Is this a sign of SCAM

haimoc

I posted my center speaker on Audiogon, and a buyer (no feedback) says he is buying it and in process of sending the payment to me? Here is the latest email that he sent... This email raised a red flag to me... This is my first time seeing something like this.... Wondering if any has any similar experience...
The price for speaker is $550, and he sends $4800.... See below email from him..

The buyer's Audiogon member id is Nick_bruno1976. This account was suspended by Audiogon.
Thanks.


=========================================================
Subject: LITTLE PROBLEM!!!


Hi ,

How are you doing.Hope everything is going fine on your side. As a matter fact the deal is on and according to my client,he has already sent the payment out to you(it will arrive by mail).So the payment should arrive in a short while from now.And once you get it, i guess you know how to handle everything.And please dont bother about any other buyer.

Beside there was a little problem which i guess we can handle with understanding.When i contacted my client to know maybe the cheque as already been sent ,i got to know that there was a misinterpretation while sending the cheque.

According to the instruction i gave him,he was suppose to have send you a cheque for your money but in the process he made a mistake by sending along the shipper fund with your money making the total to be $4800 USD...

Moreso, i know very well i told him to send just your payment,but i guess he didnt get it straigth. But that should not disturb our own transaction.The deal is on and we will get through it.what will happen is that ,once you get the cheque and cash it, deduct your own money for the item and $100 for your runing around,After that You will now easily forward the extra money directly to my shipper immediately. it can be sent via western union or moneygram..

Originally, i had in mind to collect the money from him and use the money to pay the shipper and to also fix some other things personally.But since,its now coming to you ,i guess i can be assured in you that you can handle it with trust and have it sent to the shipper.hope all is well.Pls mail me back immediately,to let me know that i can trust you to handle everything well.I will be expecting your mail asap.

Best Regards and Stay Blessed

Nick
=========================================================

strider

Yep. Don't be surprised if you get something with a return address in Nigeria.

haimoc

Could you please tell me how to handle this when I receive this check? I assume it is not a valid check. Should I bother to validate the check and how? Thanks.

reeltrouble1

I would report the so called buyer to Audiogon, I would sell my speaker to a legitimate buyer. I would let the supposed buyer know through A-Gon you have no deal with him.

You can just mark the enevelope return to sender or call your local police and see if they want to pursue the hoax. You can also contact your State Attny General office office and your local Postal Inspector for mail fraud.

Well, there are some places to start at least. Me, I would tell the guy he apparently misunderstood that the speaker cost is 10,000 cash, his client can chew on that, but then, I am not nice. Tell him you need his credit card number , driver liscense number, date of birth, last four of his social, yada yada..................ok, I am kidding but I hate crooks.

RT1

heiney9

haimoc wrote: »

Could you please tell me how to handle this when I receive this check? I assume it is not a valid check. Should I bother to validate the check and how? Thanks.

Send the check back and tell him you are no longer interested in selling to his client. Or better yet shred the check and forget about it. It's a huge scam and the sooner you nip in the bud the sooner you can move on to a real seller.

If you never cash it, validate it, ask about it, he has no proof you ever recieved it. Plus he isn't going to want make a big deal because he is trying to scam you. He will probably try to keep contacting you but IGNORE anything from this point forward.

I believe Audigon has a forum/comment area I'd get right on there and let eveyone else know as well that this scammer is making the rounds.

That's what I'd do anyways

H9

haimoc

Thanks RT and H9 for your advices that help me to handle this better. I think I should wait for a couple more days for the check arrived before having the speaker available again to good buyers.. During this time, I will investigate this guy a bit more and report to Audiogon if this guy in fact is a scammer.

I try to get his address and phone numbers, but he seems to avoid answer my questions. I hope nobody would have to deal with scammers out there.

Thanks, again.

Vu

PolkThug

This is a classic scam. The check is no good, do not deposit it.

haimoc

Thanks PolkThug for your information. I sent him a couple emails this morning to verify if this check is a money order... It looks like he ignore to answer my questions...

haimoc

The buyer's Audiogon member id is Nick_bruno1976. Be careful when you have to deal with this guy.

zombie boy 2000

Something tells me his name isn't "Nick"...
Avoid this one like the plague Vu and by all means, don't put a hault to your sale on account of this bozo. You might miss out.

strider

Sorry for my brief response earlier, trying to sneak in a quick look at the forum before I got my work day started. This kinda scam, where the "buyer" or their representative will send a money order/check for greater then the agreed purchase price has been rampant in online selling venues as of late. Usually they'll tell you to keep some extra money for your troubles, all the while sounding professional and courteous. Nigeria has been the biggest locale for the scammers, there was some investigative reporting show on a cable news channel recently about it. They went as far as to sell an X-box to someone in Nigeria, packed a GPS sensor in the package, shipped it, then followed the package in Nigeria tracking it from airport to DHL and so forth. Never made it to the "buyer" and, believe it or not, the money order they got was bogus.

I think RT1 and H9 were right on with their suggestions on what to do on Audiogon; definitely don't do anything with whatever form of payment they send. IIRC, PolkThug had a link/post to a damn funny site that did really well scamming the scammers and making them look quite the fools.

haimoc

zombie boy 2000 wrote: »

Something tells me his name isn't "Nick"...
Avoid this one like the plague Vu and by all means, don't put a hault to your sale on account of this bozo. You might miss out.

You are correct, Jason. I decide to put the speaker back to available for good buyers after sending an email to him saying that I won't sell the speaker to him, anymore. If he sends a good check, he can cancel it or I ignore it.

Thanks, all, for help with my questions... At least, I know and learn this type of scam from Audiogon.

zombie boy 2000

Good deal....
you shouldn't have a problem selling it. I'm rather surprised it didn't move on our Forum. Either way, good luck!

joeparaski

The minute the word "client" and Western Union" appear...it's attempted fraud. Just ignore it.

Joe

AndyGwis

Anytime there is terrible grammar, awful punctuation, etc. in an email that is about 10 times longer than it should be, it's a scam.


However, I did recently sell some stuff on CL that looked like a scam all the way. I tell an interested buyer early on that I only deal in cash locally. He says he's a Canadian doctor working in Georgia but would have a local collegue set up a local meeting. I get a call from a girl the next day asking for me to ship it. I say hell no. Buyer emails saying sorry for confusion and would like another gentleman to call me to set up an in person.

Long story not so short. . . I get a call from a second party collegue of the buyer, who gets me in touch with his uncle that lives in Garland (near dallas) and asks me to drop off the gear there. I go, armed with nothing but pepper-spray, and the "uncle" briefly views the good, offers me a soda, then pays me in cash.

So, sometimes things do work out, but I would never ship goods to a stranger without cash in hand, or money in the bank, first.

haimoc

Last update... The scammer sent me a M&T Bank Cashier check via overnight UPS mail, and I took the check to a local M&T for validation. It turned out to be a faked M&T Cashier check. I sent the bank all information related to this scam for investigation. Hopefully, they can do something to the scammer.

To all,
Be careful when you receive cashier checks, they can be faked. Even you can cash them at tellers, but eventually they take the money back when they find out the checks are faked.

This is a really bad day.

wingnut4772

That is a total scam! Ignore all future contacts from that **** and send an email to Audiogon.


Awww just missed your update.:p

zombie boy 2000

Well... it would appear you did all the right things. Hopefully something good will come out of your actions and a bit of Karma will head in your direction.

Certainly don't let this numbskull get ya down.

haimoc

Thanks, Jason...
Complete story for members to be aware of...
==========================================================
Nick,

M&T validated the check, and it was found to be a fake check. They are in process of investigation, now. If you want more information, please give M&T staffs a call at.

Enrique Manan
301-972-4060




Nick Bruno <nick_bruno1976@yahoo.com> wrote:
Well i just got to know that now.....i guess i will need to contact Audiogon when am off at work......pls get back to me asap

Haimoc -?- <haimoc4ever@yahoo.com> wrote: Why is your member account suspened by Audiogon?

Nick Bruno <nick_bruno1976@yahoo.com> wrote: Great to read from u Trinch.....i will be waiting to read from u as soon as u contact the M&T bank

Haimoc -?- <haimoc4ever@yahoo.com> wrote: Nick,

I am going to validate this check with M&T Bank in an hour. If the check is valid and cleared, I will let you know. What is your shipping company manager and contact phone number? What is your shipping address and phone number?

Please answer my questions above.

Thanks.

Vu

Nick Bruno <nick_bruno1976@yahoo.com> wrote:
What's going on overthere?.....why haven't i heard from u after getting the payment delivered at ur home....pls take it straight to ur bank and get it cash and get ur money& running fee deducted and get the reminder sent to my shipping company manager via Money Gramm.....Waiting to read from u asap..


Thanks
Nick

Haimoc -?- <haimoc4ever@yahoo.com> wrote:
Hi Nick,

This is Vu again from home. Let me clarify what you said a little bit and please correct me if I am wrong.

1. You sent me a check of $4800 USD. You want me to take $550 + $100 = $650.
Is it correct? Is it a personal check or a money/certified check? I stay home, today,
to wait for your check, today. Is it arriving, today?

2. If you sent me a check and based on (1), you want $4150 back with western union or
moneygram once I receive the check to the shipper?

Please clarify. I am an honest person. You don't have to worry about I am taking all your money. But here is what I am going to do... When I receive your check, I will let you know.
I will put the check in my bank account and make sure it is clear before any western union/moneygram for the $4150 balance and any shipment of the speaker?

Please send me your shipping address and phone number for easier contact ASAP?

Thanks.

Vu

"Trinh, Vu" <vu.trinh@lmco.com> wrote:

---

From: Nick Bruno [mailto:nick_bruno1976@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 6:06 PM
To: Trinh, Vu
Subject: LITTLE PROBLEM!!!


Hi ,

How are you doing.Hope everything is going fine on your side. As a matter fact the deal is on and according to my client,he has already sent the payment out to you(it will arrive by mail).So the payment should arrive in a short while from now.And once you get it, i guess you know how to handle everything.And please dont bother about any other buyer.

Beside there was a little problem which i guess we can handle with understanding.When i contacted my client to know maybe the cheque as already been sent ,i got to know that there was a misinterpretation while sending the cheque.

According to the instruction i gave him,he was suppose to have send you a cheque for your money but in the process he made a mistake by sending along the shipper fund with your money making the total to be $4800 USD...

Moreso, i know very well i told him to send just your payment,but i guess he didnt get it straigth. But that should not disturb our own transaction.The deal is on and we will get through it.what will happen is that ,once you get the cheque and cash it, deduct your own money for the item and $100 for your runing around,After that You will now easily forward the extra money directly to my shipper immediately. it can be sent via western union or moneygram..

Originally, i had in mind to collect the money from him and use the money to pay the shipper and to also fix some other things personally.But since,its now coming to you ,i guess i can be assured in you that you can handle it with trust and have it sent to the shipper.hope all is well.Pls mail me back immediately,to let me know that i can trust you to handle everything well.I will be expecting your mail asap.

Best Regards and Stay Blessed

Nick

"Trinh, Vu" <vu.trinh@lmco.com> wrote:
Hi Nick,

I am fine, thanks. How about you? When I get it, I will notify at once. Thanks for tracking number, it will help.

Thanks.

Vu

---

From: Nick Bruno [mailto:nick_bruno1976@yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2007 7:45 AM
To: Trinh, Vu
Subject: GOOD MORNING


How are u doing today Trinh?....hope all is well with u like i do here?...just wanna update u that u will be getting the payment tomorrow morning....pls get back to me as soon as u got the payment at hand....beside am gonna get back to u will the payment tracking number gotten from UPS courier service....Waiting to read from u asap.


Thanks
Nick

"Trinh, Vu" <vu.trinh@lmco.com> wrote: Thanks, Nick, for your email and deal.

The speaker is in like new condition, and you will love it. If you have any more question, please give me a call at XXXXXXX.
I will put the item in SALE PENDING for you, shortly, and hold the item for you until I receive the payment. Trust my words for it.
You had the deal. Thanks.

Vu Trinh

---

From: Nick Bruno [mailto:nick_bruno1976@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, May 22, 2007 8:45 AM
To: Trinh, Vu
Subject: Re:garding the payment of ur Usher audio x-616 Center B&W, totem, dynaudio, spendor



Hello ,

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 ,my shipper 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.

Nick Bruno.
256-414-4159

PolkThug

strider wrote: »

PolkThug had a link/post to a damn funny site that did really well scamming the scammers and making them look quite the fools.

http://419.bittenus.com/

jdhdiggs

419eater.com (or something close to that is pretty good too.