Emails From Two Yahoo Addresses

Henry Cambron

Henry Cambron

www.worldclassknives.com
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Nov 30, 2006
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I posted a knife for sale on a site that belongs to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.

First, I got this inquiry from robertsgary30@yahoo.com:

Hello, I saw your classified advert posted for sale which I'm interested in the purchase..I will like to know if you still have the item for sale and what is the present condition.Are you the real owner and What is your last selling price?I do wait for your honest reply.Do send me some pictures if you have any.You can get back to me through my mail box robertsgary30@yahoo.com Roberts
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And after I notified "Mr. Roberts" that the knife was still available, I got this:

Hello Henry,
I'm interested in the Knife and I'm OK with the price. I'm ready to make payment to you immediately...I will be making the payment to you with money order..I will like you to keep the Knife for me cause I'm really interested in buying it..If possible you remove the advert from the site.I would need the following to make the payment in your name...
Your full name:
Your full address:
City:
State:
Zip code:
Phone number:
Please kindly get in touch with me as soon as you get the payment..Don't worry your self about the shipping my agent is going to come over to your place to pick it up....

Mr Roberts
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Next I got an inquiry from sarahine2009@yahoo.com and I wrote back that the knife was still available. "Ms. Sarah Anderson" wrote back:

Hello
Thanks for the prompt response, i want you to know that i am ok with
the price and i will love to make an instant purchase,so pls do
withdraw the advert from ajcexchange,i don't mind adding an extra $50
dollars for you to take the advert down from ajcexchange so that i can
be rest assured that am in hand of the item. I will also like you to
know that i will be paying via check,and it will be over night payment
due to the distance You don't need to bother your self with the
shipment ok,i will take care of that.So i will need you to provide me
with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the
check.Your full name.Your mailing address be it residential ..Your
phone number.
**Once again ,I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for
shipping i will have my mover come over as soon as you confirm the payment.
take care.
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Now, the price I was asking for the knife was $50. Isn't it nice when someone wants to send double what you're asking! And the personal information that they asked for (name, address, phone, email) is posted on the main page of my website. Then, one has an "agent" and the other a "mover" who is going to come to my house - I don't have to pay shipping...

I guess I counld have played with them a little - let them send the money order and check (what probably would have been for hundreds of dollars extra - "whoops, we're sorry, you can send the difference back to me via Western Union") but I just went ahead and notified Yahoo. Mr. Roberts has already been confirmed as possible fraud and shut down.
I just wanted to let everyone know in case you get similar emails.
 
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That's a very very old scam. Years ago my wife put an ad in a specialist horse magazine to sell one of the horses. Some nice sounding person from "South Africa" was keen to buy "the goods" and wanted to know if "the goods" were in good condition and told us not to worry about the shipping as his agent will collect "the goods" and take care of everything.

That one has probably been around longer than the internet.
 
Good catch! :D

They never stop trying, do they? It's a good thing they use the same routines again and again.
 
I had two similar instances about a year ago. One was for some old ammunition and the other was a high end car stereo.

I have to wonder how many people actually fall for that scam ?
 
338375 said:
I had two similar instances about a year ago. One was for some old ammunition and the other was a high end car stereo.

I have to wonder how many people actually fall for that scam ?
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Lots of people, that's why they still run the scams.

One thing that will never be in short supply on planet Earth is greed and stupidity while humans still exist.
 
Scams are one of the main reasons I walk from any deal that the other party wants to make more complicated than it needs to be. After learning that its still available, really all that needs to be said is "Great, I will take it pending a few more pictures. What forms of payment do you prefer?"

Anything aside from "buyer sends payment, seller receives, waits for check/MO to clear/cash, then ships goods" puts up a few red flags in my mind. Broken english, or generally awkward phrases like "I do wait for your honest reply" don't help either. Its like they are trying too hard to sound trustworthy and decent.
 
I could not resist. I went ahead and answered "Ms. Anderson":
Maybe it just the Christmas season or what, I don't know. But it seams that everyone wants to send me more money than I ask for. I think I should ask more. How about $5,000,000.00. After all, it is a one of a kind handmade knife.

Please send the check to:
Mickey Mouse
12345 Main Street
Anytown, U.S.A. 12345

and tell Gary Roberts I said Hi.
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Well, today I got a reply:
Hi ,
Yes i got this,and your payment should be ready
for the mail by this week, once it is gotten from the bank
by my secretary, as soon as its mailed i will inform you about this,
so that you are aware of when to expect it,normally it should take
just about 6 to 7 working days to reach your place so that my
mover can come over for the pick up after payment cashed so that
what She does simply is to have the good examined and pick up.So i will need you to hold the Advert on my
behalf for at least a week or there about for payment to
arrive,please i will like you to kindly inform me as soon as you get
the payment so that i can have my shipper ready for the pick up, i
will be looking forward to your reply,once again thank you and
have a great weekend ahead.
Regards,
sarah
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So it looks like she agreed and is going to send me a check for 5 million dollars. Darn, I gave her the wrong address to send it to. O'well, Mickey sure will have a nice Christmas.
 
Ok, I know they are flaky e-mails, but what exactly is the scam here? Just time-wasters, or what?

Nice touch with the $5 mil to Mickey Mouse :)
 
The scam is this: they send you money, the money is more than they owe, you refund the difference. Then the original check bounces, and they have the money you sent them.
 
J_Roc

One variation: They send a certified check or money order for more than the purchase price. "Sorry, we made a mistake. Would you kindly send the difference back via Western Union". You wait 7 days thinking that so long as you don't hear anything from your bank, the check is good. Then you send your money to the scammer. Then, sometimes as long as 6 weeks later, your bank FINALLY says, sorry the check was no good. Forget about a 7 or 14 hold thinking that will be enough time to see if the check is good.
The FTC calls this one the overpayment scam (http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2004/12/checkoverpayment.shtm
 
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