Reply to add scam?

[snowracer69]

Hey all,



Just got this response to an add I posted on the classifieds here... anybody else every get anything like this? My intuition says it's a scam, what do you think?



EMAIL:



Subj: Reply To Your Ad at the Turbo Diesel Register Classifieds

Date: 10/29/2003 4:00:09 AM Eastern Standard Time

From: -- email address removed --

To: -- email address removed --





Hello,

I am mr Clark Prudo an general consultancy wolrd wide in various goods and certified dealer..... fotunately i view your advert on internet and i have contacted my client who is in need of this kind of product. So he was very excited about your product called 1991 Dodge Diesel 4x4,The payment($7000 USD)will be made via Cashiers Check drawn on a US Bank,i will instruct him to make

out a check to you,but the funds he his sending is ($14,750 USD) Which i believe is the fastest way the payment could be made,because if the check is to be sent to me,it will take atleast about 30 days to clear here in my country,but if it's paid directly to you,it will take up to 2-3 days to clear and so i am willing to entrust you with the excess funds on the cost,which you must send to the shipping agent that will come for the pick up through Western union Transfer as soon as possible. My Shipper will be on

ground to pick-up the 1991 Dodge Diesel 4x4,in your location to sign the relevant titles and papers on my behalf as soon as we seal the transaction and the payment is made. So if my Payment terms is acceptable with you,you can go ahead and mail back immediately so i can instruct him to prepare the payment as soon as possible.



I am looking forawrd to hear from you.



Thanks.



END EMAIL





Pretty obvious they used the classifieds to send the reply, but seems as though it's a form letter with key words replaced...



Any ideas?



Josh

 

[RustyJC]

Sounds like a variation on the infamous internet "Nigerian money laundering scheme".



Rusty

 

[gitchesum]

Yep, total scam. They send you a fake cashiers check.

 

[Crash_AF]

Yep. I've heard of this one. It's popular on E-bay as well. They basically send you too much money in a fake Money Order or Cashier's Check and your bank deposits it.



Then you get an e-mail stating that they made the check out for too much money and could you please send the money back to them. You check your bank account and the money is there so you send the 'extra' money back.



Unfortunately, when the fake check bounces, the bank removes the money from your account and now you are out that 'extra' money that you sent back to the scam artist. I typically hear about them targeting large ticket items (eg, vehicles) so that a single digit error is a large sum of money.



So yea, don't reply to it. It's just junk.



Later,

Joe H

 

[illflem]

With all the bright guys on this board it seems like we should be able to figure out a way to make the scam backfire.

Start thinking.

 

[klenger]

so i am willing to entrust you with the excess funds on the cost,which you must send to the shipping agent that will come for the pick up through Western union Transfer as soon as possible.

If it sounds too good to be true, ...



The email makes no mention of how the truck will be shipped to the buyer.

 

[Shovelhead]

Let him know that you'll send him the ok as soon as you run it past your neighbor, the FBI agent. :--)

 

[GIT-R-DONE]

I also got an e-mail one time from someone wanting to buy something I had for sale. Same scenario, I just replied back it was already sold, didn't get bothered again. Just have to be careful on the net. Don

 

[schu777]

Seen this on another forums (www.rcuniverse.com) too - except this was dealing with Remote control Jets with turbines (range of $4000 to $10000 per jet - complete)... just proves you can't believe everything you read on the net... except here on TDR.

 

[TPCDrafting]

We got an almost identical e-mail when we were selling a horse on-line. The wife replied to it trying to get information about the buyer and they became real pushy to make the sale. Once I read it, we discontinued responding to the e-mail.



Maybe you could take the check, then send a bad check back to them. Or take the check and turn it into the authorities, they love busting these guys.

 

[rrausch]

I had a 1982 Ford F 350 for sale, 400 C. I. gas with a 14 foot box on the back, I had it on an Internet truck site and I got several e-mails a day from those Nigerian scam idiots. Finally one CALLED me at 2:30 a. m. , using an ATT operator who spoke English as a go-between. I asked where the idiot was calling from, and he said Africa. I said "Hang up". I finally sold it to a Mexican couple and they paid in Hundred dollar bills, and yep one of the 100's was a fake. Bank said it was a Mexican Countefeit bill, coming up from South of the Border, they had seen them before. I got my money back from the couple, I guess I was lucky. But what really P*****'s me off is the unsuspecting people who get taken advantage of by these foreign criminals.

 

[wcaldwell]

Thanks for letting us know about this scam and asking before anything terrible happened.



Disclaimer: I'm not flaming or slamming anyone- this could apply to any of us since, one way or another, we are all gullible.



One thing that should immediately alert you:



Why would anyone who doesn't know you, send you a check for $14,750 (more than double the amount you are selling the truck for) for a truck they've never seen, and trust you enough to expect you to give them back the balance?????



I'll send you a check for $20,000 and you can send me the truck and refund the balance. Why didn't I think of doing this earlier????



Thanks again - Just trying to be more aware

 

[Whitmore]

I would let them send the check and then turn it over to the authorites, just dont let the truck outa your site, maybe take it to a friends house, gotta stop idiots like this before someone gets taken.



Cheers, Kevin