Is this a scam?

trpt.com · Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:07 am Post subject: Is this a scam?

It sounds like it to me. I have never used the Marketplace before. I recently placed an ad (http://www.trumpetherald.com/marketplace.php?task=detail&id=1622)
and here is the initial response I got:

Their message: Hi,I saw the trumpet that you advertised for sale.
I will like to know if it's still available for sale.Also,what is your
final price and include the recent pictures if available.I will be
waiting to read from you.

Which then was followed back with this(!):

Hello,
Thank you very much for the mail.The reason I am sending you this email is to make final confirmation of this trumpet and also to let you know that payment will be by Certified Cashier's Check . In view of this I need you to email me any information that may be required to send the payment , as I do not want to send the payment to a wrong location lest they gets into the wrong hands.
Regarding the shipping, I have a company that takes care of the pick up of my consignments for me and ship to my destination anywhere in the U.S.A.,you do not worry about shipping, the company will send down a representative to arrange the Sales documentation and the pick up from your end for onward transfer to my destination.
I also want to alert you on the fact that you will be receiving an overdraft payment , which will cover the money for the pickup (pickup and shipping to the final destination) as well as the money to be paid to the company that will take care
of the pickup and the documentation with you. So please, as soon as you receive the payment , go and cash it immediately, deduct the money that accrues to the cost of this trumpet, and take a compensation of $100 for stress making you go through and you will send the rest balance to the Head Office of the company that handles the shipment via nearest Moneygram agent in your area. Deduct the Moneygram charges from the balance and send the remaining immediately .
The payment will be in your name to make it easier for you to receive payment, deduct your money and send the balance via Moneygram International as regards my earlier direction, please reconfirm your details one more time.
I will give you the details of the company that you will send the balance of the money to once I get a reply and agreement that you will send the money via Moneygram International immediately you cash the payment .
Once the money is received by the agent, the shipping agent will contact you immediately to arrange the documentation as well as the pick up immediately.
So in view of the above, here are some of the details I will need for final assurance of the payment
to you.
(1) Full Name
(2) Mailing address, no p.o.box please
(3) your direct telephone number
Once you get back to me with all the above, the payment will be issued out immediately and it will be sent to you . Hope to hear from you immediately.

Even though he's offering to send me a certified check I'm looking for opinions if anyone thinks this is a scam and if it is to give a heads up to others in the Marketplace.
_________________
--Jim
www.trpt.com

slide911 · Heavyweight Member Joined: 27 May 2007 Posts: 894

This is a major scam. Stay away. It has been written up here and other places.

Here is what happens. You get the check. You pay him his money. He leaves with your money and horn. 3 weeks later, bank tells you the check was counterfeit. You are out money and horn.

It is a VERY common scam on forums like this.
_________________
1921 Conn 80A Cornet
1934 King Silvertone Cornet
1951 Martin Committee Trumpet

trpt.com · Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:21 am Post subject:

OK, thanks for the confirmation and explanation. Sounded similar to other scams I've read about. The (counterfeit) cashier's check is just a different version I guess.
_________________
--Jim
www.trpt.com

Beto · Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2008 11:43 am Post subject:

I had that same email...... report it to the Herald..... I Did....
_________________
Jazz For Christ

ConnCoprion · Heavyweight Member Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 1620

I hate scammers.

_________________
Philippians 1:6

Ed Lee · Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:17 am Post subject:

Positively this is a scam! First, if you are selling prepare a Bill of Sale to a person who allows you to peruse his personal identification and record it on the Bill of Sale Second, your Bill of Sale should include brand name, nomenclature, and serial number. Third, I suggest you either receive cash or a U. S. Postal Service money order (no other type). The reason for this last is that it is mandated to bring the full weight and forensics of the U.S. Government down upon the purchaser if it is found to have been counterfeited.

Too, when I purchase ... especially used ... I require the Bill of Sale to include Warrantly as to hold me safe against all claims upon the instrument by any other.

And last, sell your instrument AS IS WHERE IS, thus if the buyer doesn't appear live in person to inspect, having had the opportunity to do so, no subsequent claim can be brought against you as in "Lemon Law" application for defect whether it be known or unknown to the seller.

Sadly, horns acquired unlawfully are often again sold "on the streets" for very little of their true value. This type of purchase results in a very "thin line" that will not expose the purchaser to the risk of being criminally charged as a "Receiver of Stolen Property" and possibly also as "Accessory after the fact" to the original crime of theft or "larceny after trust" (the counterfeit check, being a separate issue usually).

BE VERY CAUTIOUS WHEN BUYING OR SELLING, even here in this forum! --- Ed Lee

jadickson · Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 9:45 am Post subject:

Yes it is a scam. I have seen it all over Craigslist. Do not respond, delete the email.

DivineWind · Veteran Member Joined: 21 Jan 2009 Posts: 269 Location: MA

MikeyMike · Heavyweight Member Joined: 06 Nov 2007 Posts: 1680

pfeifela · Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 12:08 pm Post subject:

Obvious scam. Fake certified checks are made everyday. Run!!!
_________________
Larry Pfeifer

lmf · Posted: Sat Aug 29, 2009 2:05 pm Post subject:

Scam...........Scram!

lowel · New Member Joined: 23 Sep 2009 Posts: 1

That is a BIG scam....you better not touch that.

Dossier de surendettement

trpthrld · Heavyweight Member Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 4810

It's a scam. This is how I know:

As most of you know, I sell The Best Damn Trumpet Lead Pipe Swab Period! on TH. About 2 months ago I received an e-mail inquiry about a quantity order. The e-mails were poorly written with tons of grammar mistakes & misspellings.

We agreed on a price for the quantity. They did not want to use PayPal, so I told them I accept Postal Money Orders ONLY, and gave them my PO box address.

They asked me to prep the order to be sent to an address in Ames, Iowa.

A few days later I receive a notice from UPS that they had an envelope for me with my PO box number on it. UPS does not deliver parcels to PO boxes, so I had to go to the local UPS depot to get the envelope. Fortunately it's not far from where I live. The notice included the delivery confirmation number. I looked it up on the UPS site, and it had an originating address of Fort Myers, FL.

wait - it gets better.

I get the envelope and it has a U. of Montana at Bozeman return address!!

I Google mapped all the addresses and they were legit.

I open it and there's a check (not a postal MO) for TEN TIMES the agreed amount AND a letter with instructions to deposit it immediately, deduct the cost of the swabs & send the rest via Western Union to a person in Wash. DC. This letter was perfectly written - no mistakes at all. There was also no signature or letterhead.

Why did they use UPS instead of sending it to my PO box? It avoids Federal Postal Fraud laws.

The check was a company check for an aircraft title company. I Googled the company and it sure seemed legit.

I made copies of all the e-mails and went to the local FBI office in Newark. Talk about surreal. You never come in physical contact with the FBI - it's all done thru very thick plexiglass.

An agent comes to talk to me. I give him a verbal rundown of what happened. He asked how much the check was for. When I told him $2000 he said "It's not enough money, the FBI is not interested in this case."

I asked how much does it hafta be for the FBI to take interest. He said "Minimum $200,000." I asked if he wanted to look at the check or e-mails or the envelope, and he again said no. He did say it was an obvious fraud / money scheme, but that I needed to go to the local authorities like a DA or someone like that.

As i walked out of the FBI building, all I could think was "Gee, no wonder two towers fell a couple of years ago."

I took the check to my bank and asked them to see if it was valid. They said they didn't do that on checks for less than $5000.

I then called the bank the check was written on, which was in Oklahoma City. Gave them the check information. They asked a few questions, then told me the check was a fraud. Apparently this bank had been hacked into and even tho the check looked legit, there were a few things that it was missing.

They explained that banks in the Midwest get targeted because checks for less than $5000 are not verified before depositing. The unsuspecting person, usually someone who lives in a coastal state, deposits the check and by the time it gets physically sent to the Midwest bank (deposited checks have yet to go digital) and they then return the bounced check it's usually been 5 - 7 days. If the person who deposited the check has done anything with the money, they are then libel to cover the bounced check.

I sent everything to the bank's Fraud Investigation Dept.

But the thing that kills me the most was the FBI's total unwillingness to even look at what I had.
_________________
Tim Wendt

www.trumpetherald.com/marketplace.php?task=detail&id=146827&s=The-Best-Trumpet-Lead-Pipe-Swab-EVER--

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPWAJqghk24&feature=youtu.be

trumpetherald · Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 6:53 am Post subject:

This fraud scheme is routine.

DON'T FALL FOR IT!

In some cases the fraudulent check won't bounce for two weeks or more. The best thing you can do is what 'trpthrld' did - call the originating bank for verification. My understanding is that usually the originating bank will do this for you.

Be careful out there!

td

cb3 · Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 7:43 am Post subject:

ConnCoprion · Heavyweight Member Joined: 29 Jan 2007 Posts: 1620

Wow this is an old thread...but a very good one.

Forgive me, but I'm going to rant.

I KNOW that murder, rape, extortion, on and on etc, is wrong. It's wrong PERIOD.

BUT I absolutely HATE, HATE, HATE scammers/thiefs.

When honest people like you and I work hard for our money, and then someone comes along and tries to get something for free through lying......oh man that sends me over the edge. We've all heard the horror stories of guys getting their horns stolen. That frosts my cupcakes! When you take something that isn't yours, something that someone else worked hard and long for, saved and scrimped for......I have no mercy for people like that.

Ok, I'm done.

Moral of the story: I hate thieves.

_________________
Philippians 1:6

Ed Lee · Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 8:01 am Post subject:

trpthrld · Heavyweight Member Joined: 09 Mar 2007 Posts: 4810

veery715 · Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 6:40 pm Post subject:

The evildoers use computer programs to broadcast ad replies to all who place them on forums, craigslist, and anywhere they can communicate directly with the advertiser. Thousands of these are sent with no cost or labor to speak of and all it takes is one sucker to make it worth the while of the crooks.

That's why there tends to be generic wording in the initial contact because the baddies don't actually know what is being sold until they get a bite and then a human being (I am being generous here) picks up the lead, checks the ad, and the language of the follow-up contact gets much more specific and usually has fewer errors.

Ads I place on craigslist are responded to a dozen times by scammers for every real inquiry. These often arrive within hours of posting a listing. Computers never sleep!

Any questionable reply is deleted immediately. If a serious prospect is deleted, they will probably try again. On occasion I responded with: Which item were you interested in?, just to see if I'd get a reply. Once I did and it looked real, but fizzled out.

Once I was actually called on the phone by someone who nearly suckered me out of a nice trumpet. I was lucky in that case not to lose it. Even seemingly genuine inquiries must be looked at with a hairy eyeball!

As trumpetherald said: Be careful out there!

v

JDay · Veteran Member Joined: 21 Jul 2005 Posts: 190

Another option... (Which I personally like)

Go along with it. Have them mail the check. It costs the scammer the cost of the fake check plus the postage. Then, inform the sender that the check has not arrived, and you are checking to see if they sent it. Of course, you did, but either kept it for the police, or just shredded and tossed it.

Next ask that they stop payment or cancel the check / MO and have another issued. More ink and special paper. Perhaps ask that the send it out certified mail or some other means. After a while they can have quite a little bit of money wrapped up in the scam. You, still nothing.

Eventually they will figure out they are now the sucker and throw in the towel. Could be fun...

Cheers!