Somebody bought my Tablet! Is this legit?

[Fat Tone]

It feels very fishy to me. Has he paid over the top for the laptop?
Although as people say he should only be able to pay IN. I'd use a special account for just this sort of thing - not one that my wages are paid in to or bills paid from or with a large balance, just as you are suggesting.

Or you could use a money transfer office?

[az]

New mail from him after I sent him my bank data (almost empty account, as I said):

Hello!

Greetings to you and your family. Thank you for your mail. I will start the money transfer via Citi Bank to your Bank Account. Incase you require more money for the shipment to London ,I also added an additional money of EUR 100.00 for custom or extra post office charges...

(address of son)

Maybe he's just rich...

He hasn't paid over the top, but the Laptop can be gotten considerably cheaper from the USA (though he would have to pay VAT when importing from there, but since he seems to originally be from the USA...).

I'll wait and see, and I don't see any reason why I should be suspicious anymore when (if) the money arrives.

[Gurm]

Dude, I cancelled not one, not two, but THREE separate scams of EXACTLY this sort the last time I sold a laptop.

These guys LOVE laptops.

Signs it's a scam:

1. They want you to ship to someone other than them.
2. Bad English.
3. They want it FAST FAST FAST.

Over here, they use "Buy It Now" on PayPal, but they use stolen credit cards. So as the seller I'm "protected", in that I get the money no matter what... but I'm not going to accept funds stolen from some unsuspecting cardholder!

Don't do it. I'm serious, someone is going to come after the money if you do.

[az]

Hmm. But the person I should send the tablet to has the same name as the account holder.

[az]

OK, Gurm's post made me think. I looked at the email headers and fed them to CoolWhoIs. The mails were sent from Nigeria.

*sigh*

Yeah, it was too good to be true.

[Nowhere]

What is it about Nigeria & spam/scam anyway?
I mean...why Nigeria?

[rylan]

Dunno why Nigeria... except that maybe due to their laws its impossible to go after the scammers.

I'd still be interested to see if the money actually hits your account and clears.

[Sasq]

Nigeria actually has laws against it, penal code 419 actually.
though I think with the very nature of the nigerian political environment they get away with it.

[Wombat]

Dunno why Nigeria... except that maybe due to their laws its impossible to go after the scammers.

I'd still be interested to see if the money actually hits your account and clears.

At least in America, they'll send cashier's checks, which will be credited to your account. After a few days (when they count on you sending the goods), the checks are discovered to be fraudulent.

[Sasq]

i don't doubt the money could even be real, i mean hell, they gotta do something with all that money they scam

[Brian Ellis]

But there simply cannot be any stolen or other credit card scam, as no credit card is involved. Nor can there be a false cheque scam for the same reason. Once the money is transferred, it is there. How can there be a scam? If no money arrives, no goods are sent, as simple as that. This is why most commercial transactions over a distance in Europe go through SWIFT (BIC) transfers or through a Giro system.

I admit though, it seems we Europeans are less paranoid about scams than Americans. What I find annoying is that European credit cards are so mistrusted in the US, even though they can be checked electronically within seconds. Half the ATMs simply won't accept them and even some banks won't honour them OTC.

[az]

I've found out how this particular scam is supposed to work:

I'll receive a fake e-mail, pretending to be from his bank (citibank UK), telling me the wire-transfer is initiated and will take a few more days, or telling me they're an escrow service and I'll receive the money once the parcel has reached the buyer in good condition (this is sometimes also done with fake escrow.com etc. mails). I don't know who would send high-priced items before the money actually arrives at their account, but if one in a hundred does, it's apparently working well enough for the scammers.

If money actually arrives on my account, I'll call citibank to inform them the account may be hacked and ask them to make sure it isnt.

Meanwhile, I've got another mail from my customer:

Hello Frieddrick ,

Thank you for your mail. Please take note that i have added an extra EUR 100.00 to the payment for the Laptop for you. Please i did this becuase i want you to buy some gifts and add it to the package for my son. He will love that. Write me as soon as the package is sent out.

Many Greetings.

Dr. Peters

Note also how his signature changed from "Mr. Peters" (who signs like that anyway?) to Dr. Peters

[az]

Ah, and apparently he scammed somebody else with a notebook buy already. Received negative feedback for it.

Thanks guys for protecting me from that!

[Sasq]

What i want you to do, is PM Radan, he will put you in touch with someone who can let help you maximize the fun, and chances of this person getting caught

[Fat Tone]

Sorry it all went south, but at least you are safe. Time to whoop his ass!

It started out very convincing, but once they start pushing and making mistakes it starts to create chinks.

Anyway, is there anything you can do to hold him accountable for this?