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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
READ THIS PLEASE!!! Dont Laugh at me...
Patrick Gallucci, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Plano | TX | US | Posted: 10:37 PM on 01.27.03 |
->> From my stupidity I hope to save someone from my same fate...
I was contacted by someone saying that they were a sports photographer from Nigeria. They saw my classified add on this site and wanted to purchase my camera. They indicated that they had a cashiers check for more than the amount of the camera ( told me it was from a freelance job they had done in the states) and wanted to know if I would send them the camera and the difference of cash. I said sure, knowing I would not send the camera or money until I was 100% sure the check had cleared my account. My bank teller even called the issuing bank to verify the founds. All checked out and I waited the 5 business days that the bank requested I wait just to be sure. Well long story short I sent a partial payment to the individual and was about to send the remaining $4000.00 and the
camera when the bank called me and told me the cashiers check was a counterfeit. This was 8 days later. I asked them why this took so long to identify and they said that until they get them at their processing location they have no way of knowing if the physical check is real or not. The fake persons name contacted me was Fred Michael. He has a Yahoo email account. I have since turned over all my info and I am working with the Secret Service on this case. (http://www.secretservice.gov/alert419.shtml). Please somehow get this information out to all other members and people you know.
thanks |
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Thomas B. Shea, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Houston | TX | USA | Posted: 11:04 PM on 01.27.03 |
->> I had something similiar happen to me. If it is too good to be true it probably is.
Thomas |
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Yuli Wu, Student/Intern
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Ann Arbor | MI | | Posted: 11:06 PM on 01.27.03 |
->> Pat,
I'm glad you didn't send your camera to this person in Nigeria and was caught in time. Thanks for sharing this story and I'll definetly pass the story along.
yuli |
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Tim Williams, Photographer
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Evansville | IN | USA | Posted: 12:14 AM on 01.28.03 |
->> Man, you need to raise some hell with the bank if they want to hold you responsible for the part of the money you have already sent. You played by their rules: 5 days.
My wife is a teller... I just told her your story. She said they hold checks like that for 11 days, and anytime a transaction involves Nigeria or Ethiopia they automatically suspect fraud. |
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Dave Amorde, Photographer
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Lake Forest | CA | USA | Posted: 12:25 AM on 01.28.03 |
| ->> Nigeria is a hotbed for internet fraud. I would treat all email correspondence involving monetary transactions from that country as fraudulent. |
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Michael Hickey, Photographer
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Muncie | IN | USA | Posted: 12:39 PM on 01.28.03 |
| ->> I'm not laughing at you but this had "stink" written all over it from the first moment. Personally I don't do any business over seas via the internet unless they are personally recommended by someone I know and trust. |
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Howard Curtis Smith, Photographer
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Baldwin | NY | USA | Posted: 2:18 PM on 01.28.03 |
->> I second Tim's and Dave's posts. I have read about numerous well organized cons that have originated from Nigeria over the last several years. It does not seem that the government cares that this is going on.
There is nothing to be ashamed of. You are doing the right thing.
Best of luck. |
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Mario Meise, Photographer
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Flemington | NJ | USA | Posted: 9:34 AM on 01.29.03 |
->> Nothing to be ashamed of. I just hope that you can get everything worked out.
Ive been getting very official looking faxes from Nigeria every other month going on 3-4 years now. The premise is the same but the story changes ever so slightly. I was beginning to wonder how many nigerian public officials, ministers (oil, transportation, millitary etc.) have been murdered (they must have A LOT of officials and ministers) only to force their sons or nephews or subordinates to seek avenues to get a large sum of money out of the country by enlisting a foreigners help and promising them a cut of the booty.
Often these deals focused on hundreds of thousand, even million of dollars. I guess enough folks were deceived and prompted governmental action.
Obviously, those large sum deals are very visible to banks and government officials monitoring these transactions. I figure the folks who continue to use this scheme think that if they set their sights lower, meaning smaller monetary amounts, that their activities will not be so easily spotted.
Like I said, nothing to be ashamed about, I sincerely hope that you can get everything worked out to your benefit.
Good luck. |
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Jason Hirschfeld, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Norfolk | VA | U.S. | Posted: 10:38 AM on 01.29.03 |
| ->> The SAME guy contacted me about a lens I had for sale, the SAME guy... I blew it off because I knew it was some kind of scam. Why would he "trust" me when he doesn't know me from adam to send the balance of some 4,000 bucks back to him. It's a laundering scheme. |
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Dave Amorde, Photographer
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Lake Forest | CA | USA | Posted: 4:59 PM on 01.29.03 |
| ->> He must be a SS lurker. :-) |
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dinno kovic, Photographer
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San Francisco | CA | USA | Posted: 5:15 PM on 01.29.03 |
| ->> This reminds me of an event that happened to friends of mine. they actually were flown to Nigeria for a business transaction, when the got there, the Nigerians requested an additional $ 40k. 2 of my buddies had to fly back home while the other 2 were held in Nigeria until they received the funds. After a week, they got their money, my buddies were released and they never heard from the Nigerians ever again. Count yourself lucky! |
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D. Ross Cameron, Photographer
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Oakland | CA | USA | Posted: 9:40 PM on 01.29.03 |
->> Patrick,
Nigeria is infamous for its Internet fraud. However, in the unlikely event that you are ever called upon to buy or sell a large ticket item like this with a vendor/customer from overseas, I recommend that you use an online escrow service -- for instance, www.escrow.com.
I sold my old Canon FD 400mm f/2.8L lens about two years ago to a wildlife photographer in Australia for $2.3k. We used an online escrow service to make the transaction. It's safe, it's cheap, and if the person is really on the level, they won't balk at splitting the $50 to $100 fee with you for the assurance of knowing you aren't a scumbag, or vice versa.
Don't worry, nobody is laughing at you. But you are now officially older and wiser. |
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Robert G. Stevens, Photographer
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Halifax | NS | Canada | Posted: 11:14 PM on 01.29.03 |
->> Patrick:
Tim Williams advice reminded me of an incident I had a few years ago. If you have this bounced check, look for the date it cleared, stamped on the back by the clearing house. Banks have a limited number of days to bounce a check after it is deposited into your account. In Canada, I think it is 72 hours from when it is stamped at their clearing house, usually the day after you deposit it. After that, they have to eat it. It may be different with fruadulent checks.
As for my story, I deposited a $13,000 cheque from a contractor and about a week later it came bouncing back. I tried to deal with the contractor and when that failed I went right to the head office of the bank to ask why it took so long for the check to bounce. They listened to my story, took a copy of the check and said they would go into their microfiche records to confirm when it was deposited and cleared. It seems this guys account manager held the check one day too long while the client was stonewalling him about depositing funds to cover it. When the records showed it was out over 72 hours, they promptly gave me a certified cheque for the full amount. This customer did not have the funds to cover it and the bank was left to collect from him.
Go back to your bank and ask about this holding policy. You may just get your money back from the bank the check was written on. If this fails and the check was held longer than the alotted time, go back to the bank the check was written on. They are the ones responsible for either clearing or bouncing the cheque within 72 hours of hitting the clearing house. Banks take their rules very seriously.
I assume it is probably a serious offence for any bank to violate these clearing rules. I got nothing but complete cooperation when I approched the bank about my problem. They weren't even my bank! |
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Patrick Gallucci, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Plano | TX | US | Posted: 12:05 AM on 01.30.03 |
->> Thanks all. Yes older and hopefully wiser, shame on him first time, shame on me...yada yada yada...I will definitely be back to both banks...
It is just very odd to me that the bank is sending me back a "counterfeit check" is that normal policy? I guess it is since they know it is from nigeria...If that was passed to them from a US citizen they would be talking to the same Secret Service agent I am dealing with now. Last time I check passing counterfeit anything is a felony…
Also why is this not more publicized?
From the Secret Service Financial Crimes Web site:
“The Financial Crimes Division of the Secret Service receives approximately 100 telephone calls from victims/potential victims and 300-500 pieces of related correspondence per day.”
“Indications are that Advance Fee Fraud grosses hundreds of millions of dollars annually and the losses are continuing to escalate.”
Are you kidding me? 100’s of calls a day? “grosses hundreds of millions of dollars annually” Come on…this is ridicules. Somehow this needs to be stopped. Like I said I am one of the fortunate ones.
I wonder how many more there are like Dinno’s buddies. I could think of a real good Non-Profit organization that could start that if it was funded with just 1 million of those dollars could stem the flow of this kind of money…
100's of millions of dollars are being illegally shammed to other countries? I would assume that the majority of this money is going through just a few wire transfer companies like western union...why are they continuing to process these and not warn people? So many questions???
Thanks for letting me ramble…Story not over...I am meeting with the SS again tomorrow. I will let you know if anything comes of this...i doubt it... |
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