Ebay Scam - buyer leaving the country

S

Steve George

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Ebay scam to be aware of:

I sold an item on recently, and the buyer (joined the same day, 0 feedback) sent the following email - registered in the UK so got around my UK only preference etc:

Hello,
..A sucessful winner of your item.But i have a little
problem as regard to the shipping..I am on missionary Trip to
Holland..but i need this item to be shipped to my Son in Nigeria
(African)He went there to finish his Master's Degree..and he is going
to need this item for his last Project..and the only help you can do
for me now is to help me look for the shipping cost via1st Class
Royalmail International Sign For(Post Office) .Here is the address againg..he
was the one that sent me the address..he was planing to be a Doctor..and
i beleived that God will surelly help him for his last project..here
is the address again.

['ve removed the address]

I will really appreciate your effort and your quick
response..I based in Uk.but i am out of Uk for a missionary trip to
Holland..I will responsible for the shipping and item cost including
via 1st Class Royalmail International Sign For(Post Office).get back to
me as soon as possible.
Thanks.

Needless to say I contacted ebay immediately and notified the buyer I had contacted them - his ID was immediately cancelled. I was given free relisting of my item...it didn't sell though (previously it had three bidders and 18 watchers)...

Very very annoying and probably the last time I use ebay to try and sell anything of value - the listing costs are too much when this kind of thing happens.
 
I have a love-hate relationship with ebay. Lots to buy but a lot of it is scary. 🙁
 
Wow, that's a new one on me. The scammers just keep prying away, trying to destroy everything so they can make a crooked dollar. Glad you reported it, sorry you lost out on selling your item. Thanks for the heads-up.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
I don't understand this UK Only perference.

When I see something I like I ask the seller if I can bid because I'm interested but live abroad. And not once have they said 'No'.

So why do people tick that box when they list an item?
 
MacCaulay said:
Am I missing something? Why not ask for payment and agree to ship when the payment clears?
Click to expand...

The scam is to send you a Cashier's Check or Money Order for an amount way in excess of the total for the item. You get the money, put it in the bank, and in a few days to a few weeks, the bank tells you it has cleared. You send the balance to the 'son' in Nigeria with the item (which they don't want anyway).

Then, a few days after that, the chickens come home to roost. The MO or CC used are fake, phony, and the fact that the bank didn't catch it does not make them liable. You just lose. You lose the item and you lose whatever you sent them as their 'overpayment'.

Scam scam scammity scam scam. If you trust, you lose. Paranoia pays. And if you see the word 'Nigeria' you start stepping, brother.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
CZeni said:
Mmmm. I love the smell of fresh Nigerian scam in the morning 🙁
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Hot off the email this morning:

RE:TRANSFER OF $12,000,000 ( TWELVE MILLION UNITED STATES DOLLARS )
INTO YOUR ACCOUNT.

I am Mr. Charles Brown, the personal attorney to Late Mr. Nabih El-Berri, a Lebanese national. Late Mr. Nabih El-Berri was a private oil consultant/contractor with the Shell Petroleum Development Company in Nigeria before his death, hereinafter shall be referred to as my client. My client and his wife along with their
three children died in the Plane crash of Union Transport Africaines Flight Boeing 727 in Cotonou, Benin Republic on 25th day of December 2003. You will read more stories about the crash on visiting these websites:

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/africa/12/26/benin.crash

or

http://english.pravda.ru/accidents/21/97/384/11653_Aircrash.htm

After this tragic plane crash, I conducted several enquiries from his country's embassies to locate his next of kin or any of his extended relatives, but all to no avail.

The deceased made a deposits valued presently at $12,000,000.00 (Twelve
Million United States Dollars) and the bank has issued me a notice as his attorney to provide his next of kin or beneficiary by will, otherwise the account would be confiscated within the next sixty working days.

Since I have been unsuccessful in locating any of my late client's relatives for six (6) months now, I now seek your consent to present you as the next of kin/beneficiary of the deceased so that the proceeds of this account can be paid to you.

I have decided to offer you 35% of the total sum as a reward for your efforts in assisting me, while I take 50% of the total sum. The 5% of the fund will be set aside as reimbursement for any incidental expenses both local and international any of us will make in the course of this transaction.Then we will jointly donate 10% to Katrina Huricane relief course.

Consider this proposal and get back to me as soon as possible so that I furnish you with more details on how we shall proceed. Thus, provide me with the following information:

1. Your telephone and fax numbers.
2. Your complete location address.

Best regards,

Charles Brown
Click to expand...

Isn't that special? I feel so warm and fuzzy. We're going to do something nice for the victims of Katrina! I'll get started on this right away. And Leicas for all my friends once I'm rich, of course.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
This morning I got a couple of these types of scams as well. Actually, I get at least 2 a day. Gotta love the Internet.
 
bmattock said:
The scam is to send you a Cashier's Check or Money Order for an amount way in excess of the total for the item. You get the money, put it in the bank, and in a few days to a few weeks, the bank tells you it has cleared. You send the balance to the 'son' in Nigeria with the item (which they don't want anyway).

Then, a few days after that, the chickens come home to roost. The MO or CC used are fake, phony, and the fact that the bank didn't catch it does not make them liable. You just lose. You lose the item and you lose whatever you sent them as their 'overpayment'.

Scam scam scammity scam scam. If you trust, you lose. Paranoia pays. And if you see the word 'Nigeria' you start stepping, brother.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
Click to expand...

Well put, Bill. Very well put.

Perhaps our Dutch breathren here can tell us about all of those UK missionaries doing good deeds in the Amsterdam red light district! 😀
 
copake_ham said:
Well put, Bill. Very well put.

Perhaps our Dutch breathren here can tell us about all of those UK missionaries doing good deeds in the Amsterdam red light district! 😀
Click to expand...

The Salvation Army does good work in the Red Light district.
The only other missionary positions there have little to do with religion, I reckon. 🙂
 
They tried it on me.I had 1 71 MGB Roadster for sale on ebay. Got the standard I am an agent for the buyer. He is going to pay for the item and shipping in one money order. You keep the sale price and send me the shipping portion of the amount. I will arrange to have the item picked up. Ya ok I am stupid. He did not even refer to the item as a car. And guess where the buyer was. But his agaent was in the UK. John
 
laptoprob said:
What happened in Nigeria? Why is it Nigeria everytime?

Rob.
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A government in a state of near anarchy, combined with a collapse of what had been a fairly high-tech society (in the cities like Lagos). Civil war, but still connected to the Internet. Desperate, starving people who will do anything for hard currency, and a government pretty much powerless to stop it. In most countries, either you're missing the abject poverty or the high-tech Internet connections, so you see it a lot from here.

Also Romania. Things must be bad there.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
I immediately delete the mail when there's a mention of any of these countries: nigeria, west africa, lagos, and sometimes, even the UK.

As mentioned above, it's normally for the usual "send a cheque of a (crazy) amount" and request the difference be remmited back via western-union, or something similar.

I once played through a few of the scams, and had around 6 - 7 cashiers cheques delivered to my door step (all fake of course) which i immediately forwarded to the local police to help with their investigations.

I hate scammers... 😡

Regards,
Trevor
 
RJ- said:
"What happened in Nigeria? Why is it Nigeria everytime?"

Rob - i've just received one from Holland recently too 🙂
Click to expand...

Aah, you finally got it! Oh. I think I shouldn't have said that, right? 😛
 
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