Tuesday, 30 June 2009

  • Nice try, Nigerian scammer, but I still sold my iPhone 3G in the end



    The Nigerian scammers have learned little over the last few years, as they are still using the same old tricks to con us into sending valuable items to their African soil. With a shy 247 feedbacks (100% positive!), I have seen enough dirty tricks on eBay to spot a scammer straight away, but this latest case is a pretty interesting one, and I would like to share it with you all as a warning:

    As most of you would know, I had recently purchased the new iPhone 3GS to replace my then-three-week-old iPhone 3G, and naturally I put the latter on eBay soon after I had completed comparison reviews. Three days later I was surprised to see that it was sold for £310 (I was only expecting about £280), but soon I got this worrying eBay message from the winner:


    **************************************
    Hello,

    Am having problem making payment for the item, so get back to me as soon as possible regarding the payment for the item.

    Thanks

    - mabram2580
    **************************************


    Right. So I had a look at my listing's page and his profile page, and saw an even bigger problem:





    This guy had obviously signed up for the eBay account, bidded for my iPhone, and then unregistered all on the same day so that eBay can no longer track him - this is an obvious scammer.

    Soon I received an e-mail resembling a PayPal receipt for the above listing, but since I already knew what was going on I had a closer look at the sender's details:



    In case you don't see what's wrong with this e-mail, all PayPal receipts are meant to come from "****@PayPal.com" instead of that random "consultant.com" e-mail address; the e-mail faked the sender's address using the sender's name field. Nice try, my Nigerian customer! This phishing scam just can't get any older. Here's a tip, folks: ALWAYS double check the sender's address and links, as most phishing scams only work when you fall for these links in disguise, and of course you can also check your PayPal account to see if you actually got the money.

    Anyway, this cheeky scammer sent me a follow-up message, claiming that he had paid me and expected me to send the iPhone the next day:


    **************************************
    Hello Seller,
     
          How are you doing today, i am very happy to inform you that i have made payment concerning your item which was auctioned on eBay for sale to your account via PayPal, which you must have received a confirmation concerning the payment via mail.So i want you to proceed the postage of the item as soon as possible to my client who recently travelled to Nigeria on a charity trip in Africa in place of me, so below is the delivery address as confirmed with Paypal.
     
    POSTAGE ADDRESS:
    Lanre Hassan
    27 Medical Road,
    Ikeja, Lagos
    Nigeria.
    23401
     
    So get the item posted out as soon as possible via Royalmail International Signed for delivery to the aboved address.
     
    Thanks
    **************************************


    If you're familiar with the Nigerian scam e-mails, you would have already spotted the typical "How are you going today" sort of greeting, followed by some sort of exucse to have the item sent to Nigeria (for client, for parents, for a sick dog etc.).

    I could just ignore this e-mail, but then again this guy did waste my three-days' worth of time and I did need the money badly, so I decided to do some scambaiting (inspired by 419eater.com) with this reply:


    **************************************
    Hi there,

    Thanks for the quick payment. Unfortunately due to recent change in export law in the UK, for all shipments to Nigeria I need to provide the authorities a photo of you holding a sign showing your real name and address, otherwise I cannot send you the item.

    Please get back to me as soon as possible with your photo so that I can obtain a permit from the government.

    Regards,
    Richard Lai
    **************************************


    An hour later, the naïve scammer replied with a photo, but it wasn't the photo I had hoped for:


    **************************************
    Hello, That is the picture you requested for, so get the item sent out tomorrow,and get back to paypal with the shipment tracking number for verification.
     
    Thanks


    **************************************


    First of all, the person in the photo is not holding the sign that I had asked for. Secondly, no matter how hot the girl may be, as far as I know Lanre is mainly a boy's name, but that doesn't matter because he or she is still a scammer at the end of the day (I'll just assume it's a "he" for now). At least I still got a photo.

    Here's my reply:


    **************************************
    Perhaps I didn't make it clear enough: you need to be holding a sign showing your name and address, plus it needs to be a recent photo i.e. maximum 6 months old. Sorry I should have made it clearer. If you can't provide such document I am afraid I won't be able to send you the item, nor will I be able to refund you due to UK laws.

    Regards,
    Richard
    **************************************


    The scammer then replied with a faulty attachment, so I asked him to resend and I got this:


    **************************************
    This is the picture


    **************************************


    Wow, this guy must be really dumb! There's still no frickin' sign, but I wanted to see how far I can push this so I replied with this complaint:


    **************************************
    You don't understand! I need a picture of the recipient HOLDING A SIGN showing your name and address, NOT just the headshot!

    Richard
    **************************************


    Now, here comes the best bit: soon after the above e-mail I received a bogus eBay e-mail which threatened me with an "Unpost Item Strike Received":



    Again, you can tell it's a fake by checking the sender's address, not to mention the few grammatical and spelling errors as well as the Comic Sans font.

    Here's my reply to "eBay":


    **************************************
    Hi eBay,

    I have notified this buyer about the recent change in UK law that the recipient is required to supply a photo ID. In such photo he or she needs to hold up a sign stating his or her name and full address, so that I can obtain a permit from the COCK (Consumer Overseas Customs Kiosk).

    The buyer kept supplying photos but they still do not match our government's requirements. Will you please notify the buyer about this issue? There is nothing I can do about this until I receive the right photo, and I really want to send my item as soon as possible!

    Regards,
    Richard
    **************************************


    An hour later, the scammer replied using his buyer identity, sounding slightly annoyed and desperate:


    **************************************
    Are you okay with the picture now.
     
    Thanks
     
    **************************************


    Yes, this guy is officially dumb. Seeing that I was getting nowhere near forcing the scammer to reveal his true face or at least get the right photo, I decided to make one myself to show him how it was meant to be done:


    **************************************
    Look, I have attached the example photo provided by COCK. You HAVE to hold the sign instead of adding the text over the picture!

    I'm not even sure if you are serious about this deal any more. Frankly I'm fed up with having to repeat myself.


    **************************************


    First of all, apologies to the guy above - I had to pick a random photo of someone holding a sign, and I just picked this one and photoshopped the sign. It should be obvious that the sign isn't of the guy's own work anyway, but the scammer wouldn't know. ;) (I can't trace the source of this photo now, so I'd appreciate some pointers if anyone comes across it)

    I seriously doubt my Nigerian penfriend is going to reply, unless he actually knows that girl so that they could get her to hold a sign for a photo. I shall update this post when that happens. In the mean time, do be careful with eBay auctions: always double check the source of e-mails, check potential buyer's profile and history, and always use PayPal combined with recorded delivery services to qualify for PayPal protection.

    Oh, and I sold my iPhone to a legit buyer for £285 in the end.


    [original Nigerian scammer image from "Fonejacker" (brilliant comedy show), E4.com]

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