I wonder if I'll have to ship the speakers to Nigeria?

Rob Babcock · « **on:** 12 Apr 2007, 03:02 am »

Great- the scammers are working A'gon now, too.

I have some HT speakers that I don't need anymore listed for sale on Audiogon, and check out this prosepective "buyer"

:

Hello Robert,
Thanks for your response,am ok with the price and the conditions..I would have love to come and look at it its just that time wont permit me cos am very busy man... .i will be paying through a certified cashier check and i will be responsible for the shippment ok and the pickup.As soon as you receive the payment and it clears in your bank you will be deducting your actual fund and send the remaining amount to my shipping agent via western union money transfer.They will be the one to do the pick-up at your place ok..In the meantime i will like to have your
................Full name
.................Full address
.................City
.................State
..................Zip code and cell phone number
in other for the payment to be sent to you in time.Also i will want u to remove the item from the site u posted it so that no one will contact u for it again.Kindly get back to me as soon as possible.
John
xxx-xxx-xxxx [phone # removed by me- Rob]

What do you guys thing- should I sell to him? He seems on the up-and-up.

PaulFolbrecht · « **Reply #1 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 03:14 am »

This is probably not a good idea for several reasons, but after dozens or hundreds of such annoying communications on eBay, email, etc., etc., I got to a point where I would occasionally reply with a serious-sounding threat. As in, "I have traced your IP address and I am going to kill you. I am not kidding."

Like I said, probably a bad idea for lots of reasons. Stops the spam, tho!

acresm22 · « **Reply #2 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 03:19 am »

I traded emails for awhile with a similar "buyer" while trying to sell my Wright preamp on Agon last year. During a week's worth of emails, I heard that he was on his honeymoon and that his sister had just died...and that he was "COUNTING ON ME TO BE EXTREMELY HONEST AND SINCERE" when his accountant mistakenly mailed me a certified cashiers check for roughly $4,300 higher than my asking price. He was also going to arrange his own shipper....so many red flags it was laughable. Of course, this being my first encounter with one of these guys, it took me a few days to figure it out...

2wo · « **Reply #3 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 03:28 am »

You should have posted his phone number so we could all share the love

...John

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #4 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 03:54 am »

Quote from: 2wo on 12 Apr 2007, 03:28 am

You should have posted his phone number so we could all share the love ...John

Maybe I should have! Of course I haven't called it myself.

Singapura · « **Reply #5 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 04:05 am »

Actually, baiting Nigerian scammers is a hobby in itself

http://www.419eater.com/

rabpaul · « **Reply #6 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 05:57 am »

As long as you don't need to send money anywhere first and you actually receive the money as promised its no scam. Give the guy the benefit of doubt and a deadline to pay.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #7 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 06:52 am »

Quote from: rabpaul on 12 Apr 2007, 05:57 am

As long as you don't need to send money anywhere first and you actually receive the money as promised its no scam. Give the guy the benefit of doubt and a deadline to pay.

Riiiiiight. He accidentally sent me $4000 too much, by certified cashiers check, and is relying on my honesty to wire him the surplus!

Yeah, I'm always accidentally getting Postal MOs for several thousand too much, too.

oldtimer · « **Reply #8 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 08:17 am »

Rob, If you can cash the cheque do it. Dont put it in your account, if it bounces , even 2 ro 3 weeks after its drawen on, the bank will take the money back out of your account. Tell him that you have a $1000 fee for doing this, and does he still want to proceed.Also tell him you will arrange postage of the speakers, because you have enough of his funds to complete the shipment. See if he still wants to proceed. I know it means mucking around, but if the cheque can be cashed, you will have sold your speakers, and made a little profit. If the cheque is bogus, you had a bit of fun messing with this dude (dud)

Nigel

Dan Driscoll · « **Reply #9 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 02:12 pm »

Quote from: rabpaul on 12 Apr 2007, 05:57 am

As long as you don't need to send money anywhere first and you actually receive the money as promised its no scam. Give the guy the benefit of doubt and a deadline to pay.

And I suppose you also believe that the streets of America are paved with gold?

Bill Baker · « **Reply #10 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 02:45 pm »

Quote

Give the guy the benefit of doubt and a deadline to pay.

With these people, there is absolutely no doubt. It is a scam. For some reason, they can not write a check and always over pay by several thousand. If you go through the Asylum, you will see some innocent sellers that lost a bundle.

It happened to me several years ago with a Nigerian credit card scam. Luckily I called the credit card company before shipping any product to confirm and they said it was a stolen credit card and that 80% of all transactions between Nigeria and the US are frauds.

Anyone every have a legitimate transaction with Nigeria?

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #11 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 02:48 pm »

Quote from: Dan Driscoll on 12 Apr 2007, 02:12 pm

Quote from: rabpaul on 12 Apr 2007, 05:57 am
As long as you don't need to send money anywhere first and you actually receive the money as promised its no scam. Give the guy the benefit of doubt and a deadline to pay.

And I suppose you also believe that the streets of America are paved with gold?

avahifi · « **Reply #12 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 03:12 pm »

This is absolutely a fraud and scam!

Frank Van Alstine

chgolatin2 · « **Reply #13 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 03:32 pm »

Scam! Stay away dude....

JohnR · « **Reply #14 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 03:37 pm »

Quote from: oldtimer on 12 Apr 2007, 08:17 am

If the cheque is bogus, you had a bit of fun messing with this dude (dud)

I dunno, it seems to me a reasonable bet that the scammer has most likely had plenty of experience with potential victims "messing" with him that either a) he doesn't care so why waste your time or b) he knows something you don't so why expose yourself to further risk by "messing" with him. Just report the incident as you can and move on, I would say...!

Hugh · « **Reply #15 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 04:02 pm »

It's a very big business there.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17713446/

acresm22 · « **Reply #16 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 04:06 pm »

By all means, DON"T try to cash that check. It will just cost you time and aggravation. It is bogus, without a doubt. I had an inlaw who succumbed to the same scam last year....didn't actually send the merchandise thankfully, but deposited the check only to have the bank temporarily freeze their account when the thing bounced.

jrebman · « **Reply #17 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 04:19 pm »

Quote from: acresm22 on 12 Apr 2007, 04:06 pm

By all means, DON"T try to cash that check. It will just cost you time and aggravation.

And maybe worse if they suspect you trying to defraud them. And if it is a bogus postal money order, you are going to end up having a very long, unpleasant conversation with your local postal inspector.

These solicitations all follow a basic formula with a lot of common wording and are easily recognized once you've been exposed to it. Just hit the delete key.

-- Jim

Bill Baker · « **Reply #18 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 06:07 pm »

Quote

Just hit the delete key

That is the best way to deal with it. Don't put yourself any anguish and don't loose any sleep over it. I get 10-20 of these a month. It's really not worth your time.

Wind Chaser · « **Reply #19 on:** 12 Apr 2007, 06:12 pm »

Give him a PO box number with instructions to send gold or diamonds.