Can anyone spot the scam?

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Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 5:21 am

A friend mentioned that he wanted to buy some discounted tickets to Disneyland online. He said that he found a guy on Craigslist that would sell him tickets for about a 40% discount and he wouldn't have to pay for them until <b>after</b> he used them! Right away, I'm seeing red flags.

However, seller claims to be a ticket broker, and willing to risk the price of the tickets in order to show good faith and build up his client base.

Okay, seems plausible, but here is the funny part. Seller says that after my friend has used the tickets, he can pay not by cash, check, credit card, WU, or MG, but by buying a gift card at Walmart, and sending the pin number to the seller.

My friend thinks this is a good deal, as he never has to reveal any of his personal info to do this, and I can't argue with that.

Has ayone heard of this? Why would the seller insist on payment by gift card?

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:26 am

Money laundering?

You buy the Disney tickets with dirty money, or steal them somehow, and get paid in untraceable, easily sellable Walmart credit. No paper trail or bank deposits involved.

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:32 am

^^ I don't think so, there is just not enough money involved here

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:58 am

Not having to pay until after use sounds too good to be true. By gift card, I take it he means something like a Visa gift card that can be used anywhere and not a Walmart card that can only be used at Walmart.

Gift cards can be purchased at just about any retail or grocery store. Thinking that Walmart in the only place in the world where you can buy one is 100% lad.

Quote:

Why would the seller insist on payment by gift card?

The most logical explanation is he is going to provide a fake name. Sending money in a way where he would have to claim it would mean he might have prove his identity (yes, I know lads can pick up money sent anywhere to anyone with just the mtcn). With a gift card there is nothing to pick up or claim. He doesn't even need to leave his house. Since all he is going to have is the card information, he can only use it to purchase goods online. Maybe he's a shut in.

Anyway, insisting on a gift card as payment doesn't sound right and that's probably because it isn't. If he really wants to become a seller on Craigslist with a good reputation and client base then he would accept payment that's easiest for the buyer. He certainly wouldn't do it in a way that will have the buyer thinking WTF.

Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 12:22 pm

Kinda sounds like he might jack the price up on them too after the event. Could there be something gained in knowing the persons address and/or possibly when he will be at Disneyland instead of home? There has been a rash of home invasions up here in the mitten state lately. I just wonder if he won't come home to a cleaned out house.

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

Part of the problem here is that we are all cynical bastards. Is there the off chance that, for whatever reason, this guy is legit?

Other than that, is he trying to avoid a paper trail for tax purposes? He also refuses to take cash, so that eliminates the tax angle I guess.

It's strange, I'm at a loss to figure out an angle.

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 12:34 am

We are cynical bastards for good reason PF Very Happy

.I can't figure this one out either.But the old saying that if it too good to be true it probably is,has seldom been wrong.

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 1:37 am

Yep if it's too good... It's an odd one but stinks to high hell. I'm wondering if the tickets are possible stollen themselves. Does he send a physical ticket or is it electronic? Could he be accessing these by a compromised email account? So then the gift card covers his ass completely. The money trail goes to the buyer. If the buyer pays cash he has to get it to him somehow. He covers his ass completely just getting the pin emailed to him.

Baiting Guru Joined: 31 Jan 2007 Posts: 12237

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4p8qxGbpOk

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 2:40 am

Its pretty Ironic PF is telling everyone to take the tinfoil hats off..

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 12:10 pm

Trying to steal identities... if the tickets are sent in the mail. Chances are if someone wants to go to disney they have children so using a ball park they could gamble on a range of years of birth for the person who was given these tickets. By getting the person away from home that would potentially delay their discovering their identity was stolen.

If he wants to build a reputation he can list on ebay and ask for payment via paypal and then paypal credits can be used to buy stuff at Walmart....

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 23 Mar 2006 Posts: 669

Is he selling paper tickets? Or are they just digital? I was thinking that if they're paper, perhaps he found a way to counterfeit them and this is how he sells them?

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 4:18 pm

He/She do not want money until after so there is no benefit in offering tickets for no money up front that are counterfeit.

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 5:30 pm

Don't most ticket brokers have a website?

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 5:41 pm

I bet when he agrees to the deal he is going to find out the tickets are in Nigeria and he has to pay for postage to get them here via special secured courier...

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:26 pm

There have been plenty of instances where Disney ticket sold on craigslist turned out to be counterfeit.

Just a few of many examples:

http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local-woman-arrested-in-fake-disneyland-ticket-sca/nD7hn/

http://www.kcra.com/news/23763861/detail.html

http://ocresort.ocregister.com/2009/09/23/man-arrested-for-selling-fake-disneyland-passes/19269/

No idea why he wants payment with a gift card, but the very fact that he'd prefer to take that over any normal method of payment simply screams scam.
And realistically, even the most customer hungry broker is never going to try to build his trade by letting the customer use the tickets first and pay later. Could you walk into MacDonalds, get free takeaway and then expect them to charge you the next day? He'd have no legal recourse to claiming the cash back for the tickets and no businessman, no matter how desperate or dumb would ever put that sort of faith in Joe Publiic.

I'd tell your friends to simply walk away. The old mantra of "If it sounds too good to be true..." seems to fit 100% in this scenario.

A Jersey Housewife wrote:

He/She do not want money until after so there is no benefit in offering tickets for no money up front that are counterfeit.

Of course there is. It gives authenticity to the scam. He's probably hoping that there's a chance that the tickets slip through the system. Or even that the vic may think that having bought them at such a cheap price, they'll sell them on themself for a couple bucks more - basically setting up as a counterfeit ticket mule.

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 7:27 pm

^^ unless it's a front to steal your identity...

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 7:30 pm

Would be, but Crash posted this:

Quote:

My friend thinks this is a good deal, as he never has to reveal any of his personal info to do this, and I can't argue with that.

And TBH, even if he wanted details up front, there are far easier and more effective ways to steal identities than to go about it this way.

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:50 pm

Reading Slightly's post about going in to McDonalds, getting take away and telling them you would pay tomorrow reminded me of Popeye The Sailor's friend (J. Wellington) Wimpy who would say "Cook me up a hamburger. I'll pay you Thursday."

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:52 pm

"I would gladly pay you Tuesday for a Hamburger today!"

I hated that movie. Thanks for reminding me about it. On the other hand, though, if you notice, nobody ever gave Wimpy a hamburger. Wimpy was clearly a scammer. Very Happy

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 11:01 pm

^^^ Never saw the movie. I am from the days when we read Popeye in the Sunday "funnies" (comic pages).

Posted: Thu Dec 15, 2011 11:15 pm

is there anyway we could see the ad, or get in contact with this alleged ticket seller, then we can check his email headers etc see where he is in the world and work on something from there, working out any angle for any scam is tricky to say the least.

Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 2:33 am

Morgain Le Fay wrote:

^^^ Never saw the movie. I am from the days when we read Popeye in the Sunday "funnies" (comic pages).

Trust me, you don't wanna. They turned Popeye into a bloody musical.

And I agree with Goldblade, let some pro baiters contact the guy and see if he's legit (I'm guessing he's not...)

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