questionable emails from buyers of my boat.

[bob goeckel]

has anyone else run into this? i've listed a small sailboat on some websites and am getting a few email replys that sound very strange. from buyers quite far away who are willing to send me a cashiers check if i will give them my address and phone # without seeing the boat. one claimed to be a dealer who is buying for a client who NEEDS my boat but is overseas currenly. another claimed he'd send me a check and have his agent arrange to pick it up later. all these e-mailers seem to lack a grasp of correct grammatical english . flags went up right away and i haven't dealt with any of them. sounds like some kind of scam to me. :eek:

[Ken Buck]

Sounds strange...
But not quite like the famous Nigerian 419 email scams - they aren't asking you for money, are they?
Still, they want your information, in return for (what? a bogus cashier's check?). Perhaps it is just a SPAM troller, waiting for you to respond to the mail and prove that your email address is valid - after which, you will receive daily tons of undesired mail... :( My advice: beware, and don't answer ...

Nigerian 419 scams (http://www.snopes2.com/inboxer/scams/nigeria.htm)

[ 08-14-2003, 10:30 PM: Message edited by: Ken Buck ]

[bob goeckel]

i did reply to the first one but said he need to call me. not a word since. blocking the others.

[rustnrot]

I'm listing an old outboard and get those emails all the time. I laugh when I think about that old outboard being "needed" by someone in Nigeria. I've been told by my government that using old classic boats is the best way to find yellowcake though....

[bob goeckel]

yellowcake?????? i'm into chocolate/ chocolate cake myself. :D

[Venchka]

A local couple (South Louisiana) was scammed via a bass boat for sale on e-bay and an Escrow Company. They wired money to the escrow company which landed in a Latvian bank. Fortunately their bank got to the Latvian bank in time to recover their money, close to $7,000.

The internet is nice for research, but I still do business the old fasioned way-person to person.

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

It's a scam, based on the premise that your bank will show your account as credited with a remittance from an overseas bank long before the remittance is cleared - when it does not clear, the bank debits you again, but by then you have parted with the goods.

[Fishboat]

This is a reasonably well known scam. The checks are bogus. They're sending you a worthless (though it may look good) piece of paper to get vital info from you. Maybe someday they'll get enough info to become you.

[bob goeckel]

if they became me, they'd be in for a rude awakening! they'd probably return me in a hurry. i wonder which one of me they'd be?

[WayGray]

I've read that another version of this scam is to send you a check for more that the agreed amount. They then request you send them your check for the difference. They cash your check, but theirs, which is delayed in clearing, turns out to be bogus.

[bob goeckel]

yellowcake rust, i'd still like to know what it is. cake should be edible, no?

[seafox61]

My guess on yellow cake is the only time I have heard that term it is uranuium ore after the waste rock has been seperated. ( but before it is refined)
jeffery

[bob goeckel]

is it possible to be scammed on phone call backs? i returned a call to a number left on my answering machine about the boat twice and all i got was a recording that the person was not answering the call.

[Meerkat]

Originally posted by seafox61:
My guess on yellow cake is the only time I have heard that term it is uranuium ore after the waste rock has been seperated. ( but before it is refined)
jefferycongrats seafox: you're doing better than the resident shrub :D

[Meerkat]

Originally posted by bob goeckel:
is it possible to be scammed on phone call backs? i returned a call to a number left on my answering machine about the boat twice and all i got was a recording that the person was not answering the call.The call back scam generally works like this: you get a call or an email or whatever asking you to make what looks like an innocent callback to a US area code - only it's not a US area code and you end up paying $$$$/minute while they discuss whatever and/or have you on hold to "clear up the matter of your winnings" or some other inducement to stay on the line and run up your phone charges.