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Hi to all. I just wanted to pass on some info on current internet scams since I am right in the middle of a very common one.

Let me explain: I get an email from a guy claiming to be “Omar” in the UAE. He says he is interested in purchasing a guitar form me since he liked the ones on my website very much and inquires about pricing.

I send him the same polite pitch I send to everyone who contacts me in that way and include a link to my pricing page. He sends another email saying that he would like to buy a guitar at that price and will have his attorney in the UK cut me a check. (Flags are going up – yes?)

To shorten the story, I received an overnight letter from UPS Wednesday with a blank, sealed envelope that contains a cashier’s check for roughly twice the amount of the guitar. A quick Google search on internet scams revealed that I was in the middle of a “cash-back scam”.

According to an FBI agent I talked to the next day, this is the hottest and most effective fraud going.

Here’s the play: “Omar” contacts me and says his attorney messed up and sent too much money. He would like me to go ahead and cash the check and wire him the difference. There’s just one problem. The very convincing looking check is a fraud. The bank will not notice it and according to the agent I talked with, it will take between 2 days to a month or more, but the bank will contact you and demand the money back to cover the bad check.

“Omar” is having a great time with your money and you are in hock. The agent told me it actually happens a lot with high dollar items and eBay car sales.

Sorry about the long first post, and many of you probably already know about this scam. It’s completely strange, though, to watch it play out exactly as expected and I just got the “cash-back” request from “Omar” a few minutes ago.

Rick Micheletti

Tell Omar the money has been wired to a Western Union that is a good 2 or three hour drive from where he lives. (A quick search on Western Union should help you out.) Make sure Omar knows that, because of the significant amount of money involved, you left instructions with Western Union that it can only be picked up by Omar himself, and he must provide picture ID.

A 2 or 3 hour wild goose chase for money that isn't there will serve Omar right!

And wouldn't it be nice if someone was ther to greet him...

Does this mean I should stop waiting for the money from the Nigerian Crown Prince's third cousin twice removed...?

Bummer!

We've recieved one or two of those checks at work. Fortunately, the ones we have received were very bad copies (one was a forged tax refund check!) so we just had a good laugh.

It's good practice to hold checks until they clear.

Regards, Steve

Frame the check and hang it on the wall for a souvenir. And I like the idea of the Western Union "far away" refund plan.
Go check the archives here for the fun and games I ran a Nigerian phoney credit card scammer through. I think Lance may have the condensed emails filed somewhere in there. These folks are dumber that stumps so you can wind them up and watch them spin for a good long time.

[QUOTE=sfbrown]
It's good practice to hold checks until they clear.

Regards, Steve[/QUOTE]

Problem is that your bank can only hold "Your funds" so many days by law. Usually seven business days. These forged checks/money orders can take up to 21 business days (usually 15) to complete the rounds and be detected bogus.

Given that, there is a variation on this scam in which they will tell you to wait until the check clears then send them the overage amount. So your bank says yes we have released those funds to your account, you send Omar the money and two weeks later Bank of the Universe sends you a bill for the bogus funds plus fees.

Cash is KING, but U.S. Postal money orders have stolen forged list sent to post offices every morning. So holding one a few days and checking with them before cashing will help.

Better idea...Tell this guy you will just happen to be in town and that you will drop it off to him personally when the cashiers check clears in 21 days. Then say you have to wait that long because some guy ripped you off like that before and he, Omar, does not want to know what you did to settle the score.

Good timing, I just got this yesterday. Anyone want to help me have some fun with these dirty dogs?
Hello Sales,
My name is Jennifer Storm. I am the owner of the Group Store Inc, Located
in Nigeria. I will like to purchase some product from yourcompany, So i
will like to first know if you do ship to Nigeria and also will like to
know if Credit Card payment is accepted by your company.
Do not hestitate to get back to me today.
Regards.
Jennifer.

[QUOTE=RCoates] [QUOTE=sfbrown]
It's good practice to hold checks until they clear.

Regards, Steve[/QUOTE]

Problem is that your bank can only hold "Your funds" so many days by law. Usually seven business days. These forged checks/money orders can take up to 21 business days (usually 15) to complete the rounds and be detected bogus.

Given that, there is a variation on this scam in which they will tell you to wait until the check clears then send them the overage amount. So your bank says yes we have released those funds to your account, you send Omar the money and two weeks later Bank of the Universe sends you a bill for the bogus funds plus fees.

Cash is KING, but U.S. Postal money orders have stolen forged list sent to post offices every morning. So holding one a few days and checking with them before cashing will help.[/QUOTE]

Ronn, I understand what you're saying but "clearing" is another matter. "Holding" has to do with float. Awaiting a check to clear is an entirely different matter. Check with your bank.

The best thing to do and NO honest buyer will object is to insist on wire transfer of funds. It is absolute. If the idea of giving out banking info disturbs you, set up another account with zero funds and have the money transferred there. My wife is a VP of Fifth-Third Bank and I ran this by her to be sure. This is what we do at work too, BTW.

Hope this helps, Steve Brown

My bank told me they didn't know how long you have to wait for a check to clear. I was a little annoyed. In the U.S., there is some limit as to how long the check can take to clear, but outside the U.S. there is no such deal.

[QUOTE=sfbrown] [QUOTE=RCoates] [QUOTE=sfbrown]
It's good practice to hold checks until they clear.

Regards, Steve[/QUOTE]

Problem is that your bank can only hold "Your funds" so many days by law. Usually seven business days. These forged checks/money orders can take up to 21 business days (usually 15) to complete the rounds and be detected bogus.

Given that, there is a variation on this scam in which they will tell you to wait until the check clears then send them the overage amount. So your bank says yes we have released those funds to your account, you send Omar the money and two weeks later Bank of the Universe sends you a bill for the bogus funds plus fees.

Cash is KING, but U.S. Postal money orders have stolen forged list sent to post offices every morning. So holding one a few days and checking with them before cashing will help.[/QUOTE]

Ronn, I understand what you're saying but "clearing" is another matter. "Holding" has to do with float. Awaiting a check to clear is an entirely different matter. Check with your bank.

The best thing to do and NO honest buyer will object is to insist on wire transfer of funds. It is absolute. If the idea of giving out banking info disturbs you, set up another account with zero funds and have the money transferred there. My wife is a VP of Fifth-Third Bank and I ran this by her to be sure. This is what we do at work too, BTW.

Hope this helps, Steve Brown [/QUOTE]

We may be stuck on semantics but I have checked and I do a considerable amount of business online. The term cleared means exactlly that, you're safe. That can take a considerable time. Several weeks in fact. Having the funds made available to you via your acct is another matter all together. Usually seven business days by law.

I think we're in agreement here. It's just this lag between being available and clearing that these guys sometimes prey on. For most people when the funds are available they think the check has cleared. I just wanted folks to be aware that that is not always the case.

And to keep this guitar related... I buy and sell electric guitars with great frequency. I'm really paranoid so I always insist on bank transfer or U.S. Postal money orders.

Whatever the case, better safe than sorry on high dollar items.

[QUOTE=Pwoolson] Good timing, I just got this yesterday. Anyone want to help me have some fun with these dirty dogs?
Hello Sales,
My name is Jennifer Storm. I am the owner of the Group Store Inc, Located
in Nigeria. I will like to purchase some product from yourcompany, So i
will like to first know if you do ship to Nigeria and also will like to
know if Credit Card payment is accepted by your company.
Do not hestitate to get back to me today.
Regards.
Jennifer.


Got the same sweetheart, too.
If you want a copy of the play I made on the last Nigerian, I have it all saved in MS Word. Would be happy to email you a copy. Just change some of the words, dates and names to fit and you can probably run her for a month before telling her the "facts of life". Then you report her to her email provider for fraudulent Charge Card scam and get her shut down (at least on that email) for a while. Also, get the credit card numbers and call them in to report the fraud. The MasterCard and VISA folks are very happy to get that info and shut down the use on those cards, advising the poor real owner about the frauds.

Check out This web site. It is dedicated to messing with the scammers. There is some downright funny stuff in there, but it is not for the faint of heart or politically correct.

Guitar Ed