Nigerian Car Scam alert! (fake check scam)

[92accordlxtuner]

IMPORTANT: hey guys, this is to let anyone who is selling anything of value online (for ex, im selling my cb7):

this is the second time someone has contaced me interested in my car (car is listed on autotrader, sharpcar, and honda classifieds), saying they are handicapped and are gonna send me a cashiers check for my car.

these guys are targeting the honda market.

the first time, i recieved a very, very real looking counterfeit check from Africa (even fooled local bank)...i even talked to the person over the phone, who said they are handicapped and need the car...

this time, it came from who knows where, the adress was fake anyways (envelope had a US adress, even though there was international postage. and i got a call from michigan area.

from what i have learned, they try to sucker you by making you think they are handicapped or needy. then they ask you how much you want for your item. (i said 5300, just to see what happens.). then they send you a counterfiet cashiers check for double the amount, in this case i got a 10000 check. they then ask you to cash the check and send back the money via western union, minus your price for your item. what happens is the bank finds out the check is fake, and the money comes outta your pocket.

they will make up all sorts of stories, some very convincing, and there are usually teams of ppl working together. i guess they are targeting the honda market since i know someone who got scammed sellin an Acura engine last week.

be very, very cautious when selling anything (like cb7 parts) b/c these are smart ppl...entire teams of ppl waiting to scam you.

and btw, the person who got scammed got a PM off a board much like this one!

[Nycxeracer]

MODS of this board, OFF-Topic imparticularly, it has come to my attention that the "Nigerian Car Scam" has been posted several times in this section of the board. If you have noticed, this causes quite disheartening panic among our members. I believe this is a real-time problem, and should be made sticky, so that others to our board are aware of this. I absolutely believe our members would benefit from being aware of this horrible problem. Lastly, I would gladly gather information and post educated statistics and what to do, if you'd allow this to become permanent. Thank you, and have a good night.

[deevergote]

Originally posted by Nycxeracer
MODS of this board, OFF-Topic imparticularly, it has come to my attention that the "Nigerian Car Scam" has been posted several times in this section of the board. If you have noticed, this causes quite disheartening panic among our members. I believe this is a real-time problem, and should be made sticky, so that others to our board are aware of this. I absolutely believe our members would benefit from being aware of this horrible problem. Lastly, I would gladly gather information and post educated statistics and what to do, if you'd allow this to become permanent. Thank you, and have a good night.

Agreed... I haven't had any experience with it myself, but hell... I don't want my CB7 buddies getting ripped off!

If ANYONE thinks they might have a problem with this, just take the check to a check cashing place or something... get the money, and tell the people that it never arrived! Scam em right back! Not fair to the check cashing place, or bank, or whatever... but still. They'll learn to detect those fake checks real quick!


I'll sticky this thread, since it outlines quite well what the problem is.

[rebels]

Those stupid towel heads try to do it to me all the time when I have JDM parts or valuable stuff like a PS2 or what not.. saying they will Western Union the money and have UPS pick it up the same day.

You have 3 days to retract your Western Union transfers so once they pick up the PS2, they will cancel the money.

To aviod this, tell the nigerians you shipped the stuff off and see if they cancel the money.. that is if you feel like messing around with the camel jockey's mind.

Just be careful, they are always out there to steal!

[uncle_el]

Re: 2nd time ... watch out!

scams like these have been around for years, and will continue to be around, because people are greedy.

common schemes on the fbi's website

Advance Fee Scheme


An advance fee scheme occurs when the victim pays money to someone in anticipation of receiving something of greater value, such as a loan, contract, investment, or gift, and then receives little or nothing in return.

The variety of advance fee schemes is limited only by the imagination of the conartists who offer them. They may involve the sale of products or services, the offering of investments, lottery winnings, "found money," or many other "opportunities." Clever conartists will offer to find financing arrangements for their clients who pay a "finder's fee" in advance. They require their clients to sign contracts in which they agree to pay the fee when they are introduced to the financing source. Victims often learn that they are ineligible for financing only after they have paid the "finder" according to the contract. Such agreements may be legal unless it can be shown that the "finder" never had the intention or the ability to provide financing for the victims.

Some Tips to Avoid the Advanced Fee Schemes:

If the offer of an "opportunity" appears too good to be true, it probably is. Follow common business practice. For example, legitimate business is rarely conducted in cash on a street corner.
Know who you are dealing with. If you have not heard of a person or company that you intend to do business with, learn more about them. Depending on the amount of money that you intend to spend, you may want to visit the business location, check with the Better Business Bureau, or consult with your bank, an attorney, or the police.
Make sure you fully understand any business agreement that you enter into. If the terms are complex, have them reviewed by a competent attorney.
Be wary of businesses that operate out of post office boxes or mail drops and do not have a street address, or of dealing with persons who do not have a direct telephone line, who are never "in" when you call, but always return your call later.
Be wary of business deals that require you to sign nondisclosure or noncircumvention agreements that are designed to prevent you from independently verifying the bona fides of the people with whom you intend to do business. Conartists often use noncircumvention agreements to threaten their victims with civil suit if they report their losses to law enforcement.

Nigerian Letter or "419" Fraud

Nigerian letter frauds combine the threat of impersonation fraud with a variation of an advance fee scheme in which a letter, mailed from Nigeria, offers the recipient the "opportunity" to share in a percentage of millions of dollars that the author, a self-proclaimed government official, is trying to transfer illegally out of Nigeria. The recipient is encouraged to send information to the author, such as blank letterhead stationary, bank name and account numbers and other identifying information using a facsimile number provided in the letter. Some of these letters have also been received via E-mail through the Internet. The scheme relies on convincing a willing victim, who has demonstrated a "propensity for larceny" by responding to the invitation, to send money to the author of the letter in Nigeria in several installments of increasing amounts for a variety of reasons.

Payment of taxes, bribes to government officials, and legal fees are often described in great detail with the promise that all expenses will be reimbursed as soon as the funds are spirited out of Nigeria. In actuality, the millions of dollars do not exist and the victim eventually ends up with nothing but loss. Once the victim stops sending money, the perpetrators have been known to use the personal information and checks that they received to impersonate the victim, draining bank accounts and credit card balances until the victim's assets are taken in their entirety. While such an invitation impresses most law-abiding citizens as a laughable hoax, millions of dollars in losses are caused by these schemes annually. Some victims have been lured to Nigeria, where they have been imprisoned against their will, in addition to losing large sums of money. The Nigerian government is not sympathetic to victims of these schemes, since the victim actually conspires to remove funds from Nigeria in a manner that is contrary to Nigerian law. The schemes themselves violate section 419 of the Nigerian criminal code, hence the label "419 fraud."

Some Tips to Avoid Nigerian Letter or "419" Fraud:

If you receive a letter from Nigeria asking you to send personal or banking information, do not reply in any manner. Send the letter to the U.S. Secret Service or the FBI.
If you know someone who is corresponding in one of these schemes, encourage that person to contact the FBI or the U.S. Secret Service as soon as possible.
Be skeptical of individuals representing themselves as Nigerian or foreign government officials asking for your help in placing large sums of money in overseas bank accounts.
Do not believe the promise of large sums of money for your cooperation.
Guard your account information carefully.

if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.
if it sounds like a complicated and convoluted way to get your money, it probably is.

Originally posted by 92accordlxtuner

the first time, i recieved a very, very real looking counterfeit check from Africa (even fooled local bank)...i even talked to the person over the phone, who said they are handicapped and need the car...

africa is a continent, not a country. that should have been enough right there to know that something was wrong.

2 threads about the same topic by the same person?!?!?!

[deevergote]

Yeah, this thread was originally created as a "part 2" of sorts. I changed the name to reflect the topic, since I stickied it.

There are plenty of scams out there (thanks for the FBI link, el!) but this one does seem to be targeting the Honda community lately.

[92accordlxtuner]

here is another example of what they send you its pasted directly from email, usually they have bad grammer:

Dear seller , I am interested in buying your advertise goods
(1992 Honda Accord LX ) which was posted for sale ,i will like to know the selling price of the goods and the present condition of it also i will like to let you know that i have a shipping company that do takes cares of my goods they will be responsible for the picking up of the it immediately will seal the transaction and i will also like to inform you that i have a client that will pay on behalf of me with a certiified cashier cheque.i will be looking forward to read from you as early as possible .

this is the 2nd i got this week, i guess they think im gullible (because i pretend to be interested to see how they work).

[homegrown_xt]

These guys are also hitting up dealers up that sell parts online. At first I was getting emails for orders to ship to Nigeria and then started getting calls from relay operators. I thought this sounded fishy so we told them that we do not ship out of country. They kept trying for a couple of months and finally gave up. Every once in a while I will get a call or email and I tell them the same thing, we don't ship out of country.
Be careful and don't get suckered in.
Ken