scam alert

FBI or SEC or Police won't do anything. Your amount is way too low for them to even notice.
I once got scammed (my own stupidity) by some Nigerian who was living in the US and scamming people worldwide in all kinds of scams. He got $7k from me. Again my own stupidity and moment of weakness. The guy was very careful not to leave any web links to himself and used a whole lot of aliases. Unfortunately for him I was a security analyst at one time and I tracked him not just by using technology but also by social engineering. He did give me an account to wire the money into and even though the bank was not willing to give me any info about him, I did know the account number and bank name and that is all I needed to trace him out in Dallas, Texas and then his family members back in Nigeria and through them I was able to pressure him to send all my money back to me nicely before things got worse for him. He did and I left him alone. The whole ordeal took me about 3 weeks of work. I probably should have screwed up his whole web presence and given his info to so many dozens in the world he scammed that probably never got anything back but that is the job of law enforcement not me and they didn't do anything. On the web the small profiles he did have, were full of references to Jesus and church and all kinds of stuff. His family back in Nigeria were good people with uncles who were college professors in universities and had no idea what their son and nephew was doing in the US to make money. They were shocked when I told them.
 
It comments like yours Abid, that really start making me question whether or not I'm going to get my 100 Million dollars from the Nigerian Prince I sent money too....
 
Just send us your birthdate and SSAN and we'll track that Nigerian money down for you. Allow about ten days for the research.
 
Abid said:
FBI or SEC or Police won't do anything. Your amount is way too low for them to even notice.
I once got scammed (my own stupidity) by some Nigerian who was living in the US and scamming people worldwide in all kinds of scams. He got $7k from me. Again my own stupidity and moment of weakness. The guy was very careful not to leave any web links to himself and used a whole lot of aliases. Unfortunately for him I was a security analyst at one time and I tracked him not just by using technology but also by social engineering. He did give me an account to wire the money into and even though the bank was not willing to give me any info about him, I did know the account number and bank name and that is all I needed to trace him out in Dallas, Texas and then his family members back in Nigeria and through them I was able to pressure him to send all my money back to me nicely before things got worse for him. He did and I left him alone. The whole ordeal took me about 3 weeks of work. I probably should have screwed up his whole web presence and given his info to so many dozens in the world he scammed that probably never got anything back but that is the job of law enforcement not me and they didn't do anything. On the web the small profiles he did have, were full of references to Jesus and church and all kinds of stuff. His family back in Nigeria were good people with uncles who were college professors in universities and had no idea what their son and nephew was doing in the US to make money. They were shocked when I told them.
Click to expand...
The SEC have nothing to do with it in this case, the local police may or may not get involved depending on where the money order was mailed, and you are correct in that the FBI probably won't get involved because the amount is too low.

The postal inspector general's office may get involved. But, if nothing else, you should contact the agencies so they at least have a record of the event, because sometimes it takes several people being scammed by the same perp and the TOTAL amount of money scammed reaching a threshold before law enforcement will act.

The family in Nigeria were probably in on it and were just putting on an act when you contacted them. Sadly, it is a cultural thing that they have no qualms about scamming "rich" foreigners.
 
Jazzenjohn said:
It comments like yours Abid, that really start making me question whether or not I'm going to get my 100 Million dollars from the Nigerian Prince I sent money too....
Click to expand...

I think if I didn’t have a background in application security and IT and all the tricks one can learn from hackers I had zero chance of getting anything. I filed a police report here. Nothing from that. I went to the FBI in Dallas. The agent laughed at me on the phone. She told me I will likely never see it again. The bank was of zero help because it was a wire transfer.
I did call the FBI agent to let her know I got my money back. She was shocked and told me that was extremely rare. I told her yes thanks to people like you.
 
Please excuse my long story here, but it ties in with the word scam...

This scam reminds me of what I call a bankers scam directed towards several contractors that got screwed out of their hard earned labor....except myself. Here is the story...

I build curved stairways for a living and had a client contract with me to build another stairway for him in a group of three homes I also built stairways in. This was about 15 years ago and was a $30,000 stairway. I was just about finished with it and was owed $5000. The contractor had me order $2200 for some more railing he was going to have his guys install. He owed me now $7200. This contractor filed for 1.7 million bankruptcy against a home only selling for 1.2 million. I contacted my lawyer and she told me that the creditors come first, and since there won't be any money left...not to waste any more money pursuing this as I would not receive any. I was disappointed, but it was not the end of the world. I still made good money on this project without the $7200.....but....I didn't like how the contractor had three homes for sale and was just trying to get out of debt....and the bank was behind this tooth and nail.

A few weeks went by and I saw a notice of the bankruptcy hearing. I decided to drive 90 miles to the courthouse to try and educate myself. I went in and found that I would have to pay $142 for what the lady called a "Right to Appear". I thought, what the heck...and just paid her.

Soon I was in the back of the court room by myself, as the clients bank executive was standing before the judge pleading his clients case and basically the bank trying to get back as much as their bad loaned money from this contractor.

The judge all of a sudden looked over his half reading glasses...and said to me in the back of the court room..."And what are you here for?".

I stood up and said.."Your honor, I am a contractor owed money on this home and came here to see if I could put in a request for it." The judge said to come forward.

I went through the Perry Mason like gate and approached the bench right alongside that bank executive wearing a $1000 suit. I hadn't rehearsed what to say as I was only planning on listening. Sometimes stuff said from the heart is much more powerful than something rehearsed and read....such as a shining example is of our government leaders reading their teleprompters.

So, I just methodically said that this contractor trying to collect 1.7 million on a home he is asking 1.2 million for shows me that he is more than likely trailing along debt from two other homes this same bank is financing. I stated that I feel the individual contractors should get some of this lost money as it was mainly their hard sweat and labor involved.

I then made another unrehearsed not PC comment...."I think it sucks that the bank is standing here trying to leave none to us contractors. The bank executive looked like a turnip with a shirt on he was so mad by my statement.

The judge looked to his clerk and told her to put my name on the list.

I respectfully asked..."Your honor, could you explain what that means?. The judge politely told me that I would receive a percentage of what I was owed." I thanked him and he excused me from the court room.

A month or so went by and I got a letter in the mail saying the home had been sold.

I thought that would hasten whatever payment I was to receive.

But, that very afternoon, that same bank executive that I stood next to before the judge...called me on my phone. He said kind of with some tension..."We want to offer you $3600. ....I thought this over and realized that was obviously 50% of what I was owed....the next instant thought was that's $3600 more than my lawyer said I would get...my next instant thought was I can live with getting $0 anyway just fine.

So, after about 2 seconds of thought...I replied back to the banker..."Do you know what all or nothing means? I want all the $7200...or I want nothing."

He said we will see what happens.

I really was satisfied that I stood up to this banker, and probably was going to receive nothing.

About a month went by and I received a check in the mail. I swear my soul...the check was for $7200.

My next move was to go to my lawyer. And I told her the whole story. I then said to bill me for what she thinks her advice was worth that I sought out for, and I will pay it. She just smiled and said..."You owe me nothing".

There was a brick layer that was owed $42000 and he received nothing. My guess he followed his lawyers advice.
 
Stan, Do you think the banker knew you were going to get more than the $3600 he was offering at the time he offered it? Or do you think he was just hedging his bet so to speak?
 
John....I just think he was trying to offer something...and keep the rest for the bank. I realize my cocky attitude with him was pushing his buttons to keep it all....but he probably had to give me something as the judge personally said I would get a percentage. I could have just received a "percentage" like one percent and get $72.
 
Things are different if you actually have a body to take action against. These scammers rent a house or apartment and install simple phone transfer systems that send your calls out of country along with your money. It will take the power of the Feds to stop this from happening. Local law enforcement can take a report but, they lack the training or resources to actually solve these scammer cases and return funds. I’m sure in a few instances they could but not many.
 
j4flyer said:
Things are different if you actually have a body to take action against. These scammers rent a house or apartment and install simple phone transfer systems that send your calls out of country along with your money. It will take the power of the Feds to stop this from happening. Local law enforcement can take a report but, they lack the training or resources to actually solve these scammer cases and return funds. I’m sure in a few instances they could but not many.
Click to expand...
True, but until something is started they'll never know, and also if enough complaints come against the poor soul who's been tricked into laundering the money (see the email the victim received), they may be able to get some cooperation out of that individual in exchange for help in tracking down the real perp.

But, nothing will happen until law enforcement are notified and reports are filed.
 
An ancient adage, never out of style: Caveat emptor. Let the buyer beware.
Its corollary: "If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is."

Trust your hunches. Seek to learn what is NOT being said aloud. I read the negative reviews of a product first, and then the positive.
 
Sv.grainne said:
He sent this email to the PRA Webmaster account this morning.
Click to expand...
This SOB is still trying to scam me even after he took $ 1,200.00 from me . Do not they do any screening of any new person starting an account here. I figured that this site was safe I was wrong
 
I thought his account was deleted? I do not see a post from him.
 
Abid said:
I think if I didn’t have a background in application security and IT and all the tricks one can learn from hackers I had zero chance of getting anything. I filed a police report here. Nothing from that. I went to the FBI in Dallas. The agent laughed at me on the phone. She told me I will likely never see it again. The bank was of zero help because it was a wire transfer.
I did call the FBI agent to let her know I got my money back. She was shocked and told me that was extremely rare. I told her yes thanks to people like you.
Click to expand...
Surprised they didn't offer you a job. They are too busy with political enemies to do police work.
 
"Sparkglow"'s account was deleted over a month ago (July 13th), after we received info that they were attempting/already did scam someone. If they attempt to re-join the RWF, their ISP addresses they used previously all show up under their application to join.

We receive several spammer's requests to join weekly. If identified as spam, all are added into the forum software as such. Sparkglow started as a forum member back in April. They continued using many different ISPs from all around the US until July 13, when their fun was stopped through a complaint.

Butch, because someone stole funds from another when selling something, the forum cannot detect their intentions to do so when a new member asks to join. We can & do prevent them from returning in the future when we become aware of chicanery.

Butch: Always, consumers are warned to take precautions when dealing w/ someone they do not know & are thinking of sending money to buy something. Asking lots of questions as well as requiring photos of item(s) w/ current date also in photo on a piece of paper are a couple of precautions. Scammers usually are not wilIing to go through all the trouble of taking photos. Or, they cannot take photos of something they don't have!

If thinking of buying gyro-related items, seeing if someone in the gyro community lives in the vicinity of the seller who may know them or pay them for their time to travel to authenticate the merchandise.

Don't send money to someone you don't know for something you haven't seen w/ your own eyes. Only pay for items you go to pick up. See, verify, & then decided how sane the offer & price is.

Whenever possible, use a credit card for the protections offered by the CC company in case of non-delivery.

Butch: You were wrong to think this site could protect you from sending money to someone you didn't know for something you have never seen in person. Which site can do that?

I hope you don't blame the USPS if you sent a check or money order to that scammer, stating they should have protected you...but, the USPS takes very seriously when a complaint is filed w/ them concerning someone using the USPS for fraud. Have you even reported the scammer for this illegal use of the mail system?

You never have stated the scammer's name & address & location of the supposed rotorblades. Maybe someone else has had the same experience. Who?/Were?/How? did you send your money? What email address did they use to communicate w/ you? Did you file a complaint w/ that email provider? Did you also accuse the email provider of not protecting you?

Butch, you've complained of being scammed, but have provided us w/ no details. It is hard for me to feel some sympathy for you w/ no effort on your part explaining what exactly & to whom you dealt w/.

And, yes I've been a victim myself decades ago through eBay. eBay has a ratings system that is somewhat good for buyers to check on a seller's reputation. Their mediation department also got nowhere w/ the Oak Creek, WI, young scammer, other than his eBay member profile disappeared. I was lucky in that he only got a few hundred dollars out of me. Ernie Boyette (RFD) also had his money (some $6K) stolen by a eBay scammer for an engine. I did get a phone # from the seller & discussed w/ him about what he was selling.

Return calls after no item sent revealed his sister telling me that he was doing this to others (selling car & snowmobile parts on eBay, but never sending the item paid for).
She was sorry about all of it, but kept saying he was not @ home each time I called for him. I suspect he wasn't home much & spent some of his time in the local county jail for various nefarious activities.

eBay finally went w/ protection for buyers for some items. They guarantee you'll receive your item bought or your money is refunded to you. It isn't all-encompassing for all items for sale on eBay, but there is some protection there for consumers.
 
Last edited:
Kevin_Richey said:
"Sparkglow"'s account was deleted over a month ago (July 13th), after we received info that they were attempting/already did scam someone. If they attempt to re-join the RWF, their ISP addresses they used previously all show up under their application to join.

We receive several spammer's requests to join weekly. If identified as spam, all are added into the forum software as such. Sparkglow started as a forum member back in April. They continued using many different ISPs from all around the US until July 13, when their fun was stopped through a complaint.

Butch, because someone stole funds from another when selling something, the forum cannot detect their intentions to do so when a new member asks to join. We can & do prevent them from returning in the future when we become aware of chicanery.

Butch: Always, consumers are warned to take precautions when dealing w/ someone they do not know & are thinking of sending money to buy something. Asking lots of questions as well as requiring photos of item(s) w/ current date also in photo on a piece of paper are a couple of precautions. Scammers usually are not wilIing to go through all the trouble of taking photos. Or, they cannot take photos of something they don't have!

If thinking of buying gyro-related items, seeing if someone in the gyro community lives in the vicinity of the seller who may know them or pay them for their time to travel to authenticate the merchandise.

Don't send money to someone you don't know for something you haven't seen w/ your own eyes. Only pay for items you go to pick up. See, verify, & then decided how sane the offer & price is.

Whenever possible, use a credit card for the protections offered by the CC company in case of non-delivery.

Butch: You were wrong to think this site could protect you from sending money to someone you didn't know for something you have never seen in person. Which site can do that?

I hope you don't blame the USPS if you sent a check or money order to that scammer, stating they should have protected you...but, the USPS takes very seriously when a complaint is filed w/ them concerning someone using the USPS for fraud. Have you even reported the scammer for this illegal use of the mail system?

You never have stated the scammer's name & address & location of the supposed rotorblades. Maybe someone else has had the same experience. Who?/Were?/How? did you send your money? What email address did they use to communicate w/ you? Did you file a complaint w/ that email provider? Did you also accuse the email provider of not protecting you?

Butch, you've complained of being scammed, but have provided us w/ no details. It is hard for me to feel some sympathy for you w/ no effort on your part explaining what exactly & to whom you dealt w/.

And, yes I've been a victim myself decades ago through eBay. eBay has a ratings system that is somewhat good for buyers to check on a seller's reputation. Their mediation department also got nowhere w/ the Oak Creek, WI, young scammer, other than his eBay member profile disappeared. I was lucky in that he only got a few hundred dollars out of me. Ernie Boyette (RFD) also had his money (some $6K) stolen by a eBay scammer for an engine. I did get a phone # from the seller & discussed w/ him about what he was selling.

Return calls after no item sent revealed his sister telling me that he was doing this to others (selling car & snowmobile parts on eBay, but never sending the item paid for).
She was sorry about all of it, but kept saying he was not @ home each time I called for him. I suspect he wasn't home much & spent some of his time in the local county jail for various nefarious activities.

eBay finally went w/ protection for buyers for some items. They guarantee you'll receive your item bought or your money is refunded to you. It isn't all-encompassing for all items for sale on eBay, but there is some protection there for consumers.
Click to expand...
Vance there is a new eBay scam that uses a loop hole in the eBay buyer protection. You buy the item and wait. After complaining eBay sends the seller a notice of non delivered merch. The crook sends a tracking number which requires eBay to wait again. Then you receive an item you didn’t buy. In my friends case he bought a welder and received a spoon. eBay at that time closes your case and gives out the money stating you received delivery. They recently added a “Received item, not what was ordered” check box. We’ll see how that goes. As long as there are people selling and buying there will be crooks trying to steal from them. The delay in processing your claim creates a credit card issue. You can’t make a credit card claim until eBay resolves the complaint. By the time eBay has finished (not their fault) your time for the credit card dispute has elapsed. Scammers suck. Facebook Ads are now the newest way to scam. You’ll see Ads for things that seem to good to be true, they are. Trust your instincts.
 
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