| Author |
Message |
    
Ned Connolly (Roverned)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 12:46 pm: | 
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I'm selling my 1953 Series I (listed on LRX) and I have been contacted by a man named John Udo in the Republic of Benin in Africa.
He would like to buy my truck for the asking price of $14k but says a client owes him $23k and would like to have the client issue me a cashiers check drawn on a US bank in the amount of $23k and have me reimburse him the difference of $9k after the check has cleared.
All he has asked for/needs is my full name, address, and telephone number.
The whole thing sounds fishy but I can't seem to figure out where the "I got screwed" part comes into the picture. Would someone eat $14k just to get $9k in US currency? Could someone clean out my bank accounts just with my name, address and telephone number?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. |
RJ Clayton (Tozovr)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 12:50 pm: |
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hmmmm...tell them I have a Jeep for sale....LOL... |
John Moore (Jmoore)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 12:53 pm: |
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That's the way all good scams work.
'The whole thing sounds fishy but I can't seem to figure out where the "I got screwed" part comes into the picture. '
If it seems to good, it is...
Run away before you loose your money and truck!
-John |
Todd Sanders (Sanderskog)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 01:00 pm: |
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Run Forest, Run!
Todd |
Peter Matusov (Pmatusov)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 01:04 pm: |
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Ned, the flea market at Cotonou (largest city in Benin) is by far bigger than all others i've seen in my life, combined. seems like most of the country is in that trade 
peter |
Ned Connolly (Roverned)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 01:44 pm: |
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I don't think there's any way for me to lose the truck. Obviously if I gave them bank information, my social security number, and other stuff like that I could see how they could potentially take my money.
But if I just give them my name, address, and phone number (all available at any phone book site on the Internet) I can't see how I'd get taken. Of course, they may be doing it to get US money from one person to another "through" me.
I'm going to ask my bank about it. |
zx
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 02:18 pm: |
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Ask him who will issue the check? Take it directly to that bank and get the cash. I don't see how that would fail - you have the cash before the truck is sent.
If it goes sour the guy will know where you live. |
Dean Brown (Deanbrown3d)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 02:59 pm: |
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Ned,
Its all BS.
Benin is one of the few west african countries where you CAN sell a foreign car and take the money out - perhaps for a one-way safari type trip. So I don't see why they would be so desperate for yours. |
Greg Davis (Gregdavis)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 03:01 pm: |
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Just curious. If this guy is laundering money, could you be liable for "Aiding and Abedding"? Not trying to stir anything up, but I know that courts are not very understanding with that sort of thing, and I'd hate to see an innocent get burned. |
muskyman
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 03:21 pm: |
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well yes...and trust me after 911 they are watching
the IRS will send you the paper work for the income if it is over $9999.
all the money you recieve into an american bank no matter where it comes from gets logged in . if its over the $9999 amount the IRS gets a transaction report everytime
but
more likely what they are doing is sucking you in. africa is the leading country in the world for bank fraud. I would bet that the "deal" would change ten times before now and when ever and somewhere along the line they would try to get your signiture on something so they can drain your bank account.
I used to get letters all the time saying "I am a dignitary and I need to get money outa the country let me deposit my money in your account and and I'll split it with you"
its all shit
sell your pride and joy to someone here in the us and be done
FWIW |
Evan
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 03:39 pm: |
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IT IS A FRAUD!! I had a guy try the same thing with me with one of my cars. The same guy did the same thing to a friend of mine who also had his car listed on autotrader.com. Sent him the same exact e-mail with only the car make and name changed. Plus the guy offered me about $20,000 over my asking price. They comb the used car websites and try and sucker people in. Since they are more specific and slightly more believable than those other "I need help getting my dead uncle's multi-million dollar fortune" scams people are falling for this.
Don't even respond.
E |
Greg P. (Gparrish)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 03:45 pm: |
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Reply to it with a simply "No Thanks" and copy in a few federal agencies like FBI, CIA, etc, etc. |
Greg P. (Gparrish)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 03:58 pm: |
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Here is a perfect example that just showed up in my email:
"Dear Sir/Maddam,
I am Mr Onuigbo Baldwin Gozie, Bank Manager of Diamond BANK , Lagos
Branch.
I have urgent and very confidential business proposition for you.
On June 6 1997, an American oil consultant/contractor with the
Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Barry Kelly made a numbered time (Fixed)
deposited for twelve calendar months, valued at US$25,000,000.00
(Twenty-five Million Dollars) in my branch. Upon maturity, I sent a
routine
notification to his forwarding address but got no reply. After a month,
we
sent a reminder and finally we discovered from his contract employers,
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation that Mr. Barry Kelly died from
an
automobile accident. On further investigation, I found out that he did
not
leave a WILL and all attempts to trace his next of kin were fruitless.
I
therefore made further investigation and discovered that Mr. Barry
Kelly did
not declare any next of kin in all his official documents, including
his
Bank Deposit paperwork. This sum of US$25,000,000.00 is still sitting
in the
Bank and the interest is being rolled over with the principal sum at
the end
of each year. No one will come forward to claim it. According to the
Nigerian Law, at the expiration of 6{Six} years, the money will revert
to
the ownership of the Nigerian Government if nobody applies to claim the
funds. Consequently, my proposal is that I will like you as a foreigner
to
stand in as the next of kin to Mr. Barry Kelly so that the fruits of
this
old man's labor will not get into the hands of some corrupt government
officials. This is simple;
1) I will like you to provide me immediately with your full names and
address so that the attorney will prepare the necessary documents and
affidavits, which will put you in place as the next of kin.
2) We shall employ the services of two attorneys for drafting and
notarization of the WILL and obtain the necessary documents and letter
of
probate/administration in your favor for the transfer.
3) A bank account in any part of the world, which you provide, will
then
facilitate the transfer of this money to you as the beneficiary/next of
kin
of Mr.Barry Kelly. The money will be paid into your account for us to
share
in the ratio of 60% for me and 40% for you.
There is no risk at all as all the paperwork for this transaction will
be
done by the attorney and my position as the Branch Manager guarantees
the
successful execution of this transaction. If you are interested, please
reply immediately via the private email address below. Upon your
response, I
shall then provide you with more details and relevant documents that
will
help you understand. Please observe utmost confidentiality, and rest
assured
that this transaction would be most profitable for both of us because I
shall require your assistance to invest my share in your country.
Awaiting
your urgent reply via email
Thanks and regards
Baldwin Gozie Esq."
Such a scam |
Paul T. Schram (Paulschram)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 04:02 pm: |
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Musky:
Many banks will report you to the IRS for any cash transaction over as little as $1,000! The amount varies, but you have no privacy whatsoever when your bank becomes involved. And, I suspect this will only become worse because the only people who need cash money are terrorists, drug dealers and those wacky conspiracy theorists (I'm just a regular conspiracy theorist, haven't achieved wacky, in spite of my wife's comments to the contrary).
Ned:
Tell Mr. Udo I have a Series IIA for sale and a sanitized bank account just for this transaction!
Hee Hee Hee |
the Big Daddy
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 04:39 pm: |
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Hey .. who's using my name? |
Dana Giles (Dana_G)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 04:50 pm: |
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Ned,
I think it's been pretty well decided it's a scam. Just another offshoot of the Nigerian 419 (help me smuggle out money) scam. The Federal Trade Commission is actively looking to collect all 419 scam emails that people receive, they may be interested in this one too, especially if they're not familiar with this variant yet. |
Eric Pena (Evalp)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 04:57 pm: |
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I guess my first question is why is the hell someone from Africa would want to buy and LAND ROVER from the US. I am sure there are many to choose from in Africa already.
I would NEVER do this, bank and cashiers checks are generally good money but there are fake ones just like regular checks. You might get the money right away and ship the car but when, and I do mean when, it comes up forged, you will owe all the money and be screwed. By that time you rover will be on its way and you will be pissed.
This is a scam...don't do it! |
Dana Giles (Dana_G)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 04:58 pm: |
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Whoops, my bad.....FTC are the ones who want the stock pump and dump spams.....419's have to be sent to; 419.fcd@usss.treas.gov |
Carter Simcoe (Carter)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 05:07 pm: |
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did the guy say whether or not he worked for Overland Tours??? |
Ned Connolly (Roverned)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 05:35 pm: |
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Thanks everyone for the input.
I'm sure it's a scam but I think I'll just play with the guy for a while, asking tough questions that'll take up a lot of his time and energy.
He's probably not even in Benin but rather working out of his basement in Jersey.
So, anyone want to buy a really sweet Series I? |
John Moore (Jmoore)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 05:35 pm: |
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GOOD ONE CARTER! He did say he was on the way to Africa!
LOL!
-John |
Jason Vance (Jason)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 06:19 pm: |
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BTW,
why would he need you for the money exchange anyway?
You are recieving the money from a US bank account...then you send this guy in Africa the money from a US account (unless you are in Canada...then this whole comment is useless). Certainly, his money coming from the US is not a concern.
That could only mean that the source of the funds you are to receive is very suspect, or as others have alluded, you'll end up being screwed by some contractual clause later in the dealings.
Tell him you remember his sister from college and she gave your entire Frat VD. |
Ron
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 07:12 pm: |
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Tell him to send the check. Take the 23k to one of those check cashing places and keep the truck. No one would belive him anyway.
Ron |
michael burt (Mikeyb)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 11:01 pm: |
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i think ron is on...scam the scammers. i love to see the "what comes around" story come true. |
Blake Luse (Muddyrover)
| | Posted on Monday, November 18, 2002 - 11:53 pm: |
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lol yeah and his terrorist posse will come with ak 47's to your house if you keep everything.
If infact it is a laundering scam, and some how you get caught and go to court as the defendant against the state or the US. You would be convicted because you had probable cause to think that it is laundering and that any "reasonable" person would have recognized this and walked away. But if this happens you would use Mistake (of law or facts) as your defense against criminal liability.
only 2 ways this could be valid though
1) The law was not published or reasonably made known to the public.
2) The people relied on an official statement of law that was erroneous.
I feel smart cause i've had law classes. But I'm not that good so someone come in and prove that wrong and i'll stand corrected.
But that was my stab at it. |
Carter Simcoe (Carter)
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 12:20 am: |
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errrr..... I would be inclined to say that in reality the outcome of such a situation would really depend more on how much you feel like spending on a lawyer as it is a pretty grey area, just to be safe my suggestion is to steer clear. |
Jason Vance (Jason)
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 07:15 am: |
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Yeah, and $24K sure isn't gonna buy you Johnny Cochran! |
David Marchand (Dmarchand)
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 07:43 am: |
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Ned,
This very same personor alias contacted me as well when I was selling my DII. I asked him for more information and whther he would mind a background check by the FBI. I didn't hear from them again... |
Blue (Bluegill)
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 09:47 am: |
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I think that Mr Onuigbo Baldwin Gozie sounds like a nice man. Just do it. |
Greg P. (Gparrish)
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 09:52 am: |
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Regarding Ron's comment, if you do that, and the funds were from a very suspect source, Vinnie and Guido may show up to collect the money and/or truck and it may not be pleasant. |
Greg P. (Gparrish)
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 09:57 am: |
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Thats a good one Blue.
You know, someone earlier mentioned that the Federal Trade Commission was looking for this stuff, but I once forwarded an email like the one I posted above to them, and they replied that internet scams and crimes were not their department. Made me feel really good. |
Dana Giles (Dana_G)
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 11:38 am: |
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That was my bad on the FTC one. They are actually looking to collect emails which appear to be stock pump and dump type stuff, but aren't the ones to contact for things like this. The Secret Service are the ones to contact for actual 419 scams, although this isn't a true 419 they may still be interested as it involves shady international money transfers....though $23k doesn't seem like enough to get their attention. |
R. B. Bailey (Rover50987)
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 19, 2002 - 12:33 pm: |
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I have got several people asking for that same info from me - only they just ask randomly - it is obviously a scam. The difference is, you opened the door to it by trying to sell a Land Rover - no fault of yours of course, but that is just the way the new age of information is. Don't do it. |
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