Anatomy of a scam

[Lee DeRaud]

--- actually, since I use Gmail I practically never see these anymore but I still get dozens of them daily.

To which I say, "Huh?!?"

[Sean Bullock]

Very interesting thread.

So, what is the best way to verify that an order is legitimate? I get people contacting me all the time through my website and never expected any of them would be trying to scam me.

[Craig Hogarth]

This is the first email I got from the guy I made this post about.

Hello.I start with much Greetings to you and your whole company.Please accept my apology if i have reached a wrong contact, my name is rev. bill huffman.I will like to know if you have wood plaque can you get me this type of plaque Engraved marble wooden plaque is very popular. The coat of arms is engraved on a plate that has a marble appearance. These personalized wooden plaques are made from Solid Walnut. The size of this decorative wall plaque is 8" X 9.75" and will enhance the décor of most rooms. Choose from: Blue, Red, Gray, Green, or Flat Black. The marble background colors AND I ASLO WANT TO KNOW DO YOU ACCEPT CREDIT CARD PAYMENT KINDLY GET BACK TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
best regards
rev. bill huffman

Generally, you can tell by the way they approach you. Normal customers don't make request such as this. For this one, as most, they are very interested if you take credit cards.

[Scott Shepherd]

The one's I have been getting recently say "I want to purchase something off of your online store, please let me know how much the total is....." blah blah blah.

That's funny. I don't have an online store

[Dan Hintz]

Some clues to help people recognize the scammers (these are not hard and fast rules, but are often seen...feel free to add your own):

1) Their English grammar is quite poor, though it is good enough to make reasonable sense. The really good ones will have quality translators put together the emails for them, but there are still tell-tale signs.

2) They often appear quite spiritual in their emails, saying things like "God bless", "My Christian brother/sister", etc. Calling themselves a Reverend is a new one on me.

3) They use words like "kindly", "please", "friend", etc., but not in the way a typical native English speaker might place it in a sentence.

4) Even though you have an e-cart that will show what 'x' number of items will cost, they still request a quote (but they don't request a discount for a large order). Same deal with shipping charges.

5) In relation to 4, they will totally ignore any and all warnings you have on your webpage/e-cart about not shipping to Nigeria and surrounding countries... mostly because they never take the time to read your website or even look at the e-cart.

6) Payments are often made by credit card, though it's still fairly common to see requests to pay by Western Union check and the like. If the order is large and it's being paid by credit card, they will want to split the bill up across multiple cards.
a) When paid by credit card, they want the order shipped using the fastest possible method. This gives the banks/you little time to make the connection before the item is out of your hands.
b) When paid by check, they typically want to set up a shipping company to pick up the order for the reasons I mentioned in an earlier post.

7) Wait a day or two when replying, and change their name on the email (both in your reply and in their copied email). If they reply back using the name you just invented, you're obviously dealing with a scammer.

8) They will apologize a lot in their emails, particularly if they feel like they're going to get somewhere with you but you are acting wary. They want to put your mind at ease. The dumb ones used to get really nasty, as if they could bully you into working with them, but I think they realized this isn't Nigeria and we'll just ignore them, so I haven't seen that in quite a while.

9) If you're really lucky, they'll ask for items that were never listed on your site... when dealing with so many mugus, they start to get them confused, like a guy with three mistresses. If you question them about their order but don't give confirmation about what you do sell, they will often (stupidly) ask you what products you sell.

10) More to come if I think of them....

[Doug Griffith]

Here's one that I've personally seen:

There's an item on eBay currently going for less than what it's worth. At $10 worth $200 with $2 increments.

You put in a bid of $200 that bumps the auction price up to $12.

Near the auction end, another bidder places multiple small bids until they become the winning bidder. Now the price is $202.

Just before the auction ends, the item description changes.

Right after that, the other $202 winning bidder retracts using the description change as the excuse.

Right after that, they bid again just under $200 minus the $2 increment.

They know they are not going to win the auction but they found out your maximum bid which you will now pay.

This has a name for it that I can't recall but it is done by unscrupulous sellers. It's hard to catch unless you know what your looking for.

Also, now that eBay hides bidder details, it's even harder to catch.

Report it if you see it.

[Calvin Hobbs]

Here is the one I got a while back:

I am Staff Sgt.Jane Usaa,i'm embedded with Logistics Unit,Balad Air Base North of Baghdad Iraq,i got you while going through your website,I'm interested in buying your Philadelphia dressing table.
PRODUCT DETAILS: 31 1/4" H x 35"W x 21"D


QUANTITY:3 units
Kindly get back to me if it is available and total cost price for this items.

My shipping Address:
Staff Sgt Jane Usaa
U.S. Army War College
Public Affairs Office
122 Forbes Avenue
Carlisle,PA 17013-5234

Thanks
Staff Sgt Jane Usaa
Logistics Unit
Balad Air Base,
North of Baghdad Iraq


What is scary is that I don't have a business or anything and I don't have any items for sale on the web. And of course who wouldn't want someone giving them a huge order. I really wanted it to be true, which I knew it wasn't. I responded with a quote and several questions and it was cleary an overpayment scam, here was the 2nd email:

I have recieved your quoted price and i think i'm ok with it. before leaving i left instructions and a check of $19,000 for a similar items which was unfortunately sold by the artist. so i have informed our financial department in P.A to now issue out the cashiers'check in your Name.payment will be made in full.
Confirm this and provide Name,Address and Phone Number of which the check payment will be sent to you via registered mail.
Thanks
Staff Sgt. Jane Usaa




I feel sorry for the many people who are taken advantage of. Cal

[Joe Pelonio]

Here's the last Nigerian Scam I got, earlier this week. It's hard to imagine people falling for it but they do all the time:

Subj: HELLO////===== Date: 5/2/08 4:46:50 PM Pacific Daylight Time From: officeline79@spray.se Reply-to: georgewllms5@aim.com Sent from the Internet (Details)

Dear,

I am sorry for contacting you through this medium without a previous notice; I had to use the e-mail because it is an easier and more confidential way of making contact with people around the world. My name is barrister George Williams, am forty five (45) year old attorney in practice here in London England. I had a client by name Mr. Victor Mia, a businessman based here in London, now deceased. My client lost his life alongside his wife and only child on the 7th of July 2005 on a bomb blast here in London. Details of this incidence can be checked on this following news link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4663931.stm

Prior to the death of my late client he made a fixed deposit of us$15.500, 000.00 million in a bank here in Europe. As his personal attorney before his death, I have been officially notified and instructed by the bank here in Europe where the money is currently deposited that I should provide and forward the particulars of Mr. Victor’s next of kin so that the funds in his account can be remitted into his next of kin's account in accordance with British laws.

However, as the personal attorney and close confident of late Mr. Victor, I want you to know that my late client died interstate, i.e. he died without leaving a will. Hence, all my efforts to locate any of his relative whom I can present to the bank have proved abortive.
Therefore I am seeking for your consent to present you as the deceased next of kin and subsequently the beneficiary of the fund so that the proceed of this account valued at us$15.500, 000.00 million can be paid to you for subsequent disbursement between you and i. 60% for me, 35% for you and then 5% will be set aside for any expenses we might incur in the course of this transaction.

If you can cooperate with me and receive this fund as next of kin to Mr. Victor, confirm your interest by contacting me through my e-mail. I can assure you that the deal is 100% risk free because I am in possession of the deceased personal file which contains all information’s which I shall use to prove your relationship with the deceased and thereafter the money will be paid into the account of whomever I present as Mr. Victor’s next of kin with proofs that I will present to the bank when needed.

When I receive a positive response and after proper discussion with you, I will furnish you all relevant information that will facilitate the release of the funds to you, an application will have to be filed to the bank for processing of the release of the funds into your nominated bank account.

I wait to hear from you.
My telephone number: +447924020113

Regards.
George Williams

[Lee DeRaud]

Yeah, that "dying interstate" will get you every time.

(Kind of like the old riddle that ends, "Where are the survivors buried?")

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

release of the funds into your nominated bank account.

myst be a typo, I'm sure what he meant was "the removal of funds from your nominated bank account".

[Dan Hintz]

Doug,

They're called shill bidders, and it's against eBay rules... if you suspect an account of using shill bidders, or you suspect a bidder of being a shill, report them to eBay.

I recently auctioned a few pieces of high-end test equipment, and there was a similar instance. The bid went up a few tens of dollars at a time (up to $800, if memory serves) until the max was hit (and they were the winner). Suddenly they backed out of their bid claiming the had made a typo (bid reversals are allowed for accidental typos, like bidding $400 instead of $40, but it should not happen often). How can you make a typo multiple times, each time increasing the bid? Lucky for me, someone else came along and bid well beyond that max, but I reported the bidder.

[Greg Cuetara]

I heard of one scam recently where a guy was asked about the nigerian lottery or something or rather and he turned it around to have these people rewrite the harry potter books which they did and then expected payment from him. It was quite an amusing article I read. Although having fun with these people sounds like fun I think we are all better off just hitting the delete button.

[Barbara Buhse]

Years ago (ok, not that many years) before all the computer technology, there was an old scam involving office supplies. They'd call an office, get a name, and then ship out office supplies with that name as the "PO Number" and charge about 5 times what they were worth, including the invoice. Then you'd want to return them, of course, and you'd get a machine. The invoice siad there was a 15% restocking fee... so, many would keep them and just pay the inflated prices.

Then there was the doctor who's brother owned an office supply store... same story, he had to liquidate the supplies, etc. etc.

There will be scams as long as there are fools, and there is one of those born every minute!

[Lee DeRaud]

Years ago (ok, not that many years) before all the computer technology, there was an old scam involving office supplies. They'd call an office, get a name, and then ship out office supplies with that name as the "PO Number" and charge about 5 times what they were worth, including the invoice. Then you'd want to return them, of course, and you'd get a machine. The invoice siad there was a 15% restocking fee... so, many would keep them and just pay the inflated prices.

BTDT, very easy to deal with. You just call them back and tell them (or leave a message on the machine): "We didn't order this stuff. If you want it back, come pick it up. If you've got a problem with that, call the cops."

[Dan Hintz]

BTDT, very easy to deal with. You just call them back and tell them (or leave a message on the machine): "We didn't order this stuff. If you want it back, come pick it up. If you've got a problem with that, call the cops."

And on top of that: "Any supplies left on our premises over 30 days will be considered forfeit." Assuming they don't pick them up, your own terms then allow you to use those supplies without penalty, so they can't come back three months later and say "pay us for our supplies" after you used them up.