Almost SCAMMED!

[jl1962]

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!

[OFFSHORE GINGER]

Hey guy , very interesting read, and had the very same thing happen to a friend .

[Carl C]

This crap happens all the time. I'm glad you were smart enough to catch it.

[Fishermanjm]

I have been gettin this same e-mail for a long time now,,, always the same thing about how i have been selected in this lottery in Nigeria, and how i need to send 500.00 for the shipping and billing info cell number etc... i have also gotten the e-mail from the FBI (or so they claim to be) stating how the money has been cleared through customs and is totally ligitimate (spelling),,, I get this e-mail probably once a week

[CHACHI]

Jay, nice catch.

Ken

[Conquistador_del_mar]

I can remember the day when a cashier's check was almost the same as cash. It is a good thing you were on top of your game. It is sad that so many have been taken by these newer style crooks using quite a few scenarios. Just last year, the same thing happened with a customer of mine. As soon as she told me that her nephew had sold his Donzi 28' for more than his asking price on Craigslist, I warned her that it sounded like a scam. A couple days later, I heard her nephew tried to cash the bogus check with the same results. He was to have sent money to a bogus boat mover with the excess money which is how they make their money.
Last year a friend told me about a law firm that was contacted about a huge law suit where the crooks wanted them to represent their well detailed case they had sent in a briefing. Since it looked like a slam dunk case, the law firm agreed to an amount with the "client". A few days after the law firm received the cashier's check, the crooks contacted them claiming it was settled out of court so they would not need their services after all and to keep 10% for their time. They didn't suspect any foul play so they lost over $750,000 by sending them the refund - . My friend's story made me think about how sophisticated some of these crooks can get. Bill

[Kirbyvv]

Can't pull a quick one over on Jay. Good work.

[inlander]

Recently saw an add on Craigslist for a 22 Classic with 80 hours, selling for $16,400. Saw same boat on Ebay with a reserve of about $25,000. Craigslist add looked scammy, but Ebay looked legit. Emailed the Craigslist add and this was the result:

Hello
Could you provide me a phone number so we can discuss this boat?
Thanks

Hi,
This boat is in perfect working condition, the interior and exterior look great,no leaks,no dents,no rust.
It hasn't been in any accidents, the title is clean and clear. The shipping is included in the boat price. I am letting it go because I've moved to Greece and importing it here it's too much. It is currently in Hazelton.BC in custody of the shipping company, ready to be delivered to it's new owner. I want to use eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection to close the deal because it is the safest way for both parties under these conditions. Let me know what you think!


Hello
I am definitely interested in this boat. I saw it on Ebay, but saw your ad on Craigslist first. I will purchase the boat, but first I must have your bank account number, so that I can wire the necessary funds. Please provide your full address, phone number, address of shipping company, as well as a copy of the title, at which time funds will be wired immediately. You must understand my position. With all the low lifers out there that prey on honest hard working people, trying to scam their hard earned dollars out of their pockets, one cannot be too careful.
Thank you.

Wonder why I haven't received a response?

[jl1962]

A few days after the law firm received the cashier's check, the crooks contacted them claiming it was settled out of court so they would not need their services after all and to keep 10% for their time. They didn't suspect any foul play so they lost over $750,000 by sending them the refund - . My friend's story made me think about how sophisticated some of these crooks can get. Bill

Wow - That's a scary one!


Kirby- Fortunately this wasn't a "quick one", more like a medium, slow one!
Be well - Hi to Martha.

[Just Say N20]

This boat is in perfect working condition, the interior and exterior look great,no leaks,no dents,no rust.

It hasn't been in any accidents, the title is clean and clear. The shipping is included in the boat price. I am letting it go because I've moved to Greece and importing it here it's too much. It is currently in Hazelton.BC in custody of the shipping company, ready to be delivered to it's new owner. I want to use eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection to close the deal because it is the safest way for both parties under these conditions. Let me know what you think!

This is a classic one. I have seen this exact thing with boats, motorcycles and cars. One of the dead give-aways is the inclusion of wanting to use the eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection, because there is no such program, especially for items not sold through eBay.

Same scam, different day.