General

I Got Scammed Today!!

That's right – someone thought they could scam me a bunch of money!!

Here's the deal:

I posted the pump toilet that I original bought for the basement (but can't use) online with hopes that someone would buy it. At first I didn't get any bites; then I got this message:

Hello Seller,
Am Susan Anthony and am highly interested in buying your item i will like to know the present condition of your itemt and if you still have it for sale, also the total amount you are willing to sell it kindly get back to me preferably my private email address which is *********** and i will get back to you with immediate effect.

Susan Anthony.

Thinking I had a legitimate buyer, I responded to her Facebook message giving her the price of the toilet and basically letting her know that it was still for her. That was a few days ago… this morning, I check my email book and find this:[@more@]

Thanks for the reply,

I am okay with details given on the unit, am ready to pay for the item,I will like you to know that am purchasing this for my client..The payment method will be by certified cashiers check drawn from a U.S bank.I have a shipping agent who will take good care of the shipment.The check that will be send to you will include the shipping fee,all you need to do is to get the check deposited at your bank after the check have fully cleared your bank,deduct your item fee and you will send the remaining funds through western union money transfer to the shipping agent information that will be provided for you later on due course of this transaction..Hope i can trust you with this funds?If you are okay with the following terms,i will like you to kindly get back to me with your FULL NAME AND CONTACT ADDRESS INCLUDING YOUR MOBILE PHONE NUMBER WITH THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOU ARE WILLING TO SELL YOUR ITEM for the immediate payment issuance.

Hope to read from you today.

Susan Anthony.

Did you get it? It took me a bit as at first I was giving "her" the benefit of the doubt.

Here's the breakdown:

  1. "purchasing this for my client" – red flag number one. If the buyer had the money to pay for an agent, they would be buying a brand new toilet. I'm not giving that much of a discount.
  2. "drawn from a U.S bank" – what? Your international?! BIG flag…
  3. "include the shipping fee" – this wouldn't be so bad except that the add said that the buyer is responsible for shipping, not me.
  4. "check have fully cleared your bank" – this phrase is thrown in to try to but the victim at ease. After all, if your bank cleared the check it must be good, right? WRONG!! It talks weeks to fully process a check – by that time, you have already been scammed.
  5. "send the remaining funds through western union money transfer" – HUGE flag!! Never act as an intermediate person for money transfers! The buyer should be the one to wire money to the shipping agent – not you (or me, in this case).
  6. "Hope i can trust you with this funds" – the scammer is appealing to your sense of trust and heart.

How the scam works:

  • The scammer sends you a bogus cashier check.
  • You cash it at your bank.
  • Since you trust the "buyer" and you want to move your item, you wire some of the funds to the "shipping agency" – keeping part of the cash for yourself.
  • The "shipping agency" never connects you for the item the "buyer" bought
  • The bank comes back in a week or so with the information that the cashier check was bogus.
  • The bank wants their money back…only you don't have it any more.
  • You have to pay the bank back for the bogus check that you past.
  • The scammer get's away with your money.

A TOTAL SCAM!!!

And someone tried it on me!! That's so awesome!!! I've never had anyone do this before!! It's kind of cool. Smile

Ok, I'm strange. Tongue out

Just remember, don't send out any money nor given out your personal information. Play it safe.