Are you the next victim for an internet scam?
Submitted by squealearlysque... on April 12, 2008 - 11:15am
Think about it - it sounds like something that only happens to poor saps you don't even know, it sounds lke something you'd hear about on 20/20 or Dateline. Well, the world has indeed changed; as people become more and more dependent on the internet for communicating, banking, networking, "dating", selling things, buying things, etc., with each opportunity is a way for criminals to exploit a good thing.
Alright, I have an account with Facebook, and I have my IKEA loft for sale on the Facebook Marketplace. Well, the second hit I got on it was from a guy named Samson John (generic as hell huh, he couldn't come up with something better than that. Fool, please, go back to Con Artist School), who sent me a money order; I had some red flags go up in my head because he sent me an International money order from a Minnesota bank, and he wanted me to send the loft to his address in Indiana.
The money order was written for $480 - I would keep the asking price for the loft, and the rest of it would go to shipping, and the remaining $$40 or so would go to someone else in Indiana, according to his plans, I don't understand that part, but you'll get it later.
Okay, so I received the money order, and emailed the guy about my concerns, because I told him this all seemed very fishy to me (nothing on the Fedex package in which I received the money order, or the receipt was correct, the sender's adress didn't even exist). Anyway, this Samson John guy emails me back saying that it's all so easy, all I have to do is take the money order to the bank, get it cleared, and the rest is history.
Well, I called the cops.This is how this scam goes down. The reason this guy sent me an International money order is because it takes 30 days to clear. Bank policy is that, they cash it the day you take it, and the clearig process takes place afterwards. So, if I had cashed the order, I would've sent this guy my loft, paid for the shipping, and sent the rest back to the othe address in Indiana.
Well, thirty days later, I'd get debited that $480! Because it was a fradulent check. So, basically, I'd give this loft to the guy for free, pay for it, and send the rest of the money to him, and I'm out a loft and half a grand! And, because there's so much fradulent information, there's almost no way to figure out where this guy actually is. And, he doesn't even want the loft, what usually happens is that these scam artists buy random stuff over the internet with fraudulent money orders, and then turn around, re-sell those items, and make a quick buck.
We're the perfect victims: college students. I'm the classic case. I'm graduating, I don't need this item, I'm trying to get rid of it, and I could definately use the extra cash. So, if a college student gets a money order for $500 bucks, and gets it cashed immediately, it sounds like wonderful news to us, doesn't it? We're just as happy as a clam to get scammed.
So, here's my advice. Never, ever, accept any kind of check for something you are selling over the internet. Cash only.
Here's another scam I was just made aware of today. My sister's roommate got scammed $200 through a real slick trick. She received this email allegedly from Bank of America, where she holds an account and has a debit card, and the email said something along the lines of, 'Hey, here's a disprepancy in your banking profile, give us your account information and we'll run it through and fix the problem'. So,it sounds easy. There was a link provided in the email, she goes to it, and the website looked EXACTLY like the Bank of America site. Damn near impossible to tell the difference. She logs in, gives them her information, and a few days later, they take $200 out of her account.
So, here's some more advice I was given, which I'd like to pass along. Never, ever give someone any of your banking information when they ask for it. The only time it's safe is when you initiate the transaction. as through Amazon.com when you want to purchase something.
Alright, I have an account with Facebook, and I have my IKEA loft for sale on the Facebook Marketplace. Well, the second hit I got on it was from a guy named Samson John (generic as hell huh, he couldn't come up with something better than that. Fool, please, go back to Con Artist School), who sent me a money order; I had some red flags go up in my head because he sent me an International money order from a Minnesota bank, and he wanted me to send the loft to his address in Indiana.
The money order was written for $480 - I would keep the asking price for the loft, and the rest of it would go to shipping, and the remaining $$40 or so would go to someone else in Indiana, according to his plans, I don't understand that part, but you'll get it later.
Okay, so I received the money order, and emailed the guy about my concerns, because I told him this all seemed very fishy to me (nothing on the Fedex package in which I received the money order, or the receipt was correct, the sender's adress didn't even exist). Anyway, this Samson John guy emails me back saying that it's all so easy, all I have to do is take the money order to the bank, get it cleared, and the rest is history.
Well, I called the cops.This is how this scam goes down. The reason this guy sent me an International money order is because it takes 30 days to clear. Bank policy is that, they cash it the day you take it, and the clearig process takes place afterwards. So, if I had cashed the order, I would've sent this guy my loft, paid for the shipping, and sent the rest back to the othe address in Indiana.
Well, thirty days later, I'd get debited that $480! Because it was a fradulent check. So, basically, I'd give this loft to the guy for free, pay for it, and send the rest of the money to him, and I'm out a loft and half a grand! And, because there's so much fradulent information, there's almost no way to figure out where this guy actually is. And, he doesn't even want the loft, what usually happens is that these scam artists buy random stuff over the internet with fraudulent money orders, and then turn around, re-sell those items, and make a quick buck.
We're the perfect victims: college students. I'm the classic case. I'm graduating, I don't need this item, I'm trying to get rid of it, and I could definately use the extra cash. So, if a college student gets a money order for $500 bucks, and gets it cashed immediately, it sounds like wonderful news to us, doesn't it? We're just as happy as a clam to get scammed.
So, here's my advice. Never, ever, accept any kind of check for something you are selling over the internet. Cash only.
Here's another scam I was just made aware of today. My sister's roommate got scammed $200 through a real slick trick. She received this email allegedly from Bank of America, where she holds an account and has a debit card, and the email said something along the lines of, 'Hey, here's a disprepancy in your banking profile, give us your account information and we'll run it through and fix the problem'. So,it sounds easy. There was a link provided in the email, she goes to it, and the website looked EXACTLY like the Bank of America site. Damn near impossible to tell the difference. She logs in, gives them her information, and a few days later, they take $200 out of her account.
So, here's some more advice I was given, which I'd like to pass along. Never, ever give someone any of your banking information when they ask for it. The only time it's safe is when you initiate the transaction. as through Amazon.com when you want to purchase something.
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An ethical point
And, here's my ethical problem with the bank's side of this. Instead of waiting those thirty days to give you the cash, AFTER the money order is cleared, they'd rather rush everything, and take their chances, because you'll be the one to end up paying.
The thing is, with most companies, to change any policy requires losing money in some way. Those banking executives probably sit around and say, 'Look, if we change this policy to protect our customers, to help out a few customer every year from getting nabbed, it'll cost us half a million dollars. Let's just let the poor suckers lose some money.' So, the bank doesn't change it's policy to protec its customers, and for them, a few scams a year is no big thing; according to them, it doesn't happen 'often enough' to warrant a change in policy.
Sorry to hear that, man
Bummer. It's a classic story.
Maybe someone will benefit from your cautionary tale.
I'm kinda surprised that they don't teach this kind of net wariness to penn state students. They should. Auction scams, check scams, phishing, all that stuff - that's really important these days.