Mailing Address

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Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 6:22 pm

Hey everyone.

I have a few gigs running and I think I'd like them to send some stuff to me. What do you all suggest? Do people use their real address?

I assume nobody goes out and rents a PO Box for this type of thing, so what do you do to still keep yourself anonymous?

Thanks!

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 6:29 pm

This is probably the easiest way

http://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=81028

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 6:37 pm

That's awesome. I'm down.

How do I know there is a P.O. box near me? Can I go directly to the PO box instead of having to pay to have it shipped to my home address?

It says to find more information in my control panel, but I didn't really see it - am I missing something?

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 6:42 pm

Not sure peanut (being as I'm against Paypal and I'm a lazy arse about sending checks, I'm not a premium member yet)...one of the P members can answer that for you, probably.

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 6:47 pm

*awaits the entry of SP with his new Godly powers to explain all*

Rolling Eyes

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:14 pm

No, you cannot go to the box near you. They are run by people on the site. They pick it up, then you pay to have stuff sent that way.

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:19 pm

And that's cheaper than just renting a PO Box outright?

Is there one in Chicago?

I'm trying to get an idea what this would cost me - $20 for the membership, then an additional X amount to get something sent to me every time it comes in?

Is that what everyone does?

Master Baiter Joined: 20 Aug 2005 Posts: 187

Wouldn't you rather support the website than pay for a PO box?

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:29 pm

I'm happy to give the website $20! I'm already down with that.

I'm just wondering if there's a simpler way than having to pay someone else every time I get a package/letter in a box I already contributed to.

I guess PO box's aren't cheap for such a small volume of mail? I LOVE the idea of sharing one box between many scambaiters - very economical.

I just wish if there was one in Chicago that I could just pop into it myself instead of having someone mail it (again) to me.

Again, though, premium account aside - is this how everybody does it? Or do you just have them send stuff to your offices or something? Are there any other options besides sharing a PO Box?

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:29 pm

guineagirl wrote:

Wouldn't you rather support the website than pay for a PO box?

Yup!

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:36 pm

We can always use more drop boxes. You could get one and run it for the members and then there would be one in Chicago. Very Happy

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:52 pm

I could be interested in that.

How does that work? Who do I contact? Am I footing the bill for this PO Box myself?

There is a Post Office DIRECTLY across from where I work, so I'm in a great position to check it daily.

I'm assuming this means that everyone that has their lads using snail-mail is signed up to one of these drop boxes? All of you are?

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 7:55 pm

There is one in the US, but it is not in Chicago. Most of the time, baiters are receiving things like fake cheques or paperwork from their scammers. The box owner will happily send you a scan of the item for free. You only pay if you want the original shipped to you.

To answer your other question, having items shipped to your workplace is a VERY Bad Idea(tm). Not only does it make it easy for your scammer to trace you, but it can get you in trouble at work. Baiting safe means never giving your scammer a way to get to the real you.

That said, the security of a PO box depends largely on where it is rented, so check that before you go rent one. Some places will happily give out your real name and address to pretty much anyone who asks, which is a major safe baiting no-no.

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:09 pm

Thanks!!!

I figured the office/home wasn't a safe bet. But I couldn't figure out how people got things (like artwork - classic) shipped to them without SOME sort of mailing location.

That being said, I found it would cost $18/6 months to rent a PO Box here in Chicago.

So who runs this crazy train? Is there a moderator that supervises drop boxes? If I got a box for Premium Members to use, would I be footing the $36/year?

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:27 pm

You can PM a mod for more information on drop boxes and how they are run, KD or Eight are a good bet.

Personally, I will suggest that you hold off on renting a box for member use until you have been here a little longer. Please understand that its not personal, but running drop boxes sometimes involves the real life details of other members, and we baiters are a fairly paranoid lot when it comes to RL info.

As for the cost, the boxes are owned by members and their use donated to premium members as a perk. Whilst I'm sure none of them would mind help with the cost from the members here, it does come out of their own pockets.

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:34 pm

Makes sense - and no offense taken at all.

I just have a guy that could potentially be mailing me something, and I'm trying to figure out how in the heck to DO that.

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:40 pm

@Peanut

Having someone who "may" send you something is no reason to get your own dropbox. You will find that lads are always going to send you a carving/check/photo/whatever but rarely do!

become a premium member and IF someone does send you a trophy then you can just pay for its onward transmission.

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:51 pm

Peanut, SF just about has this nailed. Smile

You are welcome to get a box of your own, and it's a kind offer, but I suspect you'd find people wary until you had been here a while longer. As for getting it knocked off the cost of premium, that has never come up before, but the two are completely separate, and I think we would like to keep it that way. Smile

If you do support the site, you get some other good stuff as well as access to the drop boxes, like web space, a shiny orange name, and the warm glow from having supported a great place. It's a bargain, really, but it is also completely voluntary. Smile

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 8:55 pm

No worries about all that! I'm as good as a member - just waiting for Paypal to finish giving me the money, I love this site.

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 9:02 pm

Settle down and look around. We do more than just baiting. We have fake bank site killers and all sorts. We aren't selling anything. We just screw up 419 scammers and make their lives a misery to stop them getting more victims, and we share notes.

You may prefer to deal with fake bank sites, phone lads or sweetheart scammers, or maybe you want to hit them all. Don't rush it. I've not been here so long myself, and you'll soon find out what you like and how to do it well.

Posted: Thu May 17, 2007 9:09 pm

Well I've been here a few months, just decided to finally become a member the other day. I don't do much at work, so I've read just about every letter in the archive, and keep up with the stickies pretty regularly.

I have a guy I'm working on right now that is a ton of fun, and I'm just being hyper cautious about not putting any personal info out there.

Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 6:14 am

I am fortunate to live within easy driving distance across-the-border from another US state. This has enabled me to maintain a PO Box for appx $26 a year now in a state I do not reside in.

Besides the fact that I can use it as a 2ndary address for cash rebates from Proctor & Gamble etc it's also a wonderful op to bait the lads from and be a long ways away..

The Lads are somewhat reluctant to send fake cashiers' checks to a PO Box...They seem to prefer the street address wherein they can send a bag-man in, if possible, from the excuses they have given me. That ain't gonna happen, I might get medieval on a Lad that I actually meet.

419Eater is my life Joined: 11 Apr 2005 Posts: 365

Make your contribution to the Eater, learn all that is learnable, make some friends, and if you still need an address for something to be mailed to I'll give ya mine.

Personally, I wouldn't mind it a bit if a lad showed up at my work Wink

Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 6:36 am

Thanks chief, and everybody!

I have a pretty sweet story running right now, and it already involves 2 of the forum's finest (at least in my eyes, cuz they're helping me). I can't wait to post the finished result for your enjoyment. My friends here are loving the progression thus far!

I'm fascinated by other people's mail stories...how they give their fake organizations a real mailing address, how people receive letters/packages. Do most lads prefer to scan and e-mail rather than snail mail? ARE PO Boxes truly the way to go?

Thanks for your help so far, everyone. Great stuff.

Posted: Fri May 18, 2007 12:55 pm

Obviously they prefer email rather than snail mail. It is cheaper and takes less time. Getting stuff shipped is not an easy task, especially if it is something big, like a painting or something. Big Worm and I are waiting on a piece of art that has been finished for months, but the guy is having problems coming up with the money to ship... If you can get them to do it, it costs a pretty penny. Just know that you are REALLY going to have to work for it.