They tried to scam us!!!

[Running Mommy]

It's a scary world out there!! In the last few months we have had our shop website hacked by what appeared to be a Turkish terrorist group, and yesterday we had someone try to scam us. We are a small mom and pop shop, so to be the target of stuff like this is scary- and shows how widespread it is!
So Yesterday a call came into the shop by a man with a thick accent. He asked my husband if we had full suspension mtn bikes (we do of course). Then the red flags started flying..
Red flag one: He needed a medium, didnt care about brand or price. Any legit buyer would call looking for a specific model.
Red flag two: He wanted us to ship it to Los Angeles... Ummm they have no bike shops in L.A????!!!
He told hubby that he "saw us online"..... Hubby questioned him for a few minutes about it, and he became aggitated.- Red flag #3!
He gave hubby the shipping address, phone #, CC #, and email addy.
We are instantly suspicious. Hubby then calls the guy back to get the billing addy for the credit card. The guy actually called back! Of course the billing addy is here in AZ. The guy gives some flimsy excuse as to how he lives in AZ but is in CA for awhile or something..
So we call our merchant svcs company who puts us in touch w/the fraud dept of the card issuer bank.
So the fraud investigator tells me that the name, cc#, and billing address match, and its a valid card. But the phone # doesnt. And when I tell the guy what he's trying to do he asks to put me on hold to call the card holder. I was on hold for quite some time before the fraud dude came back on. Sure enough... FRAUD! BOGUS, NO BUENO...
So I gave him the addy and phone # of the perp. The guy called us a couple of times on the phone, so I know it was a good #.
So now the guys in the shop are coming up with ALL KINDS of things they can send the thief!! The most popular right now is a rabid raccoon..

It's just so sad to see that this is what the world has come to....

sigh...

[Aggie_Ama]

Even a rabid animal should be treated humanely, thieves should not. Dirty diapers?

[alpinerabbit]

Roadkill?

[kfergos]

A dead skunk?

[derailed]

Good catch!

[Tri Girl]

I hate thieves- get a job like the rest of us who actually work for what we have, not steal it from others. Grrrrr... that makes me so angry for you.

I think you should send them dirty used band aids. I had a nasty cut the other day- I'd happily dig the band aid out of the trash and send it to them for you. Pretty gross, but I think they deserve it.

[Brandi]

I can't beleive I am going to say this...........
Used toilet paper! Yuck!

[Geonz]

used tampons

[Jolt]

UGH, thieves suck!! I just had my car broken into this week (they stole my GPS) so I can relate. I wish there was a way to rig up a car alarm system that would give an electric shock if somebody tries to break in. As for what to send this guy, how about a box of rattlesnakes? Skunks and used TP are good ideas too. How about rotting dog poo?

[Jolt]

used tampons

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

[GLC1968]

Wow, they suck. Good for you for catching on in time!

If you tell me their address, I'd be happy to send them a box of real chicken $hit...since that's what they are.

[Aint Doody]

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.

[Running Mommy]

My manager got them on the phone this am! They called to check on the status of the order.
I can't believe the cajones these people have!
He just put them off and said we are working on it...
Yeah, hatching an evil plan... lol

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

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.

Oh that's too weird!...I got one of those phone calls yesterday!
Doody, I notice in your profile you have a small music-related business. So do I- for years I've had a small side business selling t-shirts with my musical instrument designs on them.
Yesterday I got a call from a woman with a Spanish accent asking if I spoke Spanish. (I do, but I didn't) I asked instead who was calling, and she then asked if I sold guitars.
I told her no, I sell t-shirts. She thanked me politely and said goodbye, so I didn't get the chance to become suspicious. I guess she couldn't very well continue her ruse without the guitars to buy. She never would have gotten past me when it came to ordering stuff on credit cards anyway though.

One of my pet peeves is strangers who ask me a question when I pick up the phone instead of identifying themselves first. Like I exist to provide them with my personal information just because they want it?

[Biciclista]

speaking of Nigerian scams, that's an interesting deal too. Imagine, you're in Nigeria. You are poor and so is everyone that you know. But there's big money to be made in the USA. And people so gullible and avaricious that you can sucker them into giving YOU money while they think they are making money off you. I don't think they consider us to be people, and there are tons of us that fall for their pitches every day. "I have a sum of 324,000 british pounds and i want to put it into a US bank. I'll give you some money too"
some people see dollar signs and go for it. Even if it's only one out of 10,000, just a little american money goes a long way and before you know it, 10 more Nigerians are trying to bilk gullible rich americans out of more.
You guys all sound pretty sharp, what's sad is many senior citizens who apparently are too trusting and get taken on these things.