| SCAM THE SCAMMER. JANUARY 2006 |
| I was having a butchers hook (look) at E-Bay one day recently. I was looking at motorbikes in America for my (hopefully) forthcoming trip. I�d been on E-Bay and other sites for a fair while now, getting prices and an idea of what different makes and models in the USA, were selling for.
So there I am in veggie mode, minding my own business, having a look around, when I typed in �Yamaha FJR�. Up pops about 4 ad�s for Yamaha FJR's. Now, I was looking at the Yamaha FJR 1300 (before I bought my beauuuuutiful Beemer), when I was looking for a new motor bike, so I knew roughly the price of them. I looked at this advert that says �2005 Yamaha FJR1300� and knew instantly that I couldn�t afford it. I was curious though about the buy it now price of only $2,990.00 USA dollars!! That translates into Australian of about $3,970.00!! WAYYYYYYYYY�� too cheap!!!! WHAT!!!!! This is madness!! The bike sells here for about $26,000 Aussie dollars, and here�s a guy selling one for under $4,000 !! There was definitely an awful smell coming from somewhere!!! Checking my undies in case I�d had an accident (I hadn�t, but it was nice checking them anyway!!!), I absolutely smelled a rat. Either this was a typo mistake and the guy was going to have egg on his face, or it was a full blown scam big time . I clicked on and read the ad. fully. I saw that it was a three day ad. and had only been running for less than one hour. The starting price was 45 cents which meant no reserve. People selling a bike of this value DO NOT put them up for no reserve. The location was pretty vague as well, with only USA stated. The description of the bike was perfect condition. Only 129 miles on the clock, not a scratch etc. etc. blah blah. What a stand up alright guy, to sell a bike this cheap!!! (the smell was now getting overpowering) I decided to write to him and see what happened. |
| Hello, Can you confirm the buy it now price and tell me what location the bike is in. Also do you have clear title. Thanks Regan |
| He sent back the following answer. |
| [email protected] wrote:
Hi, Thank you for your interest and sorry for the delay.Before we go ahead,in case you are still interested, some words about the bike: This is a 2005 Yamaha FJR 1300 ABS with only 129 miles.Never seen bad weather.One owner,clear title. Flawless exterior condition.The bike has never been wrecked ,dropped or raced. It runs and rides flawlessly. There Are No Dimples, Dents, Depressions, Scrapes Or Scratches Anywhere. The Paint Is In Fantastic Condition As Is All.The seats are just as clean with no rips, tears, or stains. I'm selling the bike because i've had knee surgery and can no longer ride. Price is $2,990.00 .Bike will be shipped from Albany,NY on my expenses by DAS(the only shipping service recommended by ebay) .I will support the shipping costs and insurance,shipping will be door to door.The transaction will be closed only through eBay, in this way we will both be protected. 30 days money back guarantee .If this is the bike you are looking for and if you agree with these conditions let me know and i will set up the transaction through eBay. Thank you PS:If you wanna see more photos,let me know. |
| This is brilliant I think to myself. Not only is he selling a $26,000 bike for $4,000 but he's actually going to pay freight and insurance, to anywhere in the United States for me. How cool is this guy??? I almost felt guilty. The Poor bloke has had knee surgery and my heart begins to weep for him (NOT!!!) I looked on E-Bay the next day and the ad. had vanished. E-Bay had obviously caught up with this guy and dumped his ad. I decided to dangle the carrot a bit more and mention the 'M' word. I sent back the following :- |
| [email protected] wrote:
Hi again, First see the pics attached below.The bike it's still for sale. If you are decided to purchase the bike, we can go ahead.I would like to close this deal through ebay because in this way we are both protected.eBay will handle this transaction for us and in this way we'll be both protected.All my transactions are closed through ebay.Title is clear,no lien. Bike will be shipped in crate from Albany, NY on my expenses,i will support the shipping costs and insurance,you will not be responsible for the shipping costs,etc.Shipping will be door to door,to your home address,it will take no more than 6 days,somebody must be home when the bike arrives to sign for the reception.The title and the bill of sale with owner manuals ,etc..will be together with the bike.So once you get the bike ,you will receive the paperwork.DAS is the only shipping service recommended by ebay. To set up the transaction through eBay,i need the following details: 1.You full name. 2.Your full shipping address (i mean where to ship the bike). 3.Your ph# - i need this # for the shipping service. 4.Your fax#-so i can fax you the shipping receipt and other papers regarding the shipping. After i set up the transaction,you will be contacted by ebay with all the transaction details,payment&shipping instructions,etc.If you are approved by ebay to purchase the bike,you have to follow their instructions. Thank you |
| Is the bike still for sale.
I cant find it on E-Bay anymore How do i send the money to you?? |
| Neat. The guy has a definite problem with English and repeats himself, but I was curious about how E-Bay was going to contact me. I decided to up the 'bullshit factor' and sent off the following :- |
| Hello again
Thankyou for your swift reply . Yes I want the bike, it will be ideal for my needs. My address for delivery is Walter Regan c/o lot 4/28 Bilirubin Avenue Thompson GA This is a friends house who will look after the bike for me, until I get to America for my holidays. Can you tell me how I pay on here because I have never bought anything on E-Bay before. This is all a bit new to me and Im just working out how to use a computer. I've seen this paypal thing but dont have an account. Do I need to set one up. It all looks rather confusing. Ive spoken to my parents and they will definitely lend me the money to pay for it. I dont have a fax number. I do have my mobile number but thats an Australian number so won't be any good to you I don't think. My friend has a mobile number (I think you call them cell phones there) and I've written to him and asked him for it. Please note that I definitely want this bike and you can consider it sold. |
| Now at this stage I thought to myself lets see how far I can take this. The address you will note is 'Bilirubin Avenue' Most people arn't aware that Bilirubin is the chemical in your body that turns your shit brown!!!! Cool huh? If y'all had paid attention when you were watching 'Silence Of the Lambs' you would have seen 'Bilirubin' come up in that movie. Whenever you have a blood test at the doctors, they will test for Bilirubin. It's an indicator of liver disease (and also how dark you turds are!). In reply I got the following :- |
| He obviously took the bait and decided he had a sucker on the hook. He replied with the following |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| [email protected] wrote:
Let me know your full name ASAP because i need to send to ebay the seller name. Thank you |
| Yes its Walter REGAN
Regan is the family name. |
| Thats nice of him. Now he was trying to save me money at the same time as ripping me off. I think NOT!! More than likely, it's probably to avoid taxes or questions, when he goes to pick it up. The next mail I got from him (I assume it's a him) can be viewed by clicking the following (not folowing!) link. This one was clever because the E-mail address it came from was [email protected] All rather official looking. I've pointed out a couple of mistakes. Pick out the grammar mistakes for yourselves. |
|
|
|
| I decided to move the carrot away a little and sent the following. I thought I'd send this back to the (apparent) E-bay address and not his usual address, to see what would happen. |
| Hey Jay
Ive got the payment thing, and got the money, but it says down payment. As agreed the $2,990.00 is FULL payment not a down payment. This looks like Im signing up for another payment later on. Can you tell me whats going on as my dad is a bit concerned. Thanks Walter. |
| I then got this :- |
| ebay will contact you soon.
I think you must go to a Western Union Office/Agent to make the payment with cash. Just to help you.Usually Western Union takes higher fees for purchases of goods.To avoid these fees,in case the operator from Western Union ask you for what reason you make this payment,you better tell them you make this payment for personal reason(eg:to send money to a relative of your from NY) and in this way you will pay normal fees,not higher.This is just a tip and just to help you to not pay so much to make this payment. Let me know Thank you |
| From his usual address came :- |
| Walter i've received a notification from ebay where you asking ebay about the payment.The TOTAL amount you have to send me it's only $2,990.00 and you don't have to send another payment later.
Let me know when you're able to make the payment because the bike it's ready for shipping. Thank you PS:Don't forget my advice,you will save some $$$ |
| Wow... things were hotting up. I was really beginning to enjoy myself by this time and had to think just how far I wanted to take it. If I could just get him to go to the Western Union office (and waste his time) I would be happy after that. So... I sent the following :- |
| Hello Jay
I went down to the bank with my dad this afternoon and the currency conversion was $3.983.50 Australian dollars. I had to pay some transaction fees but we did what you said, and said it was a gift. They asked for a secret word for protection or something. The Australian transaction number for western union is TAUS 9462387723 The TAUS was printed on the sheet before the number. Could you please let me know the shipping document number from the bike shippers and when it is expected to arrive in GA. Also can you make sure that it is protected from getting damaged. I look forward to hearing from you soon Walter |
| Shit.... How the hell am I going to come up with copies of the transaction receipt?? Well... if he can make an E-Bay one,surely I could make a Bank one!! So I constructed and sent him this:- |
| Then I got this reply :- |
| Walter i need the following details from the payment receipt to confirm the transaction with ebay
: - MTCN - 10 digits number from the payment receipt - Sender Name and Address - Receiver Name Also i need a scanned copy of the payment receipt from Western Union to be attached at the bill of sale,you'll need that to register the bike under your name. Let me know ASAP Thank you |
 |
 |
| My bait was now dangling. Lets see if he had taken it. Next day I got this :- |
| Walter,
I was informed by ebay to start the shipping. DAS will pick up the bike tomorrow,the first thing in the morning and i will let you know in the afternoon all the details regarding the shipping : arrival date,tracking number,etc. Talk to you tomorrow, Thank you |
| GREAT !!! He took the bait. As far as I was concerned, it was mission accomplished and he would go to a Western Union office and try to grab the cash. I was happy with that, and sat back to wait and see. I was going away anyway, on a ride for 6 days on my Beemer, to the Great Ocean Road in Victoria (Which I might add is highly recommended). I did manage to jump on a computer in a cafe for about five minutes though, and saw there were no messages from him (sad). I kind'a missed playing with this idiot and was a bit dissapointed there wasn't any mail. I decided to try one last thing and sent the following :- |
| Jay I still havent received the confirmation papers from you.
Ive been onto the bank and they say you havent collected the money either. what's happening buddy? Can you get back to me as soon as possible please Thanks Walter. |
| Amazingly he wrote back. |
| Walter I've sent you the papers by mail from my work e-mail address.I will check in the morning why you didn't received the papers.
Let me know Thanks |
| Well, it was time to call an end to this farce. I decided I wanted to get the last word in and tell him what an idiot he was. I sent the following mail which has no slant on Americans as a whole, and was just aimed at this particular American, who would rip off anyone from any country (that means you!!). For all I know, he may not even have been in America. At the bottom after the final letter to him, are links to sites telling of tales of people that have been ripped off using the Western Union scam.. Western Union provides a real good service I'm sure, however, they are NOT to be used for E-bay transactions, where you 'DON'T KNOW' the person you are sending the money to. I hadn't even heard of the scam using Western Union before this incident. If he had made the transaction more reasonable and not such a ridiculous bargain (he must be new at this), I could see how he would suck people in. Tell your friends and family. The more people that know about these things the better for all of us honest folk. As a last bit of vindictiveness I went online using an old Yahoo address and signed him up for as much spam mail as I could find. Feel free to add your two cents worth, and do the same. I want to make sure he can't hope to use these two E-mail addresses again. His addresses are at the bottom. I admit... I used a bit of Bilirubin affected bullshit in the letter to him. I have a friend here that was reverse scamming a few Nigerians. They had a fortune to get out of their country and just wanted to share it with the first person to come along. He did the official bit and actually reported them to the FBI (apparently they have a section dealing with just this) and also the mail providors to get them shut down. I feel it's all a bit of a waste of time though. They just start up again with different addresses. Now the final letter :- |
| Jay�.
Well�. I know that�s not your real name!!! I mean�. After all this correspondence, your real name must be �WANKER� or �TOSS POT� or something like that??? Oh excuse me�� I�m sorry�.. You �ARE� American aren�t you???? You probably have no bloody idea what a wanker is�.. RIGHT??? Let me explain for you�. A wanker, as defined by the free (on line) dictionary by Farlex says (and I quote) :- Noun 1. wanker - terms of abuse for a masturbator jerk-off, tosser masturbator, onanist - a person who practices masturbation Does this make things clearer??? What about �.. Wanker is a pejorative term of British origin, also common in Australia, meaning one who wanks (masturbates). It is particularly used of someone (usually male) who is self-obsessed or a show-off, but can also refer to a person who overzealously lies or continually remarks of his achievements. It has the similar meanings and overtones to the American "jerk" or "jerk-off". Now at this stage I�m assuming that you even know what a dictionary is, so you can go away and look it up. You certainly lie a hell of a lot. Anyway, so the term is truly fitting. It also says �� The insult can also be conveyed using a hand gesture involving curling the fingers of the (usually right) hand into a loose fist and moving the hand back and forth in symbolic imitation of the act of male masturbation. This is probably most common during altercations between motorists. Now I don�t know about motorists. But, I can assure you I�ve certainly been doing a lot of this, every time I get your mails, telling me how I�m going to get a bike worth around $18,000 USA dollars for the princely sum of less than $3,000 USA dollars!!! Jesus�. You really must be a wanker of the first degree. You hands must be covered in calluses?? It�s been real fun stringing you along like this, but alas, it must come to an end. Unfortunately it�s time for me to move on and get my kicks from elsewhere. Preferably, this will be from someone that�s more of a challenge and has at least half a brain. Before I go though, let me just clarify a few things for you. Pay attention here and you will get educated. I must admit, the stuff with the E-Bay header that you sent to me, at first glance, was quite impressive. It�s a shame that as well as a wanker, you are obviously an illiterate bastard too. Anyone that actually bothered to finish basic schooling (NOTE: There is no �K� in School!!) and you obviously didn�t, would see the spelling and grammar mistakes in it. NO, I�m not telling you where they are!! You can go and look for them yourself. Besides this, E-Bay, do not send anything out to people making transactions, so you get a �strike two� there buddy. Nope. Sorry� You do not get a chance to phone a friend, or go 50/50. Using E-Bay�s logo is also a federal offence by the way. Not that this will worry you too much at the moment, until you get caught. And, you will get caught eventually!!!! Now, let�s go in order of little hints that I gave you, that, I was in fact scamming you, and not the other way around as you thought. OK, Firstly the address. The address I gave you, to send this amazingly cheap machine to, is obviously a fake. If, as I said, you had half a brain and left your cock alone for five minutes, you would have picked up that, the street name was �Bilirubin� street. Check it out on the net. Bilirubin is the chemical in your body that turns you shit brown. You must have an oversupply of this. No, not the chemical!! I mean shit!! With all the lies you tell, you really must be full of the stuff!!! Secondly, let�s move onto the letter I constructed and sent to you. Check the number under the heading. The letters spell out the word �WANKER�. Yup, that�s you dick head. My Australian address!!! ARSCHLOCH Avenue??? ARSCHLOCH my friend is German for ASSHOLE!! Yup, that�s you as well. The phone number!!! Look at your phone. It can spell U R A WANKER!!! Yup, that�s definitely you again. The date of birth!! 1st of April!! That�s April fools day, and man�. YOU really are the fool!!!! The secret password�. �WICHER�!!! Yup that�s a bit of German as well. Come on, play along. Guess what it means!!! Yup. You got it. It means WANKER!!! I hope you are paying attention to all this. You really never know when it may come in helpful. Well my friend. Thanks for the entertainment. My ultimate goal was to keep you stringing along, long enough, that you would actually go down to the Western Union and ask to collect the money. What a complete waste of time for poor little you that was. Just so as you know, all correspondence with you from the very beginning has been forwarded onto E-Bay, AOL, Western Union and the FBI. The FBI were very interested and stated they considered computer crime a very serious offence. Hopefully they will catch your sorry ass very soon and you will spend some time in jail where you belong. You certainly won�t have time to keep pulling your pud (wanking) in jail. You will probably be using your new found education in German and protecting your ARSCHLOCH! Hopefully though, you will get what you deserve. Have fun Walter. P.S. I really wouldn�t go near your E-mail addresses again. They are tracking and coming for you!!! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Note how he avoided mentioning Pay Pal which is a fairly secure way of paying on E-bay. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
| Strange.... I havent't heard from him since!!! Interesting reading on Western Union scams is on the links below. |
| Feeling angry??? P.M.S'ing badly??? Someone cut you off in the car??? No worries. Make yourself feel better. Send lots of spam and (Bilirubin tainted) crap to these addresses:- 1) [email protected] 2) [email protected] |
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |