i think i just got scammed.

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 01 May 2007 Posts: 3

I recieved this email a week ago and have been trying to work out the details with this person via email over many emails, I noticed that my first email matched almost exactly an email I saw on this site adn am now convinced I have been in the process of a scam. Some advice please. This is the first email below...there have been many since....

Goodday,

Compliments of the season to you over there. Am Kimberly carie and my
husbands name is jamaine vogel , my Husband and I are planning to
have our wedding on may 19 , in Rhode island. We am looking for a good
performer , big time celebrity who will make the event memorable ,we
saw your advert and we really like it , so we taught about you ,At
this time,we are on our way to England for our pre wedding
honeymoon.Let me know your charges for your required services.i know
you are in CA, but your presense at this ceremony will be highly
appreciated, i really want you to be there cos you are one of our
favourite, we will pay the transportation charges to and fro to the
event venue,so indicate in your email if you will be able to make it
down to Rhode island , we would also like to know what it will cost for
you to be there, and are we to make any deposit charges to keep that
day for us ? , please reply asap , cos we are putting all the
arrangement in place now .

your sincerely

Kimberly and jamaine

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:40 pm

marilynjodi wrote:

... Some advice please. ...

Easy. Tell the scammer to go fuck himself and cease all contact with him.

If you've paid any money, kiss it goodbye. It's gone.

If not, thank your lucky stars.

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:41 pm

Hi marilynjodi & welcome to the Eater! 99.9% of all emails starting with the words "Compliments of the season to you" are indeed scams, so well done for doing research & getting suspicious.
I take it you haven't send them anything?

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:45 pm

Don't send him any money. If you've already sent him some, don't send any more. A nasty email should chase him away. Unfortunately, it won't stop him from trying to scam someone else. If you would like a bit of revenge upon this person, post their email addy here and someone will occupy their time with other activities.

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:54 pm

Probably a check scam. You'll receive a check for more than you negotiated your services for, and will be asked to pay the balance to the scammer by Western Union. The check will be fake, and you will end up losing the money.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 01 May 2007 Posts: 3

thanks for all teh advice. I already sent them an email requesting legit payment methods or no job. the onyl thing i sent them already was my address to send me a deposit. Hopefully that can not cause any harm.

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 7:58 pm

marilynjodi wrote:

... Hopefully that can not cause any harm.

Nope. He just wants easy money. Nothing else. He will probably bombard you with mails. Just ignore him.

He will forget you as soon as a new victim bites.

Master Baiter Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 149

Compliments of the season to you!

And welcome.

Chipmunk is sorry it was a scam.

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 8:01 pm

Hello Marilyn, good to see you did not lose any money. I would not worry about this guy having you address. Just stop all communication and he will give up after a few frantic annoying mails. If he has your phone number as well he may try calling you as well. Just hang up, delete the mails and he will go away.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 01 May 2007 Posts: 3

So if I get the checks in the mail today, is there a way to take them right to the police station and report them as fraudulent? Is there any way to catch these scammers and get them jail time or fines?

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 9:36 pm

Depends where they're from.

Probably not all that likely unless they made a stupid mistake.

If i were you i'd leave it alone. He does have your address after all.

Posted: Tue May 01, 2007 9:54 pm

If you receive any checks from them, turn it over to the police. That way, they have a record of how many people have been receiving fake checks. If the police get enough of these, they will post warnings and do something about it.

I received a police community warning about check scames in my water utility bill about a 2 months ago. So definitely report it in...

DONT Deposit the check or else you will be in trouble with the law. It is considered a fraud if you knowingly deposit a fake/scam check.

Listen to others, and stop communicating with the scammer already. Your safety comes first!

Posted: Wed May 02, 2007 5:17 pm

Quote:

pre wedding honeymoon

godless liberals. Doesn't she know that if he can get the milk for free, why buy the cow.

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 7:13 am

marilynjodi--

Create a scrapbook, you can start this one with "My Very 1st Fake Check Trophy From The Lads"..

Bringing it to the police--all I will say further on that is- DON'T..Suppose you were in Kuala Lumpur and found a package of heroin and decided to do your honest civic duty and turn it over to the local authorities. When the Malaysian hangman slips the noose around your neck and hangs you for drug possession you'll be wondering how the hell you got into the mess to begin with.

Avoid hassles, especially those self-created. I only involve the cops when the lads give me USA venues that can be tracked down.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 20

kleindoofy wrote:

marilynjodi wrote:

... Some advice please. ...

Easy. Tell the scammer to go fuck himself and cease all contact with him.

If you've paid any money, kiss it goodbye. It's gone.

If not, thank your lucky stars.

I guess this is not the place to come for any sympathy. unlike the above quote I will offer some. the other advise in this thred is good. if the scammer has your home adress etc then by all means bait him but frm a different email name.
Hopefuly others on this forum will be less belligerent towards you.

Master of Master Baiters Joined: 08 Apr 2006 Posts: 571

We are certainly capable of giving sympathy. We also have to instill a dose of reality as quickly as possible to prevent further losses, and the reality is this: the money is gone, it won't come back.

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 8:39 am

@saltire.

I don't see how Kleindoofy has been unsympathetic. In my opinion, he's also given the best advice.
If a scammer has your home address, the major priority is to cease all contact with him and drop any plans to bait immediately - we don't screw around with guys who have our personal details as there may be repercussions.

As for Kleindoofy's statement that the OP would have to kiss any paid money goodbye? Where's the problem there? It's a fact.

Or are you worried that he advised the OP to tell the scammer to go fuck himself? Again, this is the only option open, as once a lad has your address, you can't play around with him. A simple "fuck you" is all you can get away with.

So, I hate to say it, but you've made an unwarranted critisism.
You may think that Kleindoofy's words look harsh but sometimes the truth is harsh.

Elite Baiter Joined: 17 Sep 2004 Posts: 1269

It's a bad idea to bait your own scammer, even if he doesn't have your personal details. He already knows how to push all the right buttons to manipulate you. I would also take a bit of time before starting to bait to make sure you go about baiting in a detached way.

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 7:24 pm

saltire wrote:

Hopefuly others on this forum will be less belligerent towards you.

I'm sorry but the OP asked for advice and unfortunately there is no other advice than the one given by Kleindoofy: cease all communication and write off any money as fees for a learning experience. All of us here are dedicating a great amount of our spare time on preventing scammers to rob people like that (and Kleindoofy himself more than most here), we're not expecting any thanks or donations but we're certainly not responsible for any losses - I'm very sorry about every single victim that those scumbags successfully tricked into losing money, but sending money to scammers is basically an independent decision by a free individual who had all means to educate himself at hand.

The scammers are the bad guys, we do everything we can to protect the less informed about this scam and the information given was a 100 % correct. What else do you expect us to say? Mush up the hard truth with huggy phrases so it sounds nicer? Sorry, but the price is the same: money is gone. We're the ones fighting a good fight, in my eyes that's more important than being all mushy and fluffy. Harsh facts also keep victims from (the psychologically understandable) clinging to a faint hope there might still be a chance for gazillions of dollars somewhere...

Having said that I agree with Special_K, baiting is not a good idea for victims and such should not be advised. If the OP wants to help in the fight he should limit himself to educate friends and family with his experience or post his story at a victim support site.

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 7:32 pm

@saltire

Huh?????

As Slightlyoutofit already said:

1. when a potential victim discovers that he/she is in fact being scammed, the best - no, the only thing to do is to shake off the scammer as soon and as harsh as possible. Otherwise he will keep trying for ages to continue the scam. There's no time for: "dear sir, you are not who you say you are, shame on you, please go away, goodbye, have a nice day."

2. One of the first questions any victim who has lost money asks is "can I get the money back?" The answer to this question is "no." Loud, resounding and final. There is absolutely no point is lying to a scam victim. The sooner he/she realizes that "the money is gone," the sooner he/she can concentrate on getting his/her life back on track and looking forward, not back.

3. Once a victim has become hooked, it is very difficult for him/her to admit to him-/herself that it's really a scam. Even intelligent, experienced business people start paying money. HUGE SUMS. Somebody who finds out in time can, yes, "thank his/her lucky stars."

With your <2 weeks experience on this site, you may ask how I know all of this. Easy, I've dealt with a good number of victims, a number who lost LOTS of money (US$190,000). Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.

What disturbed you about my post?

The brevity? People tend not to read long posts.

The directness? Sorry, I don't bullshit around with quaint phrases, I get to the point.

The language? This is real life, not Sunday school.

Somebody once said, "buy a dog."

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 7:43 pm

@saltire

Quote:

Hopefuly others on this forum will be less belligerent towards you

No one was being belligerent towards marilynjodi, the comments were made in reference to the scammer and they were the right comments under the circumstances.

I have not been here that long but I do know kleindoofy and slightlyoutofit both know what they are talking about and I agree with them too.

Posted: Thu May 03, 2007 7:55 pm

And another thing to be aware of, once they think they almost had you on the hook, they may well try to scam you from another email address - different scam, different name.

Master Baiter Joined: 11 Apr 2007 Posts: 101

i don't know what you guys are talking about, but i think i'm gonna go buy a dog

Not quite a Newb Joined: 25 Apr 2007 Posts: 20

kleindoofy wrote:

@saltire

Huh?????

As Slightlyoutofit already said:

1. when a potential victim discovers that he/she is in fact being scammed, the best - no, the only thing to do is to shake off the scammer as soon and as harsh as possible. Otherwise he will keep trying for ages to continue the scam. There's no time for: "dear sir, you are not who you say you are, shame on you, please go away, goodbye, have a nice day."

2. One of the first questions any victim who has lost money asks is "can I get the money back?" The answer to this question is "no." Loud, resounding and final. There is absolutely no point is lying to a scam victim. The sooner he/she realizes that "the money is gone," the sooner he/she can concentrate on getting his/her life back on track and looking forward, not back.

3. Once a victim has become hooked, it is very difficult for him/her to admit to him-/herself that it's really a scam. Even intelligent, experienced business people start paying money. HUGE SUMS. Somebody who finds out in time can, yes, "thank his/her lucky stars."

With your <2 weeks experience on this site, you may ask how I know all of this. Easy, I've dealt with a good number of victims, a number who lost LOTS of money (US$190,000). Believe me, I know what I'm talking about.

What disturbed you about my post?

The brevity? People tend not to read long posts.

The directness? Sorry, I don't bullshit around with quaint phrases, I get to the point.

The language? This is real life, not Sunday school.

Somebody once said, "buy a dog."

Very interesting, obviously with my <2 weeks experience on this site, I know nothing. I shall do my best to unlearn all I have in the past 15 years or so. I shall have to reevaluate the work i do in the field of victim support. clearly i would do better to simply slap them tound the head and tell them to get a grip.
ill tell you what distrubed me about your post. It was the tone, unnecessarily aggressive and arrogant, exactly like your reply to me.
I know its not sunday school, this is a stupid comment, i do NOT like being patronised.
"buy a dog"? uh, ok.

Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 1:26 am

Sympathy comes in many forms, as do victims. Rather than soothing platitudes, victims of this type of crime need a reality check (a) to ensure they don't get scammed again and (b) they don't cling to the hope that it's all been a terrible misunderstanding and they will get their lottery winnings, inheritance, trunkbox of cash etc [insert scam]. It's a harsh truth but it doesn't mean that we don't care. If that was the case we wouldn't be baiting in the first place. Ever heard of "don't shoot the messenger"?

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