Dodgy Bike Business

Take a look at this,

I advertised a bike I have for sale in the Loot and i got this email from a guy calling himself Mr John, Mr Smith John.

Hello,
Thanks for the information. I am sure the bike is in good condition.Well i just contact my Shipping Company that i have been using for long now, so i am sure they will Ship the Item right to the destination i want it shipped. Also they have got alot in Europe to ship for me I will want you to take an extra £50 for you to keep other buyers off till it is picked up by the shipper ,OK?. This is all the requirements needed at this time. The shipper will handle every other thing necessary when they arrives at your location.. The price is okay by me. I will like to pay the full amount of £185 for the bike, So please reply back to me, and also keep other buyers off. My banker will send you a certified bank cheque of £2,800. Can I trust you to have it cashed at any nearest cheque cashing store since you don't have a bank account, take £235 and send the balance to the shipper,so the bike and the other stuffs that I bought for my wife can be picked up? and i will llike you to understand that you will be getting the remaining funds transfered to the shipper's through western union money transfer , If yes, kindly reply with the following payment details so I can inform him to make out payment to you.
NAME AS TO APPEAR ON CHEQUE...................
HOME ADDRESS.....................
CITY...........................
STATE........................
ZIP CODE.............................
CONTACT PHONE # ..........
Thank you
Mr John

I really want this guy to be legit but he obviously isn't. Oh well.

Anyone else had offers like this recently?

So that's how OnOne can afford the mink...

What could possibly go wrong? Can you really use cheque-cashing places like that?

I got this from a guy advertising a flat on gumtree in the Summer:

Hi,
Good to read again from you and for expressing your genuine interest in renting my flat. You seem to be a good personality and I am sure you'll be a great tenant.
...However as i said before viewing will not be a problem, Anytime during the week in the evening would be a good date for our meeting. but i need a proof you have the funds on you before i can commit to viewing as i have been dissapointed several times after scheduling viewings in the past few days. My job had suffered and i have also wasted my funds coming over to london before thats why im a little skeptical.
As it is not a wise decision to send your bank statements via the internet that would have been a better option. So may be you want to suggest how else you can prove to me you have the funds on you right now so we can go on to meet for viewing if that is okay by you.

Feel free to ask any questions.
Thanks and Best Regards
Tom Jones

What could possibly go wrong? Can you really use cheque-cashing places like that?

well, i did think that, but why would he send me a cheque for £2800 and trust me to take £235 for myself and return the rest to him? I wouldn't take the money, but why would he blindly trust me like that? why not just send me a cheque for £235?

*and *he can't be called Smith John, so why would he use a false name? he isn't asking for my bank details or anything so i can't see how he could screw me, but it just doesn't feel right.

Stay well away from it. Obviously it's a total scam ! I'd maybe run a virus check on your system.

Dodgy as wet soap. Avoid.

i know its a scam but i don't get what he would gain from this?

it's not a virus.

all he is asking is my name address and phone number, he can't get any money from me with that.

Sometimes they start just trying to get a dialogue with you to build up trust, then eventually have a way of getting money out of people, a bit like this guy...

http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/4047498.Hampshire_man_loses___13_000_in_internet_scam/

I.D. theft.

That info, plus a later key-logging virus, will have him empty your account.

I always reply to those, that I am passing their email details on to the police........

I don't, but the emails never reappear.

Might be all the info needs for something. Would not give him any information especially your address. As exactly what GA2G says. You should not even throw any paper in the bin with name and address info on it.

Google - "NAME AS TO APPEAR ON CHEQUE" scam

Smith John, how could he be so simple as to get the names the wrong way round.

anyway thanks for opinions, i just needed conformation that i wasn't being a cynical fart.

The most saleable thing countries from which your mystery emailer comes from, is passports, and credit-cards.

Bank accounts are much easier to get into though.

Smith John, how could he be so simple as to get the names the wrong way round.

anyway thanks for opinions, i just needed conformation that i wasn't being a cynical fart.

English is not his first language, and he thinks his attempt is pure genius.

It's a variation of the Nigerian 419 scam. Basically the cheque will appear to clear as the bank clearing process will not initially pick it up - usually a real account but a forged cheque. If you manage to cash it at a 'cheque cashing store' they will require passport type details before giving you any money. If you pay it into a bank account the same thing will happen. The cheque will later bounce as it is fraudulent and you will be liable for the funds you received - which you have sent to the 'shipper' (untracable Western Union transfer).

Report it to the police.

Read more here if you're interested:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_fee_fraud

This is a known scam.

You pay in cheque, in 4 days time the bank says yes it's cleared. you withdraw money to pay the guy back. 2 days later the bank say ang on that cheque was a fake and bounces it. you have lost said money.

opps he ^ beat me to it.....dam

Anything that sounds too good to be true.........is.

Don't give out details, never have parcels sent to your address that your bank statements go to (if you can help it) and never put your full name on anything that is sent out there.

Granny,eggs and sucking.

stay safe.......rubber up.

nigerians

Racist.

Scammers take on all shapes and sizes and races.

It's for his son and he's a doctor living in london.

FFS.

Had this a few times, when I was selling stuff on EBay. Basically the exact same E-mail. Kept having to relist stuff was a right PITA.

nigerians
Maybe it is racist, but the chances are there is a high possibility of west african origin.

Maybe it is racist, but the chances are there is a high possibility of west african origin.

I'm joking. had similar things when i sold £1000 cameras on ebay. Got scam emails all the time.