Is this a scam
- Thread starter BillE
- Start date
David Morton
Lifetime Supporter
Bill,
I just rang the number and asked for Gari.It rang OK and the guy said he was Gari. ???
I just rang the number and asked for Gari.It rang OK and the guy said he was Gari. ???
David Morton
Lifetime Supporter
Keith, I wonder if the mobile number and the name are unwitting /unknowing accomplices. I didn't discuss anything with him except to confirm he is Gari but the spelling of first and second names is untypical. I'm sure the Western Union side of it would be in Romania. Bill, as yet nothing from the Police here. They are probably very busy handing out speeding tickets.......
Jim Rosenthal
Supporter
I don't know if any of you read Sports Car Market, but in a recent issue I advertised a 1966 Linguini Tortellini Alfredo Speciale Coupe, color alfredo white with marinara red interior, buy it now, it's spoiling. Obviously this was a put-on- we SCM readers play these sorts of pranks now and then. Despite that, I got a series of emails from some Nigerian jackass trying to buy the car, who I strung along for fun for a while, then finally pulled the plug on. It is amazing what some people will try to put over, and what some will believe.
PS I ate the car.
PS I ate the car.
Just an FYI here—
I do a lot of eBay selling and have found that “bank checks”, cashiers checks, certified checks, and the Quickie Mart type money orders are ridiculously easy to forge. They’ll be accepted by your bank and credited to your account. Three days later they’ll bounce and your account will debited. To add to the insult, you’ll probably get tagged with a $50 returned check charge. The last I checked, Russia, Indonesia, Ukraine, Philippines, Malaysia, Romania and Lithuania are currently blocked by PayPal as countries with poor internal controls, so a contact from one of them should be an automatic red flag.
In the States, the FBI (Famous but Incompetent) handles banking fraud. It isn’t on a par with bombings and such and they’ll tell you up front that you are probably not going to recover anything.
HOWEVER, a forged US Postal money order is a BIG deal to the post office, and Postal Inspectors make tracking scammers down and throwing their sorry butts in federal prison a priority! They sorta take it personally, I think. Smart scammers apparently know this and rarely take a chance with a forged Postal MO. Personally, if you can I think escrow is the way to go for big ticket items, but if you have to take a check, the Postal MO is the best of the lot.
John
I do a lot of eBay selling and have found that “bank checks”, cashiers checks, certified checks, and the Quickie Mart type money orders are ridiculously easy to forge. They’ll be accepted by your bank and credited to your account. Three days later they’ll bounce and your account will debited. To add to the insult, you’ll probably get tagged with a $50 returned check charge. The last I checked, Russia, Indonesia, Ukraine, Philippines, Malaysia, Romania and Lithuania are currently blocked by PayPal as countries with poor internal controls, so a contact from one of them should be an automatic red flag.
In the States, the FBI (Famous but Incompetent) handles banking fraud. It isn’t on a par with bombings and such and they’ll tell you up front that you are probably not going to recover anything.
HOWEVER, a forged US Postal money order is a BIG deal to the post office, and Postal Inspectors make tracking scammers down and throwing their sorry butts in federal prison a priority! They sorta take it personally, I think. Smart scammers apparently know this and rarely take a chance with a forged Postal MO. Personally, if you can I think escrow is the way to go for big ticket items, but if you have to take a check, the Postal MO is the best of the lot.
John
Jim
Does that come with meatballs or sausage?
But seriously I have seen scams here recently with a vintage Corvette, and I think one with a Chevelle where you show up to see the car but it is in another location...usually a remote garage or such and they ask to see the cash...a bit of slight of hand and you are out the money. John's point is well taken..most of these guys will use fedex or dhl to avoid the mail fraud charges. The point is to be on your toes all the time, but these guys are always coming up with new scams, so there will always be that new scam that works once or twice.
As the saying goes "Cash is King", and if they really want the car they will travel to get it.
Cheers
Phil
Does that come with meatballs or sausage?
But seriously I have seen scams here recently with a vintage Corvette, and I think one with a Chevelle where you show up to see the car but it is in another location...usually a remote garage or such and they ask to see the cash...a bit of slight of hand and you are out the money. John's point is well taken..most of these guys will use fedex or dhl to avoid the mail fraud charges. The point is to be on your toes all the time, but these guys are always coming up with new scams, so there will always be that new scam that works once or twice.
As the saying goes "Cash is King", and if they really want the car they will travel to get it.
Cheers
Phil
This wont make the police any money so not a lot of interest on there part. I have not herd from Mr Joe Bush in 3 days so he must have written it off. I did wont so much to make his life moor interesting. Keith David Veek . If you find your selves in Northern Ca look me up and we will hoist few off the stil.
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