jl1962
04-05-2011, 08:28 AM
Well, actually it wasn't all that close but a cautionary tale nonetheless!
As many of you know, my boat is advertised in the "For Sale" section. I'm aware that many viewers/potential purchasers aren't registered users so my email adddress is also listed in the ad. I have been receiving intermittent communications from someone w/ a gmail account representing themselves as a US Marine from Georgia serving overseas. Grammar and spelling are OK but sentence structure and vocabulary are a bit off. I know Uncle Sam can't be too choosy and out of deference to our brave men and women serving our country I am courteous and informative. Still communications are sporadic with no real continuity from one email to the next. And it's pretty clear this guy doesn't speak "Donzi" and won't provide contact info beyond his email.
After 5 or 6 back and forths comes the big flag - he is sending me a cashiers check for MORE than the deposit I had requested. He wants me to be able to "pay for the survey" he wants done. I told him, I'm happy to receive the funds but he needs to make his own arrangements and that we really need to talk. I figure that would be the end of it, but on Friday, I receive a very real looking cashiers check drawn from JP Morgan/Chase. And it arrived airmail from Malaysia.
Of course, I release no title or personal information to the guy (beyond my mailing address) and I take the check to my bank to verify. They are pretty sure it's a fake but suggest I take it down the street to the Chase branch. I do and they are very polite and very interested. They are able to tell me that both the routing number and account number are fictitious. And that the check (watermark and all) is a pretty good forgery. Chase overnighted my check to their fraud division in Texas and will keep me posted. Chase tells me the check might have kicked out had I tried to deposit it, but more likely, it initially would've been credited to my account w/ a hold placed on the check days or weeks after. In that time, I presumedly would've written a check to the "agency".
I am tempted to play along w/ this "Marine" and tell him I cashed the check and where should I sent the funds for the surveyor or "agency inspector" as he refers to it. But I think I will notify Google about the email account and end it here.
While I was skeptical all along, the bottom line is BE CAREFUL! These guys wouldn't do it if it didn't occasionally work. Oh and I might tell a few ex-Marines I know about this guy and they would likely make carpaccio out of him given the chance!
Anyone wanna buy a nice Donzi!
:bonk:
As many of you know, my boat is advertised in the "For Sale" section. I'm aware that many viewers/potential purchasers aren't registered users so my email adddress is also listed in the ad. I have been receiving intermittent communications from someone w/ a gmail account representing themselves as a US Marine from Georgia serving overseas. Grammar and spelling are OK but sentence structure and vocabulary are a bit off. I know Uncle Sam can't be too choosy and out of deference to our brave men and women serving our country I am courteous and informative. Still communications are sporadic with no real continuity from one email to the next. And it's pretty clear this guy doesn't speak "Donzi" and won't provide contact info beyond his email.
After 5 or 6 back and forths comes the big flag - he is sending me a cashiers check for MORE than the deposit I had requested. He wants me to be able to "pay for the survey" he wants done. I told him, I'm happy to receive the funds but he needs to make his own arrangements and that we really need to talk. I figure that would be the end of it, but on Friday, I receive a very real looking cashiers check drawn from JP Morgan/Chase. And it arrived airmail from Malaysia.
Of course, I release no title or personal information to the guy (beyond my mailing address) and I take the check to my bank to verify. They are pretty sure it's a fake but suggest I take it down the street to the Chase branch. I do and they are very polite and very interested. They are able to tell me that both the routing number and account number are fictitious. And that the check (watermark and all) is a pretty good forgery. Chase overnighted my check to their fraud division in Texas and will keep me posted. Chase tells me the check might have kicked out had I tried to deposit it, but more likely, it initially would've been credited to my account w/ a hold placed on the check days or weeks after. In that time, I presumedly would've written a check to the "agency".
I am tempted to play along w/ this "Marine" and tell him I cashed the check and where should I sent the funds for the surveyor or "agency inspector" as he refers to it. But I think I will notify Google about the email account and end it here.
While I was skeptical all along, the bottom line is BE CAREFUL! These guys wouldn't do it if it didn't occasionally work. Oh and I might tell a few ex-Marines I know about this guy and they would likely make carpaccio out of him given the chance!
Anyone wanna buy a nice Donzi!
:bonk: