How do I scam this scammer who's sending a fake check?

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 11 Apr 2015 Posts: 2

Hey fellas,

My office manager received a weird request by a new customer. He would like to send a check for a couple of thousand to pay for service, we are suppose to take our amount (the amount owed for services from my business), then deliver the remainder to "his agency".

Another scammer tried this 7 years ago. However, this time I want to have some fun. So...

can you suggest any ways to scam this scammer?

We have a day or two until the check arrives. I'll keep you posted on what happens next.

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 6:24 am

Welcome to Eater.

First off, we don't scam scammers, we bait them.

Secondly, he has the real life details of your company and staff, so when the cheque arrives, shred it and don't respond to the scammer.

Baiting Guru Joined: 10 Oct 2010 Posts: 3876

or mark it as fake (means write the word onto the check, pierce holes in it or so) as a reminder that something like this can happen.

don't bait this lad, as he has your real life data.

this modality usually works this way: lad sends check, and then realizes that he has written a too high sum onto it. and he requests that you send him the overpayment back via WU.

usually the victim then sends goods and the overpayment, and in the best case, the lad receives both things. then the bank will contact you (or law enforcement) for having a fraudulent check and puts you in deep trouble.

ways to bait it: first, never ever give them your real address (we have one or two dropboxes for that, regular po boxes should do fine). and don't give them other existing addresses, as there are ITPs living.

secondly, if the lad sends a check (costs him money to send it, sadly it's usually paid through hacked fed-ex or dhl company accounts) he'll then request to get the overpayment back. and from there on you can go with classic dollarchops, request bank transfers instead of WU and close them down, or send the money along with the goods in one of our lovely parcel services.

Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2015 6:43 pm

First off, welcome to eater.

Secondly, how did this scammer get in touch with your company? Was it through email? If so then create a new email account to contact the scammer. Make the new email address sound like something a business would use. Then contact the scammer and ask him if he is still interested in making a purchase. Scammers send out thousands of emails in the hope that one or two will respond. Because of this he won't realize that he never contacted your new address in the first place.

Just make sure that whatever product you are pretending to sell the scammer has no connection to the products your company sells in real life. You don't want him to make that connection.

After that remember to have fun. Read the stickies and eater U posts to learn the basics of scambaiting and remember that the search function on this site is your friend.

Baiting Guru Joined: 10 Oct 2010 Posts: 3876

and you might want to read this:

https://forum.419eater.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=263167&

Twisted Evil

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 11 Apr 2015 Posts: 2

Please don't quote whole posts - just point to them with a ^
Thanks - NG

I have a home cleaning service. He contacted my office manager via email and phone text. I had her go ahead and make the order because I wanted to play with this guy. However, you guys are right, he has our information such as phone, website, address - I need to be anonymous. Though have there been any cases where a scammer targets an individual for messing around with them? I'm sure there has just curious about what had happened.

He says he is from New Orleans but the phone number area code is Portland.
I like the idea of creating a fake email however I'd need to set up a P.O. Box for him to send the check. Anyway, I'm taking your advice and ending it. It will be a good lesson for my office staff.

As for baiting, this sounds like a fun hobby!

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 3:52 am

You can use a nonexistent address and pretend you got it, or you can become a premium member and get access to the dropbox. If you're going to bait this kind of lad, offer a nonexistent product.

Scammers do sometimes issue death threats, and they would carry them out, if they could find us. But we use nonexistent addresses and untraceable email addresses, so they can't.

Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 3:53 am

Welcome Dallasmojo.

What vonpaso x said about safety is definitely worth taking to heart.

Trust me when I say, you'll want to join as a premium member and make use of one of the boxes already set-up - it'll be so much cheaper and you'll gain the benefits of being a premium member and help keep eater running at the same time. Smile

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