Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2003 20:02:36 -0400
Reply-To: Kenneth Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Kenneth Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: The tale of two VWs and the scam that didn't fly.
Content-type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
I put two of my vehicles for sale on my own website. A 78 ASI Camper and a
90 Jetta GL. I got an email from a gentleman from Nigeria who said he
wanted to purchase these two vehicles as a gift for his pastor (he called
himself Rev. Daniel). I knew it was a scam but I played along. I wanted to
hang this guy if I could and figured I could at least give him a bad day.
He said that he would pay the price for the two vehicles plus $5000 for
shipping to Nigeria. He had a friend here in the US that owed him $20,000.
He would have this friend send me a cashier's check for $20,000 and then I
could cash it. Then deduct my $11,000 for the two vehicles and shipping and
send him the balance via Money Gram. I never lied to him. I told him if I
got a valid Cashier's check I would be glad to send him the balance.
A couple of months go by. Over the course of this month I get contacted by
him a couple of times via Voice Relay service. This is actually a service
for the deaf who depend on it to speak to folks over the phone. The deaf
person types in what they want to say and the relay person speaks it. And
then it works in reverse for you. The only problem is that anyone with an
internet connection, anywhere in the world can use this service and it has
become a convenient way for scammers to contact you with no hope of being
detected (hopefully this will change in the future).
Finally, a couple of days ago I got the "check". It looked genuine. It
even had the watermarks on the back. However when I called the issuing bank
(First National Bank of Abilene, Texas) and gave them the check number, etc.
they assured me that it was indeed counterfeit. I contacted my cousin who
is a State Trooper and we talked about the situation. I tracked the Fed-Ex
envelope and it had it's origin in the UK! So much for the Maryland address
that was scrawled on the envelope :) The guy called me yesterday and I laid
it out for him in no uncertain terms. "Will you send me the balance?" He
asks. "I have a problem with the check," I told him. "The bank says that
it is counterfeit and will not cash it."
He was quiet for a long time and so I hung up and tried to get back to work.
He calls back. "I can't believe it." He says. "Can you at least send my
friend $1000?" If there is one thing I hate worse than a crook it is a cut
rate crook. I tell him no and hang up again.
Now I am waiting for my Trooper cousin to tell me if this is a matter for
the Feds. I just wanted to share my tale with you folks as a cautionary
tale. But I also wondered, what if everyone out there that these turkeys
contacted, actually responded to them. Just think about it. It must cost
at least $50 to send an overnight Fed Ex Envelope from the UK. If everyone
(knowing in advance that this is a scam of course) went through the motions
until the guy actually sent them the fake check then two things could
happen:
1. You could have the satisfaction I did, laughing at this loser and his
lame attempts to scam me.
2. Drain a bit from his fundage pile. If enough was drained he would have
to move on to greener pastures. What do you think? I have been wracking my
brains at a way to find these guys, or inflict some type of damage upon them
as they inflict upon those that they dupe. This was the best that I could
come up with.
Thanks,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
http://www.vanagain.com
http://www.strictlyvwauctions.com
Phone: (856)-327-4936
Fax: (856)-327-2242
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