New scammer, they contacted me to buy my snake.

[kirsten]

hi there, i know i have been a bit of a pain in the ass, but i'd like to make people aware of a new format to the usual scam. as you all know i have been advertising my boa for sale. i was contacted on my personal email with the following message.

----- Original Message ----
From: Melvis Simson <melvis.simson@yahoo.com>
To: myemailaddy@btinternet.com
Sent: Thursday, 11 September, 2008 12:52:00 AM
Subject: 6ft male BCI & 6 ft viv £220 for both

Hello,
Good day!I saw your advert and i am interested in buying your gorgeous male BCI from you if its still available for sale.I'll like to know the condition and the least price you can accept on it? Do get back to me as soon as possible.


to which i gave him all the relevent details about the boa and vivarium, i have just received this reply

Thanks for your quick response, i will be buying the lot for £220,i will like to tell you that i will be paying with a cashier cheque and as for the shipment my shipper will come for the pick up at your location upon your confirmation of receiving the payment and i dont want you to look for anyother buyer.i would have love to come down for the pick up but I'm not chanced to do that now but i am satisfied with your description of the item, i will like you to give me the following so that your payment can be sent.................
1....Your full name to be on the cheque
2......Your full contact Address to send the Payment to
3..Your Post code
4.Your mobile and land number to reach you.i will expect your mail.
Regards,
Melvis Simson.


having been previously allerted to these sorts of scams (only being aware it's a scam because of the personal details he has asked for). so i would now like to make people aware that these scammers are also contacting those trying to sell aswell as those trying to buy.

[cubeykc]

thanks for the tip off

[debcot1]

sorry to be thick but how does this sort of scam work?? what do they get out of it?

[carpy]

rule of thumb for me is when someone replies to anything, buying or selling, with questionable english or grammar. it may be genuine, but it frequently isnt, especially when the sentence structure is incorrect, wrong tenses and use of words, etc.

[Flutterbye]

Is this guy really a scammer though?

You do need those details to be able to send a cheque to someone....unless he was expecting you to send him a paying in slip, where he can't use it to take money out of your bank...only to put in..

I dunno...i might be wrong....which if i am...i've learnt something new about scammers today

[Magik]

I got the exact same email for my caiman!

[carpy]

the way that was written screams scammer. its the questions asked, the way it was asked and the incorrect use of grammar, i would label this as a scammer immediately

[Magik]

Originally Posted by Flutterbye

Is this guy really a scammer though?

You do need those details to be able to send a cheque to someone....unless he was expecting you to send him a paying in slip, where he can't use it to take money out of your bank...only to put in..

I dunno...i might be wrong....which if i am...i've learnt something new about scammers today

Ask him if he will pay via paypal they never will!Guaranteed to catch them out

[retri]

Originally Posted by Flutterbye

Is this guy really a scammer though?

You do need those details to be able to send a cheque to someone....unless he was expecting you to send him a paying in slip, where he can't use it to take money out of your bank...only to put in..

I dunno...i might be wrong....which if i am...i've learnt something new about scammers today

there are a number of things a scammer can do with that info, its not really wprth the risk, as you mentioned a paying in slip is the safest option if you are unsure of someone

[Athravan]

They will send a cheque. It will be from a stolen or fraudulent bank account. The cheque will be high. Like £1000 for a £220 snake. They will say "I'm sorry, we sent the wrong amount, can you please send back £700 and you can keep the extra £80 for your trouble" but in really bad english obviously. The innocent person thinks well that's ok, I get an extra £80 it doesn't hurt. They cash the cheque. The cheque clears. You send the extra money (they will ask for it by western union or other untraceable bank transfer). A week later, the bank will receive a stolen/fraudulent transaction and will recover the funds from your bank account. Legally, the bank CAN take this back if it was given to you illegally.

Now you are £700 out of pocket that you have already transferred to this person. They have no interest in getting hold of the animal. They do it for anything people are selling on any classifieds adverts anywhere.