getting scammed over the internet

I took this off of another site. I thought it was a might good read.

*************

So I came across this ad in CycleTrader.com a couple days ago that seemed too good to be true. 2003 Suzuki RM250 in perfect condition for only 1400.00!!! . Pictures looked great. Bike was about 60 miles away, the ad said divorce forces sale and it had JUST been posted that morning! So I thought, it seems too good to be true, but it's worth an email to the seller anyway. I even went so far as to call Alexis and tell her that even though I don't need a new dirtbike, this was too good of a deal to pass up. She actually agreed to the purchase, and this is how the transaction went. This went back and forth for a couple days.

Hilarity ensues...........

(From Me:)
RE: RM250 for Sale.
Hello,
Your price reads 1400.00. That seems very low.
Is this correct? If so, I'd be exceedingly interested
if you still have it. Please let me know either way.

(Seller)
Hello ,
Yes this is the price.
Let me know !

(From Me, about 5 seconds later:)

I'll take it! ( thinking I'll lock it in, and possibly reject it later )
Please email me, or let me know where I can reach you.

~best

(From Me again, cause I finally calmed down and realized that he had a UK email address)

Hey!
I just realized that you are in the UK? Your ad
reads that the bike is in New York. Assuming this is
the case, I am very close by in New Jersey.

Please let me know what arrangements will work, and
with whom I can speak locally ( again assuming you
are in the UK.)

Looking forward to hearing from you.
( OK, UK email address??.....something stinks a little)

(Seller)
Hello again ,

No the bike it's in Minnesota Minneapolis. ( Right here I knew this guy was [@#$%&*!] because he posted the ad that day )
It's not in New York anymore and I'm not from UK
I live in Minnesota too.

Regards ,

(From Me: Deciding to have some fun w/ this [@#$%&*!] )

Although you'd probably have better luck
selling locally for that price, if you have trouble,
please keep me in mind. I would be willing to ship
it if it's as clean as the condition it's listed in. I have a
buddy in MN who could look at it for me. (as if)

If interested in shipping, let me know.

~thanks.

(tick...tock...tick...tock...OK he emailed me back in like 45 seconds)

(From Seller)
Hello again ,

I see that you are verry interested in buying this
car so I have a deal for you because i feel you're a
honest man.
I'll ship the car to and if you like it you will send
me the money,but first you must send me 500 USD for
the shipping.
Please let me know.

Regards ,

( Ok, now it's a car?? I think this moron is already getting his suckers confused)

(From Me)
Hello ,

Interesting offer. Do you have larger pictures I can
look at? Also, my friend in Minniapolis can come
have a look at it this evening, and start it up. He knows enough
about dirtbikes that I can trust his opinion. Who can
he contact to arrange this? His name is Jeremy McGrath.

Also, as I am in the adult video shipping business, I have accounts with
many major trucking companies. The best deal for
both of us would be to ship the bike on one of my
accounts. There are no up-front fees to pay, and I
can make all arrangements from here. With my
corporate discounts, we can save about 70%

Once the bike's condition is confirmed, and is
confirmed loaded on to the truck, I can send full
payment. This is how I've done this in the past.
Very safe, and easy. Because if you don't receive
funds immediately, you can turn the truck around
with a phone call.

Payment terms are usually via Paypal.com, or
registered check. Let me know how you'd like to
proceeed. And please let me know who I can contact
to inspect the bike. Man! I'm getting really excited!

~best.

(From Jackass)
Hello again,

It's sounds good.
But you must send me at least $500 from the total
amount and then come and take it.
This are my rules and since I sell this bike to you
for 1400 USD it's not such a high price to pay.
What do you think. { This are my Rules???)

Regards ,

(From Me:)
That sounds fair enough to me.

This are my only questions:

1. How can I arrange to view the bike? I would like
to at least have my friends look at it.

2. How would you like to receive payment of 500.00?

3. Where will my trucking company pick up the bike?

4. Why are you selling? ( just checking his memory here )

5. At what phone number can you be contacted. I have
left several voice messages at the number on
cycletrader, but have not heard from anyone.

~thanks.

(Jackass)
Hello,
You can't call me because my phone it's not working.
I haven't paid it ( this is the reason that I ask you
for the $500 deposit ).
After the payment confirmation I will contact you with
my home address and your friend can come and look at
it and then tell you where I'm located and your
trucking company can come and take the bike,but you
must give me your word that after you'll receive the
bike you'll send me the rest of the money.
I can be paid thru Western Union.
I sell it because I'mm a little short in the pocket if
I can express myself this way,I have bills to pay ,
it's hard for me to sell it but that's life.

Regards ,

( Uh...Jackass> Didn't you forget something important?)

( 5 minutes later:)

Hello again,
Oh I forgot, this is what you have to do:
You will have to go to a local office of western union
and send the funds to me.Here are my details:
Name : Scott Olson
email: [email protected]
City : Minneapolis
State : Minnesota
Zip Code:55414
Country : USA
After that you will get a receipt which will contain a MTCN
(Money Transfer Control Number) . You will have to e-mail
me the MTCN and the senders infos.The total amount will be $500.
Regards

(At this point, I sent the following email to Cycletrader's Internet Fraud Department.)

Re: Report of Suspicious Activity.
TWIMC,
Hello,

This is the first time I have used this reporting service, but I think you should have a look at the following ad http://adcache.cycletrader.com/5/0/8/70832408.htm

For starters, this is simply too good to be true. But I contacted the seller anyway.

What I have learned is that the bike is " supposedly" in Minneapolis, MN....not NY as stated. The seller has not returned any phone calls, has no name on his voicemail greeting ( cell phone) and only replies via email. ( from a UK based email address)

He repeatedly asks for 500USD for shipping ( shipping, of course, is going to be required by anyone from NY who was suckered into replying to the ad, like me. ) And more than once he has referred to shipping my "car" Which leads me to believe he is getting some of his suckers confused with one another. I have the emails if you can use a hearty laugh.

Now, who in America refers to money as USD? Nobody. And who would still have a like new 2003 RM250 after three days at 1400.00? Nobody. Not even in New York in the dead of winter. And who would turn down a cash transaction, preferring some risky, and expensive wiring process? Nobody. Except some jaggoff in the UK peddaling fraudulent dirtbikes.

This buyer has refused to use Paypal, certified check, or an in person meeting to exchange cash, preferring only that I wire money, to some account, and then stand in my driveway waiting for a truck to show up. ( yes, I have been stringing him along a little just for fun )

So there you have it. I have snitched on a frauder. I'm going back to work now.

Regards,

(This email was quickly met with the following response from Cycletrader: )

Thank you for contacting TraderOnline.com.

The item that you are questioning has been removed from the internet pending
further investigation. If you have questions, comments or concerns, please
contact TraderOnline.com

Thank you,
Cycle Trader Customer Support
888-747-1192
[email protected]

( Hint...this took all of three seconds for them to remove Jackass's ad. If you want to screw with your buddy when he's trying to sell his car, this would do it. =) )
(Now I cant wait to see how Jackass takes the news that his fraudulent ad has been removed after only like 2 hours online!)

(From Me:)
Scott, Great. Thanks for the info. I actually have
a Western Union shipping station in my office,
so that will make things very convenient. I would still
like to have my friend look at the bike first if possible.

Since I have not seen it, and we haven't even spoken
on the phone, I think it's best that someone view it.
At the least, can you email me a picture of it running?
I can tell by the color of the smoke coming out if it is
running rich or lean. ( Either way, I can tune it. I'm a pretty
good mechanic, or Jeremy McGrath can counsel me over the phone)

One more thing....I just went to look at the pictures online again,
and noticed that the bike is not listed anymore?
( I could hardly type I was laughing so hard!

Hopefully this is because you are holding it for me. But please explain.
I'd feel more comfortable.

I know how you feel about having little money. I don't have much
right now either, which is why I'm only interested in bikes for
less than 1500.00.

Please send the pictures if you can. And let me know how
my buddy can come view it. I used to have a 2000 RM and can't
wait to get a new one!
~best

(From Jackass:)
The reason that the bike it's not listed anymore is that I keep
it for you because I see that you're a verry interested buyer
and a honest man. I promise you that after you'll send the money to me
I will pay my phone and call your buddy and then he can come and
take the bike.I like to send you pics but I can't because I erase them
and anyway I had pics with the bike but not running.The smoke it's white
,I think it's good no?Hope to hear from you soon.
Regards

( No need to call Mc Grath. This guy apparentlyknows his stuff! )
(From Me )

,Wow! I feel much better now. I was thinking that your price was so good,
that you would have sold it before we could get this deal together. So Thank you.
And thank you for mentioning my honesty. It's very important to me,
especially when doing deals like this that require a certain amount of trust
and faith. I'm sorry to hear about your money troubles. I think I mentioned
that I too have been having some problems of my own with the almighty dollar.
But I am addicted to dirtbiking anyway. And it seems like you are too.
Do you spend any time on dirtbiking websites? I have a few favorites.
Anyhow, I am having difficulty with Western Union. They processed my payment,
then told me that I have to have a Novus Rated Credit card? I only have one card
that says Cirrus on it. Perhaps this is because it's one of those secure
ones that I hear so much about.Are you familiar with this problem?
I wish I was smarter when it comes to these things. But if we were smarter
with money, we wouldn't have the problems we are both having right now eh? =)

Anyway, please let me know what I can do now. I feel bad that you took your
ad down, and I am causing delays.

(Jackass)
You must withdraw the funds from your credit card and send them from a local
Western Union office. Please email me when this ic complete. If you are shipping
from you office, this should be quick and easy.
Regards,

(From Me)
This is what I tried to do Scott! ( I think) but it is giving me grief. My buddy has
a good idea. Can he bring you cash and look at the bike at the same time?
That way we don't have the problems with Western Union? He's very smart.

I told him that you probably would not prefer a check, because Western Union
wouldn't give you a check, they would give you cash. And he can do this as he
has lots of cash. I don't ask him where he gets it, but I did notice that his house
smells funny. He has very shiny rims on his car too. Do you like shiny rims?

Anyway, what would you think of this arrangement. Sorry to keep confusing things,
but like I mentioned earlier, I usually only do Paypal, or registered check.

Thanks for your patience.

(From Jackass)
Sorry ,

But i have 4 posible buyers for my baby and i don't
have necessary time for all.
Hope you understand me.

(Bummer...I'm beginning to think I may not get this bike! hee-hee )
(From Me)
Scott,
I understand, but I really think that we can make this work. I wish your bike
was in NY as it was listed because it would already be in my garage!

Are your other buyers local? Because I have another solution.
Remember I am in adult video shipping and have several trucking resources.
I can have Overnite Trucking or New England Motor Freight show up at
your place with all the cash in full, and you can load up the bike.
The trucking company has agreed to put the entire balance on my account,
and bring cash to the pickup. I had to pull a lot of strings to make this arrangement.

This would be exactly like some of your other buyers. They show up with cash,
and you load the bike up.

I would come myself, but the drive is too far. My trucking company can
be there tomorrow because they will be coming from a local yard.

C'mon Scott... This arrangement is perfect. You'll have cash in full before
the bike leaves your home. All I ask is that you accept this offer. I will even
pay more for the trouble I've already caused. How about 1600. Surely someone
in your financial situation can see that this is a fantastic deal! The deal will be
done tomorrow morning. Or tonight, if you can be available for pickup. Cash in hand.

What do you say??

( From Jackass )

Please just use Western Union. I didn't want to say this but lately there are many
counterfeit dollars going around New Jersey and you may unexpectedly get some.
This is why I prefer Western Union. Please do this route.
Respectfully,

(From Me)

You know Scotty, I had heard the same thing, and you're right. Better safe than sorry.
I just went to my Western Union department and sent 300.00. This is all I have on my credit card.
I can get more cash later, but this is my credit limit. That was the problem the first time.
Please use MTCN # 8675309-8675309. (try getting that song out of your head now! )

And Please, let me know the minute you receive it.
I know you have to pay your phone bill, but please email me here. I'll stay at work until I hear from you.

( About 2 hours goes by and I get the following from jackass)

(Jackass)
Sir,
I am being patient with you but I have just waited in a long line and find that your number is incorrect.
This is not very professional for someone in business. Please confirm MTCN number or I will have to sell
to other buyers.

( From me )

Scotty NO! PLEASE DON'T SELL IT! I'll try harder next time. You see, I'm an African Amercian
and we just aren't good with numbers. Maybe the smart white people at Western Union are toying
with me. I hate this country sometimes. Don't you? There are days when I could just.....nevermind.
Let me try to make this right. I feel awful.

( 15 minutes later )

Scotty-Dog! I've done it. Please use this MTCN # 123-OCLK-4-OCLK-ROK instead. Turns out that I was right. I think the Western Union
lady is a white supremist. That's the second time this week I've run into one. Let me know how this number works, and when I can pick up my bike.
Then I will have two bikes and we can go riding sometime soon? I'll come visit Minneapolis?

(This Morning from Scotty)

Thank you for your wasting effort. That MTCN number is incorrect and the attendant explained your Rock and Roll joke to me. Bike is sold. You are a bad and dishonest person.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ May 21, 2004 06:02 PM: Message edited by: TastinGood ]</font>