A scam, but how?
Part II is here >> A scam, but how? Part II
I don’t know how this scam works, or what they get out of it. Do they get the circuit breakers using a stolen credit card number and then we get hit with a charge back? Or do they then decide to pay us by some other method when a dialogue is started? If I wasn’t so busy at work I’d reply to one of these to find out how it works.
I’ll paste a couple of samples.. I get them semi regularly. They are submitted via the online contact page on our web page.
Sample #1
This is an enquiry e-mail via http://keemin.com.au from:
Mr. Terry Smith <terry.smith3008@gmail.com>
Hello Owner,
My name is Mr. Terry Smith, and i am inquiring about safety switches and i want to know if you do have some in stock or if you can special order them for me. Please if you can special order them for me i will be very glad for you to email me back the total cost for the safety switches and the quantities below.
63A 2 Pole Hager earth leakage circuit breakers………Qty : 30
Please kindly get back to me with the total cost including GST only but excluding freight cost OK. If i may ask, do you take credit card payments and whats the surcharge on each card you take? Also how soon can you get them ready for the pick up if i make the payment to you?
Thank you and i look forward to your reply shortly.
Regards…….
Mr. Terry Smith
Sample #2 Often they will come in from ‘The Reverend So&So’ because the request is coming from a member of the clergy it has to be on the level doesn’t it?
This is an enquiry e-mail via http://keemin.com.au from:
Mr John W Smith <boss.walker1@gmail.com>
Hello Owner,
My name is Mr.John W Smith and I’m inquiring about an order of some safety switches and i want to know if you can special order them for me if you can I will like to order the following switches with the quantities below.
63A 2 Pole Hager earth leakage circuit breakers Qty: 30 Pieces.
Please if you can order them for me can I know the total cost for the 30 pieces include tax and without shipping? and also do you accept Master Card and Visa Card as possible way of accepting Payment? I will be very glad to hear from you with the grand total cost for the 30 pieces of the switches. Thank you and I look forward to your reply soon.
Best regards
Mr.John W Smith
Part II is here >> A scam, but how? Part II
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Hey I got an inquiry from the same John W. Smith.
Did he ask you to get a quote for shipping with a 3rd party?
I’ve never taken it any further to see what they ask me to do.
Dear Steve,
I have just received a mailing asking for 3 special order circuit breakers. Problem is that the first 2 listed are wrong. Mail says that he will pick up from me and do I take credit cards. Fortunately I don’t, its either cash or certified check for special order.
Thought this was a scam so did a search and found this. Think I will reply and see what happens.
Thanks
Maybe when I get another I won’t be so busy Ed and I’ll reply and see where it goes. I’m curious now as it’s obvious we’re not the only ones getting hit with it.
I’ll tell them we have them ex-stock use a retail prce or something, say we accept all major credit cards and see where it leads or how the scam actually works.
Regards,
Steve.
Got this e-mail. They asked for out of date model numbers for a few mowers. I replied the the e-mail telling them that. They then came back a couple weeks later with updated model numbers! The message below is from the second e-mail they sent to me. Just can’t beleive a guy with the name Smith speaks such broken english!
**********************
Hello Owner,
My name is Mr. Terry Smith and i am emailing regarding some order of some Toro lawn mowers i will like to order.I want to know if you can order this mowers for me below.
Gear Driven :
(30684) 36″ Turbo Force Deck 15hp Kawasaki engine
(30688) 48″ Turbo Force Deck 15hp Kawasaki engine
Hydro Walk Units 30984 36″ Turbo Force Deck 15hp Kawasaki engine
Please I want you to email me back the prices on each of the lawn mowers including tax only but excluding freight cost because this will be picked up from you.If you do not have this brands then i will recommend you to get back to me with other brands you have similar to this OK.Also if i may ask what types of credit card do you accept as payment? and what is the surcharges on each card? I will be very happy to read from you soon with the prices shortly.Thank You.
Respectfully,
Mr. Terry Smith
E-mail : terrysmith3008@gmail.com
Thanks for that Scott.
Mowers and circuit breakers.
I haven’t received a fresh one to reply to and see how they work the scam.
I got the same email from John Smith wanting to buy clocks from my website. I always am suspicious of these emails because a customer can see what I have for sale and use a credit card, right on my website! Maybe they want to get a dialog going in an attempt to take a credit card over the phone, to bypass some of the security measures of an online transaction. In my email, he provided a telephone number. I searched for the phone number on google and it came from a wireless number in Indiana. I searched his email address and found this blog. Like the writer, who started this post, I don’t have time to follow up on a probable scam, but I did the above research, because I hate to loose a legitimate lead.
And clocks too. I got another one from a different address. This one I will engage and see what happens.
[quote]
Mr. Bryan Moore
Hello Owner/Sales manager,
My name is Mr. Bryan Moore, and i am inquiring about safety switches. I want to know if you do have switches in stock at the moment? or if you can special order them for me? .Please if you can special order them for me, i will be very glad for you to email me back the prices for each of the switches listed below and i will let you know the quantity needed on each.
63A 2 Pole Hager earth leakage circuit breakers
RCD Neutral Link 5 Pole
12 POLE SWITCHBOARD FOR RCD CIRCUIT BREAKER ENCLOSURE
RCD / MCB Safety Switch 2 Pole 10A 16A 20A Switchboard
24 POLE DISTRIBUTION BOARD SWITCHBOARD CIRCUIT BREAKER
Please email me back the prices including GST only and excluding freight because i will be picking them up from your shop. Please also let me know the type of credit cards you do accept as payment and the % surcharge on them.
Thank you and i look forward to your reply shortly.
Kind regards,
Mr. Bryan Moore.
[/quote]
Got this today:
Hello Sir,
I am Mr.Terry Smith and i will like to make an order of bikes from your shop
i will like you to get back to me now with the price of the alternatives you
do have in stock now for sale if you don’t have what i am requesting
for.Below is what i am requesting for.
*Trek7200 Red/Metallic Champagne. 15-inch
*Trek7000 Black/Metallic Silver.15-inch
*Trek 1.1 WSD Pearl White 47cm
*Cannondale f-9 2009 XL-BLUE
Please these are the types of bikes I’m inquiring about can you please
kindly e-mail back with the prices on each of the bikes listed above? also
if you don’t have these types of bikes can you kindly get back to me with
the alternatives bikes you do keep in your shop that is similar to the ones
i listed? Also do you take Visa Card or MasterCard? I will be glad to hear
from you soon with the prices. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Mr. Terry Smith
E-mail: terry.smith3008@gmail.com
Funny thing is, I don’t carry any of these brands in my store. Do some research next time idiot. Deleated and sent SPAM warning to my server host.
I just got this today:
Good day to you,
I am Mr. Terry Smith and i will like to make an order of some sprinklers from your shop i will like you to get back to me now with the price of the alternatives you do have in stock now for sale if you don’t have what i am requesting for.Below is what i am requesting for.
Hunter I-25 Full Circle Rotor w/ Stainless Steel Riser
Qty: 30pcs
Hunter I-25 4″ Adjustable Rotor w/ Plastic Riser & CV
Qty: 30pcs
Rain Bird 3504PC- 4″ Adjustable Pop-Up Rotor
Qty: 30pcs
Toro S700PC Part-Circle Adjustable Rotor- Less Nozzle
Qty: 30pcs
Please let me know how long it will take you to order them or get them ready for pick up from your shop.I will like you to email me the price including Tax and delivery to your shop if you are going to order them specially for me.Also let me know the types of credit cards i can pay with and if there will be any surcharge.
Waiting for your reply.
Mr. Terry Smith
E-mail: terry.smith3008@gmail.com
Good Morning,
I don’t even sell parts. I just install and repair lawn sprinklers.
I got hit with this today also. He was after some 1/8″ thick tempered glass. I sent him an email back with the price and he sent this reply;
Hi Dean,
Thank you very much for the quote i will like to proceed with the order. At the moment,I will be shipping this order to a friend in Togo, The address is as below and i will like to use Safety Shipping Company Ltd for this pick up.Their email address to contact them on my behalf is (safety.shippers.custserv@gmail.com OR safetyshippers01@cooltoad.com) I want you to send them an email with the weight of this order,shipping and pick up address so they will provide you with a quote.As soon as you get the quote kindly let me know by emailing me with the cost so i will do the total payment for this order.
Please i want you to send an email to the shippers with the details below.
1. Your company location address.
2. My friends delivery address.
3. The Weight of the item.
SHIPPING DESTINATION
Mr. Gerald Barry.
2985 Avenue de la Chance,
face rond-point GTA, BP 14327,
Country Togo-City Lomé.
I will be looking forward to your reply.
Best Regards,
Mr.Terry Smith
I don’t understand how the scam works? I’m not going to reply any further than this.
I just got this today:
Hello Sir/ Madam,
I’m Mr. John Lee and I will like to make an order of some rain bird sprinklers and hunter sprinklers. Below are the quantities and the types of sprinklers I will like you to special order for me.
32SA Simple Adjust Shrub Rotor
Qty: 120pcs
22SAF Rotor Sprinkler – Full Circle Spray
Qty: 150pcs
Hunter PGS – PGP Shrub Rotor + Nozzle Set
Qty: 150pcs
Please these are the types and quantities of of sprinklers i will want you to special order for me so can you email me back the total cost include tax and without freight? because it will be picked up from your location so don’t include freight also do you take visa card or master card? I will wait to hear from you soon.
Thank You,
Mr. John Lee
Tel: 1-320-356-8036
I got another Circuit breaker one the other day and went through the motions. I’ll post up all the correspondence in the next day or two in another page. I’ll link to it from here.
I’m still not sure how it works. I got a credit card number off my scammer today, only to get told a little while later not to process it but wait for another number.
I thought it would be money they’re after and not the actual goods. So I’m guessing they pay me with a stolen card, I’m supposed to immediately pay the bogus 3rd party shipping company and that money is then gone and I get a charge back on the account for the stolen card funds.
Here’s part II with the emails I had back and forward with one of these scammers. http://wotid.com/blog/a-scam-but-how-part-ii/
The Bryan Moore address to ship to is the same as the one Dean listed in his scam further up via a Terry Smith email.
We just got a fax from Mr. John Lee, who would like to special order 270/pcs. of Hunter PGS-PGP Shrub Rotor & Nozzle Set, and do we take credit cards (we don’t).
This happened at my previous job, for flooring. We were asked to order approx. 500/ft of hardwood for a school in Alaska (we are in Massachusetts). I was given a credit card that was declined, and then given a second that worked. I believe they are looking for cards that are accepted so they can charge other items on that card. They also try to get the 3rd Party Freight charge done via Western Union, by having you add that to your charges and sending the Western Union payment to what is supposed to be a 3rd Party Freight co, but I’m assuming isn’t.
We were backcharged the credit card deposit, because of course it was stolen. I notified the Internet Crime Complaint Center, who works with the FBI, who investigates cyber crime. Go to http://www.ic3.gov and file a complaint.
I have received three emails from three different names (Mr Scott Walter, Mr Scott Dale and Steve Miler)enquirying about the confectionery we stock and a list. I have referred them to my website.
Two did not follow it further, but the most recent one did and emails have been going back and forth, and I have spoken with someone (male with a distorted voice) five times over the last two days.
We thought it was strange, when he decided to buy lollies and the shipping was going to cost the same amount as the lollies, and when I offered an alternative way to get the goods to him at a cheaper price, he was not interested.
It was to be sent to a supposed Orphanage in Singapore, we Googled the site it was not an orphanage. Then did more searches and came across this and other sites.
So, you can add Confectionery to your list.
I got similar emails from Mr. Bryan Moore and Mr Roland Woods. – Carports this time.
I knew it had to be a scam cause the emails were identical and found this site – thought as much. I told Mr Roland that we manufacture our Carports from top quality Balsa wood and we have developed a special tie down type using pipecleaners.
I then proceeded to quote ridiculous prices. I’m wondering what he’ll say back….. 😀
I like your style Nils.I’d like to hear if you got a reply. 🙂
He’s pretty keen to go ahead… Obviously the balsa wood and pipecleaners didn’t faze him – and it seems he can’t add… 😛
—-
Hello Nils,
Thank you for the email. I am interested in proceeding ahead with this order. Please let me know the total cost for the 2 carports below.
6 x 4.8 x2.4 all zinc carport – $23443
Carport Kit 5.4×3.1×2.4 Skillion Roof – $15231
Please let me know the total cost for the 2 and also let me know how soon you can get them ready for me.
Kind regards.
Mr Roland Woods.
——-
Nils, did you see my part II here >> http://wotid.com/blog/a-scam-but-how-part-ii/ he couldn’t add my prices up togehter either.
Pipecleaner and balsawood carports, nearly as good as Anus computers this guy invented to scam a scammer >> http://anuslaptops.com/ He went all out and got one pretty good.
We also got and e-mail from this the same e-mail address but it’s from a John Smith. His e-mail follows and I included my response to him as well. It’s been a slow week in our office, and I was in a pretty good mood today, so thought it was time for me to have some some play time too! I of course way over quoted by 800% of our true price.
I can’t wait to see if he responds, but alas since we won’t take his “funny” credit cards I assume my slow week will continue to crawl along!
Hello
John Smith is my name and I want to order some banners from your shop,I have contacted few sign companies but none seem to work with me.So I will be entirely honored if you contact me back to proceed with my order because I need this order urgently ..I need 3 x 6 vinyl with No Helms and Ropes banner with a two colored lettering and below is what i need my banners to display.
LET US ( RED ) LOVE ONE ANOTHER ( BLACK )
FONT STYLE: BOLD
FONT: GEORGIA
SIZE OF FONT: SHOULD BE WELL BALANCED ON THE BANNER
BACKGROUND COLOR: (WHITE)
I will be patiently waiting for the price for each of the banner so that I can later determine the quantity I will be willing to order from you.
Do you accept Master and Visa Card as a possible way of making payment for order?
I hope to hear from you soon.
John Smith
Hello Mr. John Smith,
First off I would like to thank you for your interest in purchasing banners from our company. I am so sorry you have had such problems in receiving responses from other companies for such a simple job. I guess other shops must be fairly busy these days and not requiring work.
In regards to your order of 3×6 banners as requested, our shop rate for such an order would be $800.00 US per banner required. Unfortunately we do not accept visa or mastercard for payments, we do however accept certified bank drafts. We also require your payment to made up front prior to starting your job. I assume you will want the banner(s) shipped to you which would also require up front shipping costs to be paid in full prior to your shipment. We are located somewhere in the good old U S of A and would be able to ship to you anywhere in the world.
I wait to hear from you on the quantity of banners and the amount of money you will be forwarding to me.
Mr. John Doe
holy cow! My hunch is correct. It is a scam. A little googling on this john smith email and this web site come up.
On Sun, Nov 28, 2010 at 2:24 AM, Mr John Smith wrote:
Hello
I will like to order some banners from your shop,I have contacted few sign companies but none seem to
work with me.So I will be entirely honored if you contact me back to proceed with my order because I need this order
urgently ..I need 3ft x 6ft vinyl banner with No Helms and Grommets and I also need the banners in two colored
lettering and below is what I need .
LET US ( RED ) LOVE ONE ANOTHER ( BLACK )
FONT STYLE: BOLD
FONT: GEORGIA
SIZE OF FONT: SHOULD BE WELL BALANCED ON THE BANNER
BACKGROUND COLOR: (WHITE)
Qty:50
I will be patiently waiting for the price for the banners so that I can go ahead to proceed in purchasing them.
Do you accept Master and Visa Card as a possible way of making payment for order?
I hope to hear from you soon.
John Smith
Note:Do you produce roller banners and PVC Banners too ?
Hi all, we are a printing comapny and have had the email about the banners. I believe the scam works like this, having nearly got by a similar attempt a few months ago.
John Smith accepts your price but asks you to ship the goods ONLY via his appointed shipping agent to an expensive overseas destination. You pay the shipper up front, but J Smith does not then pay you for the goods. J Smith splits the proceeds with the shipping agent. Simples!
We got a phone call from this guy today, 574-216-8907 (caller id says OUT_OF_AREA) He said that he was having a problem with our email address, and asked us to send him an email so he could reply. He then replied with this:
(From Mr. John Smith, boss.walker1@gmail.com)
Hello
I HAVE CONTACTED SOME FEW COMPANIES SOME TIME AGO REQUESTING FOR SOME PICTURE FRAMES TO PURCHASE BUT ALL EFFORT PROVE FUTILE.SO I HAVE DECIDED TO CONTACT YOUR COMPANY TO SEE IF YOU PEOPLE WILL BE WILLING TO ASSIST ME PURCHASE THIS PICTURE FRAMES BEFORE CHRISTMAS.
*20 x 24 Red Oak picture frames with glass and backing.
Quantities: 20
*24 x 30 Red Oak picture frames with glass and backing.
Quantities: 30
*24 x 36 Red Oak picture frames with glass and backing.
Quantities: 20
PLEASE EMAIL ME BACK WITH THE GRAND TOTAL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AND DO YOU ACCEPT CREDIT CARD?
REGARDS
Mr Smith
After pulling up the phone number here: http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-574-216-8907
We have decided not to reply.
boss.walker1@gmail.com still at it insisting that we do a phone transaction, he does not care about shipping cost he says. Happy Christmas was my first clue!!
Hello
John Smith is my name and I am happy to send you this email in request for some skin care products but before I do any selections,I want you to email me back with the list of skin cares you have in-stock or if possible just get me your website so that I can have a thorough look at the products you have in-stock in order for me to choose a preferable one.
By the way happy Christmas in advance and do you accept Master Card and Visa Card as form of payment?
I hope to hear from you soon.
Regards
Mr Smith
I get these mail up to 10 times a day, the whole week long, its more frustrating, because my boss keeps replying to them, thinking that they are legit…. the mail address kinda gives them away, how can you have a business running off a hotmail account? any business worth its salt has got a real address, eg. nobody@businessname.co.za and since my boss started replying to these scammers, ive seen an influx of the mails, i know all about these mailers:
bikestoreltd@hotmail.com – kerry saloon
swiftkolikoltd@gmail.com – Mrs Nadya Alexandra
epocam.sa@gmail.com – Julius Obeng
aaronwebb121@hotmail.com – Mr Aaron Webb
jimspelling2009@gmail.com – Jim Spelling (not that he can)
sanchez.kay@gmail.com – Kenneth CHong Kheng Aik
annika.fernandez@live.com – Annika Fernandez
info_kimyoung@yahoo.com.hk – Mr. Young Kim
(these are only the ones from the last month, and i never just get one from each, if they are very persistant!)
upgrade@dubaifirst.com – this was for a bank account verifiaction… you think id know if i the business opened an account in Dubai!
Secertarygeneral.bankimoon@un.org
test@uaa.cn – they are caling themselves FBI Alert… =)
i also receive mails daily from the UK NATIONAL LOTTERY, and from a loan company offering loans – dont know how this one would work…
The above doesnt even rule them out like their grammer, spelling, and overall use of english does. Anyone trying to buy from an English country is going to know at least a little better than these do. Aswell as the fact that if im selling my items into the middle of africa, with these hiked transport costs, they are going to have to resell them for a rediculous amount, that thier people cant afford, because they dont have jobs. (they just sit at internet cafes trying ‘new’ scams… they obvously get it right, otherwise they would have got a honest job long ago!)
I received a email from Mr. Scott walter saying he needs to order Dog crates, Which we do not stock, So, I sent him our Catlogue with other products and As you know next moment I was sitting on a order of approx £2000,
But I gave close look at the order and this foolish person added all the expensive things and all the bigger sizes, Which rang the bell.
So I searched his email scottwalt233@gmail.com and found many sites which are explaining his fraud.
I wrote him that yes we can send goods to you, We want a business name and address and he send us this –
“Le Bas House, 43 Ormskirk Avenue, Manchester , M20 1HJ but this not the shipping address as it will be picked up at your location so get back to me for us to proceed”
And I told him, that i am only going to use my shipping company and I am still waiting for his reply, I am going to play with him a little bit 🙂
But thanks for all of you for helping people around saving us from these fraudsters
Regards
Rahul
John Smith is at it again. He contacted us last week trying to buy a large QTY of our goods. Started asking about freight rates to Spain and demanded that his customer will only use their 3rd party shipper and that i should send an email requesting the rates. It’s obviously a red flag but I went along with it. The rate came back 4 times higher than normal and wanted a cash payment…..yea right. These never surprise me. I love how they come up with the most generic names possible. The email it came from was smith20020@gmail.com. The shipper email was gloshipping.intl@gmail.com. Dont get fooled people. Be smart.
I was contacted by a “Walter Gibson” today. His email address wgibson900@gmail.com ….. slightly different wording this time, but obviously the same scam….
His email :
—————————-
Good day.
I require to know if you can supply some industrial & building products for me. I’ll like to know the types of industrial & building products that you make or have as well as dimensions and prices so that I can make a choice, and also advise if you accept credit card as a form of payment, wish you all the best in business and I’ll be looking forward on hearing from
you soon.
PS : Advise if you deal in other general supplies as well.
Walter Gibson
—————————–
My Reply :
—————————-
Dear Walter
Thank you for your enquiry
We sell industrial strength puppies. Generally we ship them in boxes, however, if the client so requires, we can send them via spaceship or teleportation, for an additional charge.
We most certainly accept credit card payments, and also accept sexual favours instead of full or part payment.
The dimensions of our canines can vary considerably, however the average size of a case of 10 dogs is around 8.5 cubic meters. Shipping companies often let our product roam around their ships and use them as pest control, so shipping prices can vary considerably as well.
If you advise which breed you are interested in, I will be happy to provide you with a quote.
Kind Regards,
Nils
———————————
….Turns out this wasn’t enough to phase him…. he still wants to know what products we offer.
That’s great Nils,
I think I’ll copy and paste your reply on next one 🙂
I was also contacted by a “Walter Gibson” wgibson@gmail.com
who said:
Good day.
I require to know if you can supply some kitchen products for me. I’ll like to know the types of kitchen products that you make or have as well as dimensions and prices so that I can make a choice, and also advise if you accept credit card as a form of payment, wish you all the best in business and I’ll be looking forward on hearing from
you soon.
PS : Advise if you deal in cabinets, industrial & other general supplies as well.
Walter Gibson.
We sell commercial kitchen equipment. He asked to ship to Brazil using his “preferred shipping company”
Swift Freight International
INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING DEPARTMENT:
PERSON TO CONTACT:MR JOHN ATKINS
SHIPPING COMPANY’S CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS:
swiftfreightint@live.com Or swiftfreightint@gmx.com
Thought we would go along with it and see how far he would take it.
Shipping was going to cost over $10,000 and he wanted to pay by credit card only.
We havent heard back from him after telling him no one accepts an amount of over $50,000 via credit card.
Hopefully no one falls for these same scams.
Some people are unreal!!
We received the e-mail below today from our website’s contact page… it looked fishy, specially because it begins with “Dear Valued Customer,” and failed to provide a phone number. I decided to Google the e-mail address and your blog came up. I read several of the comments above and found that on 12/7/12, Mark received an e-mail from this same e-mail address. Any help or advice you can give us would be greatly appreciated 🙂
———————–
Submitted at 08/06/14 2:17 AM
Name: john smith
E-mail : smith20020@gmail.com
Phone Number: (000) 000-0000
Comments:
Dear Valued Customer,
My name is Mr. John smith. I am interested in ordering some CABINETS from your company but since this is the first time am ordering these kind of products then I would be very glad if you can provide me with a list of sizes and pricing of the CABINETS you carry in stock for sale. Also let me know if you do take a surcharge when accepting either a Visa or Master Credit Cards payment.
I Look forward to hear from you soon
Regards
I guess this scan still is around. Look out for shipping company Swift Freight International using the email swiftfreightint@live.com
They almost got me for several thousand $$. Deal fell apart when I asked to many questions.
Also look out for a company that goes by Gateway Corporation, Ltd. They seem to have addresses in Houston, TX or California or Brazil.
August 2016, scam is still going. Found this blog post through a web search.
Attempted to get $2800 in freight from us for shipping to New Zealand using their “Preferred shipper” even though it was $1800 more than the freight quote I provided.
Freight company they used was swiftfreight@mail.com
Stay wary folks.