Should I Play With the Scammer?

[Cyclonite]

So, I'm about 99.99999999% positive someone is trying to scam me through an eBay auction. Here's the scoop:

Okay. So, I was selling my PSP on eBay. This guy sends me a question through the "ask seller a question" link within the auction. Here it is in unedited form:

Hello,
i was searching the site for a psp for my son on a trip we are going nextweek............he is a game freak and want to take a psp along with him on the trip but i promised that he would have it even if it means me sending the psp prior to us getting there so to this end i would like to enquire about the workability of the item and if it is in good working condition get back to me asap.
secondly i would like to know if you accept United states postal money order as a form of payment and if you do send your name and address where you want the payment to be sent.
thanks

(Note: He's an unregistered user at this point, and he's sending messages from a public.usa.com email address.)

I respond with something to the extent of (Sorry; Responded through eBay and forgot to copy myself on it):

The PSP is in near perfect condition. I've only used it a few times, and there's not a scratch on it. I'd be happy to send you my information, as soon as you win the auction.

His reply:

HELLO,

THANKS FOR YOUR RESPONSE THE CONDITION OF THE PSP IS OKAY AND FINE BY ME..SINCE WE CAN WORK BASED ON TRUST AND SINCERITY,I HAVE BEEN CONTACTED BY SOME SELLERS BUT I THINK I WOULD GO AHEAD DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU,I WOULD LIKE TO PROCEED WITH PAYMENT USING MONEY ORDER BY UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE,BUT I WOULD NEED YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE PAYMENT.
GET BACK TO ME ASAP

THANKS

My response to that:

I'd be happy to provide my address, but it will be provided upon winning the auction or using the buy-it-now option. Once I see that you are the winning bidder, I will immediately contact you with the information required to send the money order.

I noticed you're not a registered user and that you are using a free webmail account. I will not do further business with you until you can either contact me through a reputable ISP email address or a registered name on eBay.

If you are legitimate, please understand the hesitation. If you're new to purchasing things through eBay, this has "fishy" written all over it. I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, if you can contact me through a registered eBay account and reputable ISP assigned email address.

Thanks, and sorry for the hesitation.

He registers, and uses the Buy-It-Now option. I then receive this email:
http://myweb.usf.edu/~bjmille5/Misc/Haha_Scam.pdf

And he sends me an email titled "Shipment procedure...........":

hello,

I have proceeded with payment and have also received the approval of my payment but due to the urgency of the item i would like to ship the psp out tomorrow using my fedex account you don't have to worry about the shipping expenses cos i have already taken care of that .

so i would send the shippping documents to you very soon once i conclude the scheduling the shipment, all you have to do is print out the shipping documents and paste it on the item so that you can drop off the package at a fedex location very close to you .the address of the fedex drop off location would be given to me by fedex which i would also forward to you.

Once you have drop off the package you should mail the tracking number of the shipment to uspsacctinfo@consultant.com so that the bank can also bring your money tomorrow.

Thanks

Now, I sent this before I saw his USPS email:

Sorry, man. I understand the urgency, but I won't ship until I have money in hand and confirmed cleared. I'll try to ship the item through a faster means once I receive the money, but nothing is going anywhere until I have the money. This is based on past experiences.

Also, his location for his eBay profile says United Kingdom, but as you can see in the email, he wants me to ship to NV. Can we say SCAM?!

Now, my question. Should I play with this guy some? I was thinking of stringing him along and sending an empty box with a note in it or something. Unless you guys have better ideas. I can stand to lose a few dollars just to mess with the guy.

Thanks! This might be fun. =)

[profdlp]

As much fun as it might be, you do run the risk of having the tables turned on you.

I'd just rat him out to eBay and be done with it. :p

[Cyclonite]

Aww.. Come on, prof. =P

[profdlp]

This clown is probably trying this with a bunch of people. I just know that if it was me, with my luck eBay would catch up to the guy, nail his butt to the wall, then notice that I didn't look so lily-white myself. :rolleyes:

It would be fun, though. Your call, man. :D

[Cyclonite]

Hmmm... Good thought there.

You're right. I need to just report him and relist it. I want to get this thing out before Christmas. Heh.

[Jengo]

i dunno.. maybe he is a scammer maybe hes not. He sounds like an ebay n00b, so either the Nevada/UK thing gives it off right away, or hes a n00b, dunno... but in any case, dont ship until you recieve payment. always the safest bet ;)

But as he said maybe he is going on a trip to the USA and wants you to ship it to where hes getting to? i dunno... just dont ship till you get the money... easy as that

cause just imagine, what if he is telling the truth and you send the package via Fedex, it clears and he REALLY does send money, then you will be reported as a scammer. Know what i mean?

Its all up to you ;)

[Cyclonite]

True. Take a look at that "Payment Confirmation" Email. Not one link in it is associated with the United States Postal Service. Heh. It has fishy written all over it. I'm just going to report him and be done with it.

[profdlp]

Does this (http://www.short-media.com/forum/showthread.php?t=38051) look familiar?

Scam all the way. :cool:

[Cyclonite]

Hehe. Yeah. I remembered that, but I was too lazy to search for it.

The email is poorly formatted and it's missing words. And why in the hell would USPS use mail.com as their customer support provider? Hah!

[Nightwolf]

scamerific! :thumbsup: ;D

[Jengo]

yes, given this new evidence, i must agree, im 99.9% sure its a scam

[Cyclonite]

Haha! I just got an email from him this morning with a preprinted FedEx shipping label. He even took the time to find my nearest FedEx drop off location.

Hmmm... I wonder if HE paid for the shipping or if he's using someone's ripped off account. If so, I'll slap that label on a 5 lb box and send him something.

[Tex]

Just hang tight. No shipping till payment is received. And demand that its a USPS money order.

And CASH IT at the post office before shipping for sure.

Tex

[profdlp]

...No shipping till payment is received. And demand that its a USPS money order...
Absolutely. Be especially careful about the money order. The latest scam goes like this:

The seller deposits the money order in their bank account
The bank credits their account
They ship the item to the "buyer"
The phony money order wends its way through the banking system to the bank of issue, where it is found to be fraudulent. This can take up to a month.
The money is deducted from the seller's bank account; the merchandise and the scammer are long gone.

[Cyclonite]

Oh, I will not be sending anything of value to this person if I send anything at all.

More than likely I'll be relisting by the end of the day.

[Tex]

Absolutely. Be especially careful about the money order. The latest scam goes like this:

The seller deposits the money order in their bank account
The bank credits their account
They ship the item to the "buyer"
The phony money order wends its way through the banking system to the bank of issue, where it is found to be fraudulent. This can take up to a month.
The money is deducted from the seller's bank account; the merchandise and the scammer are long gone.

Thats why you get a USPS money order and cash that baby at the Post Office. I won't accept any other kind of Money Order. Period. No exceptions at all. I don't deposit anything. I CASH those babies at the local post office! (grin) They know in their system if its a fraud when you present it and try and cash it. No banks involved in these transactions. I go to the PO to ship the item and use the funds to pay for shipping.

Tex

[GHoosdum]

Play sand, concrete, and used tires work well in the box... If he's picking up the shipping tab on a legit account that he owns, FedEx overnight shipping on a 40-lb box of concrete is over $100.

Just don't give him your real personal information or return address.

[Clutch]

I've had plenty of fun with scammers. Clutch says go for it, they are fun to play with.

[tefleming]

Or you could "have fun" with him by typing a nice one page summary letter (with all the supporting documents enclosed) to the Las Vegas Police Department. I'm pretty sure impersonating a federal employee (which you could interpret the "confirmation email" as doing) is a felony (not to mention fraud, etc.)

[Leonardo]

Don't goof around on Ebay. Ebay takes security seriously. If someone else has already reported this guy, Ebay might be looking at your interaction as well, as part of their investigative efforts. I'd report him as trying to negotiate with what appears to be questionable registration bona fides. Ebay is good about following up that kind of thing. Maybe you'll save someone else from being ripped off.

[Khaos]

FYI, if you use PayPal, they can challenge transfers even after they have "cleared" which results in PayPal debiting your accounts for the amount in question. With PayPal the seller is guilty until proven innocent and it is a big hassle, which is exactly why I will never use PayPal again.

In fact, money orders can be cancelled these days and there is no way to check to see if the money order has been cancelled. Your bank will accept it straight away and give you funds. Then if it is a cancelled M/O, the funds will be taken back and you'll be charged $20 to $30 for their inconvenience. Banks wait unpredictable amounts of time to cash in M/Os, so it is impossible to wait it out... They could cash it the next day or three to four weeks from the time of your deposit.

Honestly, the only SAFE way is to take a personal check and wait the week or so that it takes to clear. Every other means of payment can be cancelled or taken back without you knowing it. ... Or postal money order at the post office. *nod* to Tex

I have given up on eBay entirely; had a very bad selling experience where I did everything by the books and it turned into a nightmare regardless.

[Cyclonite]

Yeah. I got ripped off for about $650 before with Paypal. Now, I ship to confirmed addresses only.

Also, I reported the guy and relisted my item. Not more than 12 hours later, another Nigerian scammer used buy-it-now and tried to pay with a ripped off paypal account. I immediately squashed him and he was unregistered within 8 hours. *Sigh*

I haven't relisted the item again, but it's already cost me a biut in listing fees. Grrr.