So I recently got hit by a scammer, and by hit I mean he "made me an offer." I immediately realized it was some idiot in another country who couldn't possibly butcher the english language any worse.

So I decided to play dumb and go on with it, and got a reply. Here's what's gone on so far...

"Hello, How are you today.I am interested in your JL Audio 1000/1 Amplifier and i will like to know more about its current conditions.Send me pictures for assessment.What is your current asking price and will you accept money order as your means of payment.Do get back to me with the requested informations. Regards Justin"

I replied with, "Hi there friend,

I am doing goodly, thank you. I do not have any pictures, but i most assuredly you the item is good like new. I am asking $500 INCLUDING free shipping.

Salutations,

Mark"

Notice the sarcasm and equally terrible english? lol

and his reply, "Hello Mark,

Thnak you very much for your prompt response.My client is very much pleased with the conditions and price and willing to seal up the deal as soon as possible.But before we can proceed,i want you to get back to me with your contact inbformations which includes your name,address and phone number so that payment can be sent to you as soon as possible.I anticicpate your response

Regards
Justin"


And here it be....so what should I do next? I say we do something to burn this a-hole.

 

Careful....Don't want to take anything away from Mountaineer...

 

open a cheap PO box

usually they send you an expired money order but sometimes you get a real one that you can cash and keep

 

Anyone got Mattineer's address.....?

 

 

hmm guess i would have been taken...the first thing the other guy wrote you didn't sound bad to me. I've seen my boyfriend write notes to ppl on ebay that can sound like that. Maybe he was just lazy and didn't read over what he was typing. Anyways..if it was a scam, good catch. I sure wouldn't have noticed anything weird about it

Alex

 

Alex, normally the guys are offering several times what the asking price is, and ask for you to cash the check (it's fake) and send them the remainder for their own shipper/agent to pick it up. The checks do look real enough to clear the banks when you go to cash them, but when they actually go through the system they come up being fake.

 

Don't worry AlexG... there is nothing in the original post to support the claimed "scam". From the information given, this very well could be a valid buyer.

But, I suspect Lumadar just forgot to give us all of the information.

 

Are you f*cking kidding me? What the hell would I hide, and why? Give me a break.

And wow, you people must not read up much on scammers.

First of all, at first glance the first email MAY seem possibly legit from someone with ESL. However, being as that I have personal experience with scammers, and have done extensive studies about the scams that go on I could see tiny indicators that people like you (apparently) wouldn't pick up on.

for starters, the inquieries are far too canned sounding, and very unecessary. My post answers all the questions he asked, which leads me to believe he was just doing a canned reply.

And if that wasn't enough, his reply says, "Thnak you very much for your prompt response.My client is very much pleased with the conditions and price and willing to seal up the deal as soon as possible."

Um, his client? Lmao. Yeah, sounds like a REAL legit buyer without a doubt. Also notice the fact that he is pushing to do it as quickly as possible so I do not have time to think things through or research the legitimiacy? Another common scammer trait.

If you can't see that, heh, please post some things for sale in the classifieds so I can take YOU for a ride.

 

That is for sure a scam. I went along with one for a little while and even had them send me a full on check for like 4,000 dollars written out to me and everything. I new it was a scam from the beginning. After i got the check i looked at it and it was from a chevy dealer in wisconsin or something like that. I called them and they had said they got a couple calls like that and someone was forging there checks. I never deposited it but it was very tempting to try. This is no dought a scam and people that are saying that you are hiding stuff are just leaving them self open for being scammed themselves. Im like you and personally have done a lot of research on this topic. Its pretty crazy to see what people do for money. Good eye dude.

 

Nowhere did I say you were "hiding" anything. I simply said that you forgot to post important information. I was giving you the benefit of having additional (un-posted) information or proof to support your claim of being scammed.

But, if you have provided ALL of the information you have on this potential transaction, I'm going to say you do not yet have enough proof to warrant any "scam-buster" actions. If the "buyer" somehow (extremely unlikely) turns out to be legit, you'll put yourself into the position of being the scammer.

So, until you have something really concrete, you should be skeptical but not dishonest. Wait for this "buyer" to offer you something like $10,000 for your $500 amp--- THEN "burn the a-hole".

You know it's coming... so just wait for it.

 

What happens if you cash these checks and can you use the bank to find out if it's a clear check or not. I randomly got a $2,000 check in the mail and boy was that tempting.

 

I was sent a check for 5000.00 for a 200.00 sale...sound fishy...HELL YA...

Dont ever cash any of these checks they are fake...these ppl also run scams with relay services on the phone asking to buy large amounts of products...I get 3-4 calls each month asking to buy 2,000 or more spark plugs or filters

 

When he asks for your address, give him the address of a federal government office such as the FBI. Don't give him your real last name and find someone in that federal office that has your same first name and then tell them to send it to that person.

 

If you cash/deposit a cheque and it turns out to be bogus, the bank recoups its loss from your account. Period.