They tried to scam us!!!

[ridebikeme]

Ahhh that can be so frustrating! I too, have had that happen a number of times. They always seem to call for a large order,,, 12 pair of Mavic Krysium Sl wheels, 5 mtn bikes etc... They would call, email a number of times and will continue to do so; I still receive calls/emails daily from people trying to do the same thing. What I normally tell them is that I would be glad to help them out, if they could only visit the shop . I also mention that I do not take orders over the phone or through email. Obviously that can change if you know your customer well. You can also ask for the CV number on the back of the card, generally they won't have that because they don't have the card in hand.

I'm glad that you were able to work all of this out before taking the plunge! Unfortunately, I think this type of thing will only get worse before it gets better...especially with the poor economy.

[ClockworkOrange]

There are a lot of low life people out there, that give specific nationalities a really bad name.

Recently on eBay, my son was almost scammed for £350 when he was trying to sell his PlayStation3. These guys put in bids at the very last second for a high price, they only seem to do it on valuable items. Some how, they hack into peoples eBay accounts, so you think you are dealing with somebody legitimately.

Then you receive an email allegedly via Paypal, saying you must send the item before they will release the funds!!!

I don't think so.

There is a lot to learn on the internet about the scamming that is going on.

RunningMommy, so pleased you realised it was a scam, you've had enough bad luck in the last 12 months.

Clock

[Fujichants]

Draw them a picture of a mountain bike with the word GOTCHA in huge bold font and colorful letters.

[Fujichants]

Then you receive an email allegedly via Paypal, saying you must send the item before they will release the funds!!!

I don't think so.

I got one of these notifications from Paypal as well and gave them a call. They apologized and cleared the funds for me and said it shouldn't have happened.

[lunacycles]

I routinely get email inquiries from someone (usually in Taiwan) who wants to order 6 (or 60) build kits of Campy Record and happy to pay what ever I charge....the first time, I actually replied, asking further questions. but in the end , it was obvious came down to a scam--they want to give me a cc # and ship rightaway!!

Haven't you all gotten numerous emails from someone claiming to be the legitimate heir of a throne in some third world country who wants you to launder their money?

I also get scams from businesses saying how important it is to protect my intellectual property before multiple people (they have talked with, of course) want to steal it from me.

It is a dangerous world out there as far as consumers and small business owners go, and I imagine scams will get more prevalent as the world economy, er, "adjusts" to the new reality.

[Grog]

All of you who have businesses and who regularly resist scammers are definitely smarter than this guy:

http://www.windsorstar.com/Leamingto...799/story.html

Kudos to you.

[smurfalicious]

In our business we get them as the "deaf phone calls." If I'm not swamped, I will play along long enough to get the crdt crd info in order to call the banks. They always ask if we sell guitars. I say yes, and they ask for a price. I always quote something outrageous. They have no problem with the price, and they'll want half a dozen shipped to Nigeria for a church program. It's a shame that they use a system designed to help hearing impaired people use the telephone.

Ugh, yeah we got that nonsense at T-Mobile too. I think my general distrust in the human race helped a lot. I caught sooo many fraud accounts and fraudulent phone orders. We have policies in place to prevent that but ya know enough calls and people catch on and learn to work within them. The fraud department loved me, every time I talked to them I had everything in a row and I stopped tons of bogus orders from shipping. I'd go back there in a heartbeat if I could work in that department. I hate selling anything on Craigslist for that very reason. I get all excited that maybe I have a legit response and it's not.

This site is rather amusing. Some people apparently have enough spare time to screw with these jerks: http://www.419eater.com/

[mtbdarby]

Sorry to hear about the scam RM but glad you caught it.

I was contacted by my cc company this morning - someone stole my number and was making charges under the company name "craigslist". At least they noticed it and contacted me. I just paid my bill so I wouldn't have caught it for month. The account is now closed and a new card on the way.

Some people need to get honest jobs.....

[beccaB]

A woman in our community manufactured a fake illness . The community had fundraisers to help offset the cost of treatments that weren't covered by insurance. She was from a very well known local family. She had even fooled her family into believing she was being treated for cancer several years ago, and that she was having a recurrence.The community fundraiser was a big success. She went on a few nice trips. She got in trouble with the law when a co-worker became suspicious. Turns out there never was any illness. I am out $250 for donating products to a raffle. I probably will keep my money and time from now on. It is sad to think people are such liars and that good people can be taken in like this.

[Aggie_Ama]

Becca- My friend's ex husband claimed to have brain cancer at the same time my own father had colon cancer. She found out he lied to her to manipulate her into not leaving him. I was so angry I told her he deserved cancer because that is the only way he might learn. I doubt it though, people stoop pretty low when they think it benefits themselves.

[Running Mommy]

Oh Becca and Aggie those are awful stories!!!

So the perp called back yesterday- multiple times!! At first my manager told him that he sent the item to the billing address here in AZ, expecting the guy to say "NO. it was suppose to go to LA". But he didnt. He called back for a tracking number. So my manager goes "you know I would have sent the bike if you were the real Hon Fung. But your not. I talked to the real Mr. Fung. But I have a question for you... How do you get away with it?? I mean you have called us multiple times, and you gave us an address. Both things have been turned over to the fraud dept. and police. So how do you get away with it???'. You would think that the guy would have hung up by now, but he DIDNT!! He played dumb. It was AMAZING!!!!

[alpinerabbit]

Gotta love the spambaiter/419 page, what about the handwritten copy of Harry Potter the guy obtained, or a hand carved Wallace and Gromit sculpture. Hilarious.

[GraysonKelly]

Yuck, LOL!! How about used Chux pads from a serious code brown (like somebody with C. diff diarrhea)?

OMG! EWWW! But I agree with this one. Good job of catching him RM.

[Jolt]

OMG! EWWW! But I agree with this one. Good job of catching him RM.

Yeah...pretty bad! I was trying to think of the most disgusting thing I could and came up with that!

[Mr. Bloom]

Here's another scam to watch out for:

1. they find your website and order something expensive
2. they send you an official or cashier's check for twice the amount "by mistake"
3. you call them and say they sent too much; they say - "Oh, sorry. Go ahead and deposit the check and mail us a check for the difference."
4. You ship the goods along with a "good check"...and 10 days later, the cashiers check comes back as fraudulent...and you may or may not have time to have stopped your good check that you sent them.

It used to be "buyer beware" - now it's "seller beware"