions with the warning that i will cancell the bid if they want me to ship by any other method. Man, People are bad, really bad.. all these scammers really do is diminish my outlook on society and make me want to move away to a desert island someplace. Thanks though, for posting this. With all the newbs to the internet, we prolly should be preposting these types of warnings again and again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
digitmstr Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Tell you what: write them back (from a generic email account, not your personal one) and tell that you will be delighted to do business with them and give them the address of our local law enforcement station. That should be interesting... :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
g dan mitchell Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 As well-known as these scams are to most of us - and, believe me, I've seen plenty of variations on this one - I think that having a steady trickle of reports and reminders in forums like these is probably a necessary evil that let's newbies recognize them. Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_barbu1 Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 craig, I think you might be acting unnecessarily cautious. I've used iEscrow before without problems. Also, UPS has a bad reputation in my region for losing/damaging packages. If I was looking at your auction, and there wasn't an option for FedEx, I likely wouldn't bid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f72 Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 thanks for the warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin carron Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 That one pops a whole forest of little red flags! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mahonri_moriancumer Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 These are fun. I strung the last one out for over nine months and have $18,000 in bogus Canadian Money Orders to show for it. Sure ate the guys time and had fun tweaking him while doing it. I sent him nothing and have these funnymoney orders to frame and laugh at. The FBI was not interested at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkallos Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I have had some nice checks made out to the following people: "Poker Master" "Ben Dover" That way they waste time/money to send you the checks. One was sent UPS, the other was sent with DHL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjoseph7 Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Thanks for the Warning. These guys are getting more and more "creative". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Goose Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 I don't see the problem, I mean, you don't ship the item until you get the money right? I mean, why should I care if someone wants to use Western Union, you go to an office, collect your cash and that's it. As long as you have the money I don't see any problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_sallis Posted February 26, 2008 Author Share Posted February 26, 2008 <P>Just a warning for the newbies really. Us old cynics might spot it a mile off, but there's always plenty off new fodder for these parasytes, it's how they keep going.<P> <P>I hadn't actually thought about getting him to send me any checks, maybe I should have tried it to get rid of a few of his supply.<br>I don't think he'd go for it now though, since I told him I thought he should pay me ?1500 in cash by western union, and I would send him a box with a turd in it. ;-)<br>Next time though...</P> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tholte Posted February 26, 2008 Share Posted February 26, 2008 Uncle Goose, "I don't see the problem, I mean, you don't ship the item until you get the money right? I mean, why should I care if someone wants to use Western Union, you go to an office, collect your cash and that's it. As long as you have the money I don't see any problem." The scammers don't use legitimate money orders or cashiers checks, they use forgeries. You can go to a bank and get your money but when the bank processes the the check and finds out it's a phony, they will take the corresponding amount out of your account and you are scammed. If you were dumb enought to ship the merchandise to the scammer before the check did not clear, you are double scammed. Because of the frequency of this type of rip-off, most respectable banks will call the institution printed on the check and see if it is legit, or at least warn you about the risk. Senior citizens, the greedy and the gullible are most often the victim of this well known scam, and it's many variations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stp Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 But if a buyer uses Western Union, sends the claim number, and the seller goes to Western Union and collects the cash, how can that go wrong? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tholte Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Stephen, you are not catching on too quickly, the Nigerian scam artists use phony money orders and cashiers checks. If they used real Western Union money orders it wouldn't be a scam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_barbu1 Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Stephen, the idea is that the scammer gets you to send money via Western Union, and then doesn't send you the goods. You'll end up with little recourse, because of the minimal to nonexistant tracking done for funds picked up via Western Union (and other such services). With a check, there's at least a bit of a paper trail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagephotoworld.com Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 All these scammers do is to damage Nigeria's reputation (did it ever have one?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshroot Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Anytime that a user gets these scam emails, they should bring them to my attention so I can remove the scammers from the site. Use the "contact photo.net" link that is at the bottom of the page, or simply email contact@photo.net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stp Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 Tim, I fully understand the problem with cashiers checks and money orders that have to be taken to a bank, but if the buyer goes through Western Union and sends the Western Union control number to the seller, and the seller goes to a Western Union office with that control number and walks out of the Western Union office with cash, I can't see how that kind of Western Union transaction can be faked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stp Posted February 29, 2008 Share Posted February 29, 2008 M Barbu, I fully understand the problem of a buyer relying on Western Union, but that wasn't my point/question. I was looking at Western Union from the viewpoint of a seller, as detailed in my response to Tim Holte. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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