Scammers hitting Club Cobra?
 

I recieved this concerning a TR3550 input shaft I have advertised for sale here. :mad:

A message about your ad on clubcobra.com
From: puffdiddymc@yahoo.ca
Add contact
Sent:Sat 8/11/07 9:42 AM
To: jrfoy427@hotmail.com

email #1
Standard input shaft for TR 3550 Dear seller,I would like to know the following information about this items:Where are you located?What's the reason for sale?What's the present condition of this items?What's the final asking price given?Will you accept a Money Order for payment?Do provide me with your full name,address and phone number as a regards to the mail.Please get back to me as soon as you can,and i will be waiting to hearfrom you soon. Regards.

It felt fishy but I answered a few of his questions and got this reply.

email #2
RE: A message about your ad on clubcobra.com
From: Campbell Campbell (puffdiddymc@yahoo.ca)
Sent:Sat 8/11/07 12:22 PM
To: John Foyen (jrfoy427@hotmail.com)

Thanks so much for your prompt response....The payment of the item will be made via a Money Order.The Money Order that will be issued will include the money for the sale of your item and the shipping cost.i would like to restate clearly that this item will be shipped to Canada and i have a shipping agent who would take good care of the shipment.

You are required to cash the Money Order you will receive and deduct the funds for the sale of your item and have the rest sent to the shipper via Western Union money transfer at one of their outlet around you in order to schedule the pick up of the item.

All necessary transfer papers will be dully signed by the shipper on my behalf when the shipping agents comes for the pick up of the item.I will be willing to entertain more of your questions,please provide your CONTACT NAME,ADDRESS AND PHONE NUMBER so i can have it forwarded to my client for immediate payment issuance.
Regards.
Has there been any of these deals in the past?
John

Run for your life. This is the classic fake check/money order scam. Most of these type of shysters have programs that scan the internet looking for email addresses and ads for sale. They probably aren't targeting Club Cobra specifically, but the programs pick up any activity related to the parameters set in the scammers' computer.

Best idea is to never reply to these type of probing emails. Usually, if it smells fishy, it IS fishy. Lose this guy as quickly as possible and don't give him any information about your name, address, phone number, etc......

...just tell him it's already sold.

In the unlikely event that you do get a money order, frame it and hang it on the wall to admire. If he contacts you further, tell him that the money order was counterfeit and all info. has been turned over to the Postal Service for investigation of mail fraud and also the FBI since it is also an international fraud scheme. You'll never hear from them again. These scams are real easy to spot because they author is about as well versed in English as a 2 year old.

If you really want to screw with him, pretend you are interested and have him send the check. Basically, waste as much of his time as you can, while leading him on to believe you really want to sell him the item. Give him a fake address to send the check to so he doesn't know where you live. These guys are obviously scammers so have some fun with them and waste their time. As long as they are led to believe that you want to follow their terms, they will stay on the line. Finally, after they are frustrated about you never receiving the bogus money orders, tell them you sold the item to someone else from Nigeria!

My reply was Paypal only.
John

I got the same questions about my engine hoist for sale from the same guy as you. Simply told him cash on the barrel....means you gotta show up in person...I mean, how else will you get an engine hoist? Pay to have it shipped? ugh.

He e-mailed me and wants my roll bar.........????

Yea we were selling a dirt bike a few months ago got that same tag ,we just deleted him a couple of times never herd back

You have it correct, the guy is a scammer. Just play along and have him send you a check. Let him go through all of the effort. He knows he is sending you a fake check and can do nothing about the fact you pinned it to the wall as a souvenir. If these guys get enough people playing along with them they might just go away.

FIA Mike

honestly I dont know how this ever works. Why would someone selling an item ever send money to the buyer ?!?

I was trying to sell a living room set on Craig's List and got a similar response. I played along and the guy sent me a check. I ran the check though the bank to check for availability of funds. BofA told me that the account was closed a year prior because it had been the target of fraud. I surrendered the check to the FBI and gave them all of the information I had on the person who sent me the check. Never heard anything back.

got the same email on my trailer

Just got the same e-mail asking about the fuel cap assembly I had for sale.

One hit of the delete key takes care of these low-life moron's!

I had one, I emailed him back "May the fleas of a thousand Camels infest your armpits forever" Never heard back.