Having a little bit of fun with a scammer.

[1crosscut]

I currently have a model AA related item I've listed on Craigslist. I had a couple of scammers contact me wanting to "buy" my item. Sooooo I decided to try a little experiment with one of them. I don't allow Craigslist to link to my email so everything is either done via phone or text.
Here is the text conversation that we had. At first I thought that it might be a legitament inquiry but after his second reply I was pretty sure it was a scammer.

Scammer in Red and me in Black.

You still have the 1929 Ford Model AA truck frame and axles (Lincoln Nebraska) for sale? Whats your lowest price? Lyon

Hi Lyon. Yes I do. I'm about to head into a meeting soon. Would it be ok for me to give you a call afterwards? I would be willing to come down in price if it is going to a good use. Dave

Am okay with your price, am actually buying it as parts. Do you accept certified cashier check? I will have it mail out to you via the defense courier service and once you've got it cashed my mover will schedule pickup at your location. Sgt. Lyon (USAF)

Your mover can pay cash when picked up.

I prefer to pay you direct.

Will it be out to good use?

I dont understand you.

Sorry I meant will it be put to good use.

Oh okay yes it will. I need you to get back to me with the name to be written on the check and your mailing address. Sgt. Lyon (USAF)

OK since it will be put to good use I'll let it go for 5 dollars.

Really?

Yes.


__________________________________________________ _______

Well it has been quite some time since and I havn't heard a word from him.
Guess it must not be worth trying to scam me for 5 bucks.
If it would have been an actual person in the hobby I would think that they would have been more than anxious to get back with me to finalize the deal.
If it does happen to turn out to be the real deal I will honor my 5 dollar offer.
Some how I don't think that I will be the case.

[CarlG]

That was me!









(Just kidding, couldn't resist!)

[jkcrosson]

Carl, you beat me to it.

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

Crosscut, My Buddy, SERIOUSLY, don't play games with SCAMMERS, it's like playing with a poisonous SNAKE, & the SNAKE WILL WIN!!! Not making humor, I speak from experience in an amount of $23,000!!! Only by God's grace, it ended up only costing me $12.00!!
I, personally, would NEVER, NEVER, NEVER, sell ANYTHING on the INTERNET again. Read about it on MAFCA's SCAM PAGE! Bill W.

[Conair007]

I do the same thing to scammers like that. There either in a remote area or in the high seas somewhere. Never take there money order cause it will be a counterfeit . Once cashed at your bank and it comes back no good, you are responsible for paying the bank back. Always demand cash, and never give them your pay-pal info. Do what Dave did offer it for $5 and i guarantee they won't waste there time. G-man

[H. L. Chauvin]

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Hi Dave,

For many, his proposing using the "Defense Courier Service" (DCS) used for expeditious transport of highly classified documents was one (1) key to this jerk's dishonesty.

You did a wonderful job with his offer in my opinion.

[William Kelchner]

Man sounds exactly like an episode I had not log ago. Selling an early windup victrola on CL. Got Email from a buyer wondering if a certified check could be sent and she would have someone pick the machine up. I said cash and she said she didn't trust the person picking the machine up with $300 cash.

I told her that I regretted her loss.

[81deeds]

Exact same scam....happened to me last week...exactly..lol...on 2 different items i have on craigslist....make long story short....i finally replid....thanks anyway....i already know your scam an authorities already have your info........i never heard from any of them again...
Glad you didnt lose anything.
Derek

[19ED30]

I have delt with a few on the Fordbarn ((sellers))that only want a check! No Paypal. You would thank the seller would not want a check because of Scams.

[Model A Man]

The address I give to scammers to send their check to is either the FBI or IRS, depending on how I feel that day.

[ctvpa]

I bit off context, but I recently had a phone call where they wanted to buy my Timeshare. I greeted her call warmly, and told her I would love to sell my timeshare. The deal works is that you give them your credit card number, they charge you $500 to market and sell your timeshare for 3-4 times what you paid for it; with an average sale in less than 6 months.
I questioned back and forth, finely they double teamed me by having a supervisor on the call also. I listened and asked many simple questions. My point was that "Why do I pay up front, you can take a commission once you sell it?" It was a "sign of good faith on my part to sell, and not change my mind after they did all the work of finding a buyer"
I had both of them on the phone for well over an hour. I told them I was getting my credit card, but I would like to just ask one more question before finalizing the deal. I asked them "Where exactly is my timeshare, I don't ever recall owning one."
There was a pause, then several expletives.
You may think different things, but in the end I had fun, and I prevented them from calling people like you.
The mind is a wonderful place to play.

[Bruce of MN]

Several years ago, I read an exchange that covered about 12 months where a guy was playing with a Nigerian diplomat/prince. It was hilarious; the guy would be almost ready to "send a check" and then would back off with a flurry of questions. The scammer brought his "mother" in on it to plead that it was such a sure thing, etc.

[lookin-backtexas]

Originally Posted by ctvpa

I bit off context, but I recently had a phone call where they wanted to buy my Timeshare. I greeted her call warmly, and told her I would love to sell my timeshare. The deal works is that you give them your credit card number, they charge you $500 to market and sell your timeshare for 3-4 times what you paid for it; with an average sale in less than 6 months.
I questioned back and forth, finely they double teamed me by having a supervisor on the call also. I listened and asked many simple questions. My point was that "Why do I pay up front, you can take a commission once you sell it?" It was a "sign of good faith on my part to sell, and not change my mind after they did all the work of finding a buyer"
I had both of them on the phone for well over an hour. I told them I was getting my credit card, but I would like to just ask one more question before finalizing the deal. I asked them "Where exactly is my timeshare, I don't ever recall owning one."
There was a pause, then several expletives.
You may think different things, but in the end I had fun, and I prevented them from calling people like you.
The mind is a wonderful place to play.

Reminds me of how my Dad taught me to handle telemarketers which always seemed to call just as you were sitting down to have dinner. He would answer the phone and hear them start their sales pitch and interrupt them with, "Hey you don't need to go any further - it sounds great, I'll take whatever you are selling - let me go get my credit card." He would then lie the phone down and go back to eating his dinner. The idiots would stay "on hold" for 15-20 minutes waiting for him to get his credit card and that kept them tied up from bothering someone else. After dinner, he would go back and simply hang up the phone.
Fred

[BlueSunoco]

Sgt. ,,,,,Lie-un

The Internet is kinda making the old fashioned swap meets and actual auctions like Mecum a lot nicer place to deal with when buying or selling. You can see/hold the item and pay with cash or whatever the same day, no fooling around. No games played.

Somebody listed a really nice '31 Dlx Roadster for sale on a local Craigslist, Brewster Green car, looked great. Fully restored. No contact information, just some phony Internet address that you couldn't access. Showed the location of the owner in the middle of the Mississippi River on the railroad bridge between Rock Island and Davenport, Iowa.

It was gone soon afterwards! Dang and I have a credit card, his loss.

[1967 Ford]

RE: Bogus 1931 Dlx Roadster in middle of Mississippi River on Craigslist

I suspect this ad may have been placed by a scam baiter trying to hook phoney check scammers so he could play with them.

[1crosscut]

Sgt. ,,,,,Lie-un

I was wondering when someone was going to pick up on the Sgt. Lying.
I think that the scammer probably had that in mind.

Sgt. Lyon hasn't brought me my 5 dollars yet. I think I can quit holding my breath waiting for him.

[29Cabriolet]

Originally Posted by 1crosscut

I currently have a model AA related item I've listed on Craigslist. I had a couple of scammers contact me wanting to "buy" my item. Sooooo I decided to try a little experiment with one of them. I don't allow Craigslist to link to my email so everything is either done via phone or text.
Here is the text conversation that we had. At first I thought that it might be a legitament inquiry but after his second reply I was pretty sure it was a scammer.

Scammer in Red and me in Black.

You still have the 1929 Ford Model AA truck frame and axles (Lincoln Nebraska) for sale? Whats your lowest price? Lyon

Hi Lyon. Yes I do. I'm about to head into a meeting soon. Would it be ok for me to give you a call afterwards? I would be willing to come down in price if it is going to a good use. Dave

Am okay with your price, am actually buying it as parts. Do you accept certified cashier check? I will have it mail out to you via the defense courier service and once you've got it cashed my mover will schedule pickup at your location. Sgt. Lyon (USAF)

Your mover can pay cash when picked up.

I prefer to pay you direct.

Will it be out to good use?

I dont understand you.

Sorry I meant will it be put to good use.

Oh okay yes it will. I need you to get back to me with the name to be written on the check and your mailing address. Sgt. Lyon (USAF)

OK since it will be put to good use I'll let it go for 5 dollars.

Really?

Yes.


__________________________________________________ _______

Well it has been quite some time since and I havn't heard a word from him.
Guess it must not be worth trying to scam me for 5 bucks.
If it would have been an actual person in the hobby I would think that they would have been more than anxious to get back with me to finalize the deal.
If it does happen to turn out to be the real deal I will honor my 5 dollar offer.
Some how I don't think that I will be the case.

I guess I'm not following how this would play out. Typically in a scenario like this the scammer would send a counterfeit check and then the goods are picked up or shipped. The recipient cashes the check only to find out some time later that the bank has attached funds from his account because they've discovered the check to be counterfeit. So the goods are lost with no cash in return. What difference does it make whether the sell price is $5 or $500? The same thing would occur leaving the "scamee" without the goods he was to sell and $0. What am I missing?

FWIW a company I worked for a few years back where the scammer provided bogus/stolen credit cards to place orders. The orders were processed and the goods were shipped (overseas). A month or so later the company received a letter from the bank listing all the bogus transactions and took money from the account to reconcile. Net result: loss of goods; $0 revenue.

[Franchise_24]

Well just think about it...do you think a scammer is going to send him a fake check for $5.00? No.

[1crosscut]

Thing is that this person is probably halfway across the planet and had no intention of actually taking possesion of my stuff. They just want you to cash their bogus check and commit the fraud all long distance.

[Phil]

Originally Posted by 29Cabriolet

I guess I'm not following how this would play out. Typically in a scenario like this the scammer would send a counterfeit check and then the goods are picked up or shipped. The recipient cashes the check only to find out some time later that the bank has attached funds from his account because they've discovered the check to be counterfeit. So the goods are lost with no cash in return. What difference does it make whether the sell price is $5 or $500? The same thing would occur leaving the "scamee" without the goods he was to sell and $0. What am I missing?

FWIW a company I worked for a few years back where the scammer provided bogus/stolen credit cards to place orders. The orders were processed and the goods were shipped (overseas). A month or so later the company received a letter from the bank listing all the bogus transactions and took money from the account to reconcile. Net result: loss of goods; $0 revenue.

The way the scam works ( I have a friend that fell for it) the scammer sends a check for much more than the selling price. Victim contacts scammer who states that his secritary made a mistake, the extra money was supposed to go to the shipper. go ahead cash the check and (in this case) take the excess funds to Walmart. Deposit them and the shipper can pick up "his" money at any Walmart any where. The victim took the cashiers check to their bank and deposited it. At first they were told the check was bogus, then several days later they noticed the extra money was in their account. When they checked with their bank, they were told as it turned out the check had been good. The victim then took the excess funds and deposited them at Walmart. The next day the bank contacted the victim said oops check turned out to be a fake. Bank debited victims account, which overdrew them. They protested, bank would not budge, but did offer them a loan so the could make payments on their loss. In my opinion the victims bank was as big a crook as the scammer, the victim could not afford to hire a lawyer, so they made payments to the damn bank!