A job from Bob (US-based scammer)

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Posted: Fri Dec 17, 2010 9:20 pm

This wasn't exactly my first bait, but it was an early one and it's pretty definitely over.
I made some mistakes out of laziness (writing two different addresses for myself, not checking up how much the equipment he wanted me to buy cost) and eventually I terminated the bait on my own.
Basically he asked me to set up a Chase bank account (which I didn't do but said I did) and set up an online banking service (which I did, but no transactions ever took place so he didn't figure out that the account data I entered there was fake).

His name: [color=red]Bob Collins or [email protected]
His location (from his phone number, somewhere near Stockton, California)
Dimitris is my character

I was first contacted at another address by Collins, but the fact that my character lived in Argentina was a problem for him. It had to be someone living in the US, not necessarily a citizen.

So here we go (lasted about a month - I deleted the "sincerely" and "regards" and so on):

Dear Mr. Collins,
My friend (other character of mine) gave me your e-mail address; he said you had a job for someone who is living in the USA.
I am from Greece and studying engineering in the USA, and under the terms of my visa and scholarship I am allowed to work part-time (20 hours per week).
Please tell me what this job is about, what qualifications are necessary, and all other necessary information.

I hope to hear back from you.

Hello,

Thank you for your response.

The job is to be receiving donation payment on behalf our Orphanage home

The Fund would be sending to your bank account.But I prefer Chase Bank
account.That is the reason why I am asking if you are an honest
person.

Please get back to me if you have the above bank account to proceed.

Should I call you Mr. Collins or Bob, which do you prefer?

I have made an account at the Chase Bank in Seattle. What information do you need about my account?

As to whether I am honest, I will be honest with you. I have not always been completely honest in my life, but I believe it is better to be honest. Sometimes I have lied in order to protect a friend or if my life was in danger, but I did not feel good about it. But you can understand if for example a football fanatic is about to beat you with an iron bar if you do not claim your favorite team is the same as his, that this is excusable.
In all my dealings with the university, the government authorities, my professors, fellow students, I have always been truthful. The same for any place where I have worked.
I am 25 years old and a graduate student in aerospace engineering at the University of Washington. I was born in Drama, Greece, where I lived until finishing high school. I studied at the National Polytechnic University in Athens.

You can contact me by telephone at (206) .........

Hello Dimitris,

Thank you for your response.You can call me anyone you like.

I will need the below Chase information

1.Account name
2.Account number
3.Routing number
4.Bank address
5.Your Address

Which type of account do you opened? and what is the limit?

I am waiting to hear back from you.

[color=black]----- new message:

I tried to call you with on provided number,it entered voice mail.

Kindly respond.

[/color]

And again:
Hello Dimitris,

Kindly let me know if you have the chase information and if yes,kindly send to me for us to proceed.

Hello Bob,
I got a message from you yesterday but I was working late at the lab; when I finally got home it was too late to call you. Besides, you didn't leave me a number to call.

Can you tell me a few things about this orphanage, like where it is, how many orphans are living there, if you have a website or an article written about you or anything? I'd like to know more about who I'll be working for.

Bank information: I'll have to ask them tomorrow about the routing number.
Otherwise it's a combined savings and checking account, not sure what you mean about limits, but if I have less than $250 in it, I get a monthly service charge.
Account name: Dimitrios Haralambos Megalopodaros
Account number: 214-17186-203
Bank address:
(the street exists, the house number doesn't), Seattle, WA, 98105

My address: (another address I know doesn't exist), Apt. D-19, Seattle, WA 98105

3 messages in quick succession:

What I mean by the limit is the amount of money the account can accept at once.

is the bank name a JPMorgan Chase or only Chase?

You can reach me on this number 2097534865

You always lock your phone,whenever I called you it entered voice mail.Pleaae

Please send a working cell phone number, kindly send the routing number.

Hello Bob,
I'm sorry about not being in touch but we had a serious problem at the engineering lab with malfunctioning equipment. Unfortunately this is not completely sorted out yet, so I am having to keep very exhausting hours, since my professor is relying on me for equipment maintenance.
I talked to the bank, their official name is Chase Manhattan Bank, and the routing number for their branches in Washington State is 325070760.
The number I gave you is my number at home. I don't have a cell phone, as I often check my messages, and people know to call me at the lab if I am at the university.
If you think I should get a cell phone, I will try to do that.
Why didn't you write me some information about your orphanage?
I think you wanted my home address, the bank branch address, my account number, and my passport number, is that right?

Hello Dimitris,

Yes,I wanted the listed information about you.
home address
the bank branch address
account number
passport number.

What are your schedules? I need to know because,I want us to be
chatting on yahoo chat.Please let me know how many hours job you do at
work and when you get home.Please I need cell phone number to be
calling you.

Do you have a yahoo chat ID? If yes kindly send to me so that I can
add you to my friend list on yahoo chat.

I want you to enroll for Chase Person-To-Person Payment System -
Quickpay. Please do that immediately, online or on phone.It is the
quickest way to receive money through chase.

Please let me know immediately you have that done.

I am waiting to hear back from you.
This is where I made some mistakes, like forgetting that I'd already given him my address and the bank branch address. He didn't call me on it though. I may be missing a couple of messages because he mentioned buying equipment first, I forgot about it and then remembered to ask him later.

Hi Bob,
I'm afraid I don't have yahoo chat or a fixed schedule. When I'm at work and when at home depends on a lot of things. Right now I am at work but will be at home in 5 hours or so.

My mailing address:
(a different nonexistent house on a real street)
Seattle, WA 98115

I thought I already gave you my bank account number.
The bank branch address I can send you once I get home, I don't remember it exactly by heart and I don't want to send it to you wrong.

My passport number is AB80941397 and it was issued on July 9, 2007. Issuing authority was the Security Department of Drama, Greece. (That is my hometown)

I will write you again in a few hours to send you a scan of my passport and the other information.

What kind of equipment or machinery did you want me to buy again? I can look for places to buy it on Saturday because I won't be working that day.

Hello,

I want you to enroll for a person to person quickpay service.

Open this link to lean more about the service https://www.chase.com/index.jsp?pg_name=ccpmapp/individuals/shared/page/quickpay_faqs

For the money to be coming to your Chase bank account easily.

Do you have a online access of the chase? Please let me know.

I want you to be communicating with me everyday.Because, money is available to be send to your account,but you just need to have the Chase person to person quickpay activated before the money started coming in .

Note that you must be sending the each money you received same day you got them.

I am waiting to hear back from you.

And one more:

I want you to enroll for Chase person to person Quickpay. So that you can easily be receiving money from different donors.

Or if you have the Chase online User and Password,give me let me help you enroll it.

I am waiting to hear back from you immediately.
[/color]

Hello Bob,
The bank told me that my enrollment will be activated tomorrow and I can send you the data at that time.
I am sorry but I can't be using a cell phone when I am at work, and let me explain why. You know how in an airplane, you can't use a cell phone because the electromagnetic waves would make the airplane's instruments work wrong? Since I am in aerospace and aeronautical engineering, it is exactly with that kind of equipment that we are working, so if any of us used a cell phone in the laboratory, it would make everyone's research and experiments come out wrong.
You can leave a message on the voice mail or e-mail me, you have seen that I stay in touch except for that one exceptional case when we had problems at the lab.

Thanks for your update,I will be waiting for the Chase online access User and Password.

(add a couple "I am waiting to hear back from you" messages from him)

Hello Bob,
I will ask the bank about on-line access to my account. Maybe they need to activate it or give me a code before I can start.
Then once that is sorted out I can register with the QuickPay.
I can't try it right now because the professor who is my boss doesn't like us to use the web for our own purposes. I can send this e-mail now because he's teaching a class this hour.

Talk to you again soon,

When you have the online access make sure you send it to me.

And confirm when you would do the online access and Quickpay.I need to know the exact time.

I am waiting now.

Don't forget to send the online access.and Quickpay

Hi Bob,
I tried to activate and open the online account today but for some reason it wouldn't work.
I called my bank branch to ask what the problem was, and after some time they passed me on to their customer service center.
Apparently the part of their system that deals with new accounts had a problem of some kind and was out of action. I asked when they expected it to be fixed and they said it would take at least 48 hours.
I will try again after that.

One other thing I need to understand: where would these checks be arriving from, how would I be receiving them, and how would I recognize them as being involved in our arrangement? And the way that I would send them on to you, would that be on-line, or would you also need me to send them to you physically by mail or scanned and e-mailed?

Over the weekend I should be able to go to the electronics store. What sort of printer or other machinery did you suggest I buy again?

You will be receiving money in your chase bank account.The money would be wired to your chase bank not check.

And in another message;

You would need to buy the below equipments.
1.MAGNET INK: G7 Productivity Universal Refill System
2.CHECK PAPER: Instant Checks #3000 Green
3.HP LASER PRINTER.

I will instructed you on how to be printed the checks.

I get tired of his pushiness and decide to try a slap:
Hello Bob,
Back when we started communicating your first question to me was whether I am honest. I believe that I was honest with you in explaining that although in my life I have not always been completely honest, in general I am honest. Now it is time for some honesty in return from your own side, so that I can have a clearer idea of who I will be working with.

Firstly, you mentioned that I would be receiving funds on behalf of your orphanage and then forwarding them to you. I don't even understand why you would specifically need me to do this. Also, what truly surprises me is that although I have asked you twice, you have never told me anything more about this orphanage, even where it is or how many orphans are housed there or how you care for them.

In addition, we have not mentioned the issue of how I will be compensated for this work. Will I be paid a fixed amount per transaction or per month, or a commission in percentage form? I believe that before I start working for you I should have some sort of a contract that explains how things are to work between us exactly, so there is no room for or possibility of misinterpretation or misunderstanding.

Will I be required to pay taxes on the amounts that I would be receiving or sending on to you? I am asking that because I know how insistent the American state is about people not fulfilling their tax obligations and most of all, I don't want to get into any sort of trouble that would jeopardize my status here as a student.

So before I go to any expense by buying equipment, it would be nice to have a few answers to my questions above. That way we can both be confident that we are being honest with each other.

Hello Dimitris,

Thank you for your response.The orphanage home was established way back in the year 1998.I was the founder of the orphanage home,I love cater for hopeless children because,I lost my father from early stage of my life and had difficulty upbringing.

There was 22 Orphans presently at home.we took care of the with the donation we receive from the donors in UK.But,I contacted some corporate and individual in USA,and they are ready to be donating money to us,but they don't want to send money outside USA.Therefore,I contacted you if you could be helping me receive donations from the donors and you accepted.

Your compensation would be 10% commission on each donation you received.There is no tax that apply to the money.

Hope I have clarify what you wanted to know.Please kindly send the Chase bank access (User amd Pass) and let me know if the Person To Person Quickpay is activated.

I am waiting to hear back from you.

(missing a couple of e-mails in which I complain about the idea of giving him a password, he comes back with the excuse that since I'm not always on-line he has to do the transactions himself, but there will be evidence of everything in my account, and I grudgingly acquiesce after a couple more days)

Hello,

Hope you have a computer at home? because you don't always reply in time.Please let me know if you activated the Person To Person quickpay and online access.

You would surely need to be responding quickly now.I need immediate replies from you.

I am waiting to hear back from you.

Hello Dimitris,

Let me hear back from you.What is going on? have you got the person to
person quickpay activated? and the online access?

I am waiting for your response.

I need to know if you are still proceeding to be receiving funds from the donors.

Why did you kept quiet for so long.I need to know if you activate the Quickpay and online access.
(and a couple more of the same)

Hello Bob,
The Quickpay is all set up. The ID that I am using is draminos1062 and my name should appear normally.
Tomorrow I go to the electronics store to buy the equipment. I will tell you afterwards how much it cost.

Thank you for your response.But your response it getting too late.I want you to be replying everyday.

I will send the below information to you for you to (Request Money) from the quickpay

Recipient name
Recipient e-mail address
Amount requested

When I send the above information you would log on to the your online banking and make the request,when the client see your request,he/she would send the money to you via quickpay.

Note that when the money is send to your Chase bank account,you would withdraw the money and deduct your 10% and go to the nearest western union location to have the money send to me.Okay?
Get back to me and let get started.

It takes me two more days to say:
Fine, no problem.

Hello,

Have you got the equipment purchased?

I need to know.

Yes, Bob, I purchased the equipment some days ago.
I was surprised that you didn't contact me at all and I thought you had given up on me or found someone else for the job.

I also told you that I had gotten the Quickpay set up and linked to my Chase account.

What do we do next?

Okay..

Can you start the check printing today or Tomorrow?

Do you know how to use the equipment to print checks?

I will send you the details that you will use to print the check.

Please let me know.

I need to know if you can start printing the checks.

Hello,

Please let me hear back from you about the check printing jobs,

We really need to get started.Please let me know if you know how to do the check printing. I am waiting to hear back from you,

If you have printed checks before, it would be useful for me to have
instructions from you to make sure that I understand and can do it
right. Unfortunately, sometimes the instructions manuals can be sort
of confusing.

Let the money started coming in...

You must be online to accept the money immediately it sent.That is the reason I was asking for the Online banking User and Password.

Please let me hear back from you.

Hello,

Kindly let me hear back from you,if you can be online in 3 hours time,the money can be send to your Chase quickpay and you can accept the payment.You need to be online when it sent,So that you can receive a confirmation code and send to me immediately to complete the transaction.

If you can't be online,you would need to give me the Chase quickpay User and Password and your Email User and Password, to do the confirmation on your behalf.

I need to hear back from you immediately.

Hi Bob,
I'm sorry I couldn't answer yesterday, I was sick and spent the day in bed.

My password should be <the wrong password>

How much is the withdrawal limit of your ATM card? I need to know so that I can know how much money to send to your account.

To get rid of him, I make up something off the top of my head:
Hi Bob,
I believe it is maximum single transaction $1000 and maximum per day $2000
I can check with the bank and verify it for you a bit later.

Okay, the money would be sent today, make sure you be online to check your email. Can you be online 2-3 hours time?

So that you can accept the money by your self in your online banking.Please let me know if you could be online in 2-3 hours time

I was tired of him by now and couldn't figure out a way to stall things further without making him suspicious and twig, so I decided to reply to his e-mail with this:
Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

(my character address)@gmail.com

Technical details of permanent failure:
The email account that you tried to reach has been suspended for a violation of Google.com policy. If you believe you have received this message in error, please try double-checking the recipient's email address for typos or unnecessary spaces. Learn more at http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=6417
(and then the header of his message below)
After about 3 times that I replied with this to any message he sent, he gave up on me. Good riddance.

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