Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with Scam

Grant scam satisfaction

hulahulagirl — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 18:19:45 -0800

How should I attempt to get satisfaction (ideally, a refund) from a scammy "grant" company? My mom was searching for grant information and was contacted by a company called United Economic Agency. She was told that for $375, they would hook her up with a grant ("pretty much guaranteed"), so she let them withdraw the $375 from her account with the promise that if she didn't get a grant, all but $50 would be refunded.

I know, it smells like scam right off the bat. But she was hopeful and did talk to some people on the phone and they had a website, so she trusted them. She's obviously naïve about things like this.

Now it's several months later and I am checking the BBB's website and surprise, surprise they have a score of F. Apparently the physical address on file for the business doesn't even exist and BBB has tried to resolve some complaints, but has not had a lot of luck.

I've seen consumer help articles in AARP or Costco's magazine or somewhere where someone goes after places that rip you off, but I don't know how/if I should start that process. If the BBB can't get any satisfaction, what are the chances someone else can? Do we just chalk this up to a lesson learned?

My mom has put her entire 401(k) into our business (a restaurant) and this $375 she's out for this scam is just like shit icing on the shit cake. What steps do we need to take to at least make sure they don't get any more money from her since she's already given them her bank info, short of closing the account which would be a hassle but ultimately worth it, I guess?

I'd like to help anonymous people stuck at the train station, but avoid being scammed in the process

mathiu — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 06:27:18 -0800

Earlier on AskMeta there was a question on being conned. I gave 50€ to a pregnant couple at a train-station - both couple and money I never saw again. I'd like to keep helping - but avoid being scammed in the process. How do you differentiate between "fishy" and "worth my help". Have you stopped looking at these cases altogether? A few weeks later I was on the train. My credit card didn't work and I didn't have enough cash on me to pay the conductor.

A woman (that I hadn't talked to before) gave me 15€ on the spot. She later explained that she had been stuck at a gas station with a similar problem where someone had lent her and even higher amount (100€).

I'd like the world to stay such a good place (ahh, warm feelings). Tell me some stories: when were you faced with a similar dilemma and decided to help/not to help? What are your decision strategies in such situations?

Nigerian scammer has my info...help!

jnnla — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:29:15 -0800

A Nigerian Scammer has my full name and webpage address...what should I watch out for? I did something stupid. Very stupid. I posted an ad on craigslist to sell some high end electronics that I am looking to get rid of. Right off the bat I got a scam reply from an individual asking for my paypal ID and saying that he wants to purchase the item and have it sent to his "cousin" who lives out of the country. I am familiar with all sorts of internet scams, and red-flagged this one immediately. A google search yielded similar emails using the same script. At any rate...I never respond to these...and when I do respond to craigslist buyers I use an anonymous email account.

This morning, however, I was feeling punchy and retorted back "Your cousin doesn't happen to live in Nigeria does he?" As soon as I hit send, I realized I had replied from my personal email address, with my full name and website in the signature. Big booboo.

So...this guy trying to scam me has my name and my internet address. Things I am worried about:

-That he may attempt to get my SSN
-That he may do a Denial of Service attack on my site
-That he may somehow steal my identity or use my mistake to his advantage

What should I be watching out for? I know I can't place a fraud alert on my SSN...but how reasonable are my concerns? Would love some insight to help damage control my bad impulse...Thanks!

So I got these letters asking to buy mineral rights from me. What mineral rights? Scam or real?

mygothlaundry — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 17:55:52 -0800

So I got these letters offering to buy my mineral rights - for land in a state I've never been to, that I had no idea I owned and in fact can't imagine that I do own. Scam or preposterously possible? I got two letters today: one for me and one for my elderly aunt, using a c/o me address, which in itself sets off a few alarm bells, since she doesn't actually live with me anymore and we've only used my address for her in a couple of places: the hospital, the drugstore, etc. The letters are from a company called Enerlex, Inc, in Broken Arrow, OK. Googling has turned up their website and pages of businesslike results without anything that looks overtly underhanded. The letters are almost identical but not quite. Both of them had a document called a mineral deed enclosed and a postage paid return envelope. Both of them also had bank drafts attached.

Here's the text of my letter.

Enerlex, Inc., is currently purchasing mineral interests in Latimer County, Oklahoma. We would like to extend and offer to purchase the mineral interest that we believe you own in the above captioned county for $1,050. Two bank drafts totaling that amount are attached below.

If this offer is acceptable, please find enclosed a Mineral Deed, which needs to be signed, notarized and returned in the self-addressed stamped envelope. After you have returned the properly executed and notarized Mineral Deed to our office, please place the endorsed drafts in your bank for collection. Once the Mineral Deed has been received by our office, we will begin our title examination. Please note that the draft for $150.00 is yours regardless to cover the expenses and notary fees.

If you prefer, you may hold the drafts, thereby forgoing a collection fee at your bank. In that case, we will send a check for $150.00 immediately and a check for $900.00 upon completion of the title examination.

We would appreciate a reply within fifteen days of your receipt of this letter. After 15 days Enerlex reserves the right to rescind this offer. If you have any questions, please contact me at (800 number) or by my e-mail address listed below.

My aunt's letter is exactly the same except a) the amount is substantially more, although not, like, millions and b) my letter was signed in blue and hers was signed in black. Both of the mineral deeds are exactly the same.

I would just toss these, assuming they are some strange and convoluted Oklahoma version of a Nigerian 419 except for the fact that my mother died a year and a half ago. The estate was pretty simple and there was no mention of land or mineral rights or anything like that but I did inherit part of her IRA and some of her portfolio and, after removing the bulk of my inheritance to buy a house, I've left the rest of it alone and remained sadly ignorant of all things concerning money and finance (that is a whole other AskMe question for another time.) Is it possible, therefore, that these mineral rights do in fact exist and are part of my inherited IRA or invested (with Schwab, FWIW) money? I thought that was all less tangible stuff like stocks and bonds and, you know, that kind of thing. Is it possible that I inherited them without knowing about it? And where would my aunt have gotten these things? And, how did they find me and, more to the point, how did they find her? Any information would be great.

There's a sure-as-shooting sucker born a minute, but Ma'am you mighta been the minute in between.

Anonymous — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:10:19 -0800

She spent $8,000 at a seminar on an "internet business opportunity". Now what? My mother-in-law is bright and professional (she has been a CFO for 30 years), but one day last month, she informed us that she had attended a seminar and wanted us to be partners in her new internet business. She had already given them $7,000 for their "platinum professional package", which includes web site construction and all of the training she needs to market her web site. I agreed to help her get something started and went to work researching the company and found out easily by Googling that they have an F with the BBB and hundreds of unhappy customers who never made the six figures they were promised. She did not seem to think that this information was important to her situation, since she is obviously smarter and more motivated than the people who failed with their sites.

The next weekend she went to another seminar and they got $1,000 from her for "business development", which includes walking her through incorporating, setting up a merchant account and tax advice. Then, last Saturday, in a conference call with the two of us, their "success team" mentor convinced her to give her credit card number for another $15,000 charge for "coaching" us through the entire process step-by-step, doing all of the SEO, and a warranty that she would make her investment back in six months. I immediately convinced her to cancel the contract and get the charge reversed. I explained that if we need this part of their services later, we can always call them back and order it later when we can get something in writing and it's not just an impulse buy. She now has some understanding that they have been using high-pressure sales techniques on her to sell her things she did not need.

I am tip-toeing around this because I absolutely do not want to make her feel like she did something stupid. (Back-story: when she encouraged my developmentally disabled little sister-in-law to marry someone she knew for 5 weeks, who needed a green card and we strongly protested, the result was a two year rift and little sister being banned from speaking to us. Yes, he abused her and they are divorced already and he's been deported). So, she sometimes gets lost in hope and deep denial and I want to make sure she doesn't lose everything in the process.

I am committed to helping her build some kind of online business. I am sickened by the idea of giving this company any more money, but I know the high pressure salespeople will continue to call her because she's a good mark. (Side note: the company is in Utah, entirely Mormon and contributes a lot to Mormon politicians. I don't want any money going to fund anti marriage equality efforts ugh!)

She understands that it could take years to build an online presence and longer than that to recover her investment. She is looking for something to supplement her income and keep her busy after she retires. She is willing to take a loss on the $8,000 and not use this shady company, but is still really excited about the idea of starting from scratch to do this right. She trusts me completely at this point and is letting me take the reigns of the whole project. So, what now?

What can I tell her is a more realistic amount of money to spend on building an online store in one of the niche product areas she's interested in (green or pet products or green pet products)? I've found many quality drop-shippers and I've spoken to them on the phone and feel that they are legitimate. Is it even possible to build a business this way that can eventually bring in a regular monthly income?

How can I learn more about the process so that I can protect her from being further exploited? And how can I assertively protect her money without making her resent me? What other questions should I be asking?

Creative Ideas to get my money's worth post facto-

priested — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:08:07 -0800

I might have to pay money for a service I basically never used. Any creative ideas on how to get my money's worth post situation? I requested new home phone and Internet service from Verizon approximately 7/30/09, after which I was told a phone number was issued to two homes simultaneously.

My phone service did not get connected until 8/4/09 and my Internet service was never connected. By 8/7/09, I requested the entire plan be discontinued as a result of Verizon’s unprofessional handling of the situation (spent about 7 hours on hold or speaking with supervisors that couldn't do anything but give me the run-around, and not even politely at that).

Upon original receipt of requested payment, I contacted Verizon’s credit department and was told I would be issued a credit for the amount owed, essentially nullifying the amount owed.

I requested this in writing but did not receive this. Now I got a letter from a collections agency (which I've in-turn disputed after getting no where on the second round of calls).

I am being asked to pay for a service I did not use for anything outside of contacting Verizon to fix the problems they created (can they charge me a whole month's worth for 3 to 4 days use?).

Additionally, they are saying I had the service longer than I did (4 days of it the phone didn't work, although their system says it did because the number was duplicated and worked elsewhere).

Here's the real question... Assuming I do have to pay the amount (it's under 100 bucks, but it is the principal!), any suggestions on how I can get my money's worth out of them? I've considered printing up thousands of flyers and posting them around town, etc...

The more creative, the better.

How to find authentic goods?

Anonymous — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:16:42 -0800

Looking to buy a WW2 ring. Help me not get scammed on eBay. (Anonymous because this is going to be a surprise, and the gift-receiver is a sneak)

I'm planning on proposing to my long-time boyfriend some time in the next year, and I'd like to get him a ring. Since he's a history buff, I figured a German WW2 ring would be an awesome choice. Ebay has piles and piles of Todkopf rings, but I'm looking for something a little more subtle; something from a Panzer team would be great, but I'll consider anything that's not just a giant cross/swastika/skull. I've come across these two which are particularly nice. Too nice, I guess. Although they're being sold from different accounts, both accounts are in Latvia, and the listings are suspiciously similar. "100% original old! Solid and presentable appearance is suitable for a man’s collection." But both accounts have good feedback. For what it's worth, I know absolutely nothing about period jewelry, so I likely wouldn't recognize a fake if I held it in my hand. So here are my questions:

1. Am I right in thinking that these listings are a little shady?
2. Are there any policies in place to handle falsely advertised items; if the item arrives and it's not authentic, do I have any recourse aside from leaving a negative review?
3. Where else can one look for authentic military artifacts?

Throwaway email: germanring@gmail.com Thanks in advance for any help!

This is why I can't have nice things!

InsanePenguin — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:04:31 -0800

Did I get scammed on eBay? I have never used eBay before. I have avoided it like the plague, I think for this very reason.

The outer glass touchscreen on my G1 cracked, I lived with it for several months but now it's getting worse and bothering me, so I looked around the internet for a replacement part. I found what I needed, but only on eBay. So, I spent the $35 and ordered it from a wholesaler based out of China (I guess.) Now, the lady doesn't speak English very well, but suitably enough for online interaction. I know that the part will have to go through customs, but I never got an ETA on the item.

I requested a tracking number for the item and she gave me one for Singnapore Post. I went to their website and put it in, but it said it could not be found. At the bottom of the page it said that once the item had left the country, the number would no longer work, and to look for the the item within the country of destination's postal service. It provided a link to USPS, where the number didn't pull anything up.

So, does it sound like I've been scammed? Or, could the part possibly just be in-between somewhere? OR, could the package just have a different tracking number for USPS, one I do not have?

Thanks, awaiting answers with bated breath.

Help me fight Italian car rental scammery!

COBRA! — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:02:32 -0800

I am being badly ripped off by Maggiore, an Italian rental car company (with a strong assist from a cab driver in Lucca). Please help me. Executive summary: I worked with a company called Europe By Car to book a car rental in Italy for the past week; they set me up with a rental through a company called Maggiore who rented us a bum car, are sticking me with thousands of dollars of undeserved charges, and we're pretty sure that one of their workers colluded with a cab driver to shake us down.

Details: We picked up the car at the Pisa airport, and drove just past Lucca. On the Autostrade, just before the Capannori exit, the clutch went out, forcing us to push the car off of a busy freeway. After getting off the freeway, we called the Maggiore roadside assistance number, and a tow truck was sent out. We were towed to a garage in Lucca, where we called the Maggiore desk; they told us to bring paperwork from the man who towed us and take a cab from Lucca to the Pisa airport.

We did so, and were told the cab fare (which was supposed to be reimbursable) was 70 Euro. We paid it and got a receipt for the
reimbursement. We gave the paperwork to the Maggiore people, and they gave us a different car, and everything seemed OK for most of the week.

Yesterday, then when we returned the car, the cab driver was standing at the Maggiore desk, and the man running the desk (he said his name was Alberto, and wouldn't give us his last name, which does not exactly fill me with confidence) said we had never paid the cab driver, and could not leave until we did. This is simply not true; we remember paying the man, and have a receipt to prove it. During the ensuing discussion, "Alberto" also started accusing us of breaking the first car (not possible-- we simply did not have the car long enough to burn out a clutch, even if we were driving poorly. Which we were not) and denting the second (also not true-- we were extremely careful, and returned the car in good condition). In the end, we got worried about missing our plane, and paid the cab driver another 70 Euros just to get the hell out of there.

This morning, my credit card is showing charges from Maggiore for $1177.04 and $1469.38.

So, my complaints are manifold: a Maggiore worker colluded with a cab driver to scam us, and now appears to be sticking me with thousands of dollars of undeserved charges.

What recourse do I have? I've sent an email to Europe By Car, the booking company we worked with (the text of that email is pretty similar to this post). I would love more information on how to fight this.

How to dispute non-delivery of item?

silentbicycle — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 11:35:30 -0800

How do I dispute a claim for a handmade item when the PayPal dispute time has expired? The seller strung me along with claims that it was going to be sent until I ran out of time to dispute it. I ordered a $100 ring off of Etsy in mid-July, and the seller (shadejewelry) claimed that it would arrive within a few weeks. A month later, I returned to message him about when to expect the ring, only to find that his shop had been closed. Some googling found his Facebook page, so I sent him a message, a posting on his fan page, and an e-mail asking for an update. He said that he would send my ring the following Monday.

Two weeks later, I asked what was taking so long, and he responded, "Scott your ring was shipped, I'll give you the tracking number tomorrow." I haven't heard from him since. I also found a page about his banning from Etsy due to several other people reporting similar behavior. In retrospect, his e-mails were probably intended to string me along until after the 45-day window to chargeback the transaction on PayPal closed (which was within a day or two of the last e-mail). Still, it was quite a surprise - his Etsy feedback had been high, and I ordered a ring from the seller roughly a year ago without any problems. He was also a featured seller (the page has since been deleted), etc.

As word got around, he changed his store name from Shade Jewelry to Brink Jewelry (NOT Brink's in Minnesota), but still appears to be in operation. (There is even a picture of the ring I ordered on the front page.) Incidentally, the original ShadeJewelry website still redirects to the closed Etsy store page.

This was supposed to be my wedding ring (I'm getting married in two weeks), but at this point I think the odds of getting the ring in time or being reimbursed are slim. What can I do to prevent this from happening to anyone else? I used PayPal linked to a checking account, so (AFAIK) I cannot do a chargeback the way I could with a credit card, and the PayPal chargeback period is over. I reported non-delivery to Etsy and sent a report to the IC3. I also posted on the etsycallout blog, and have been followed by several similar complaints.

This scam seems to exploit a vulnerability in the way Etsy+PayPal operates: The buyer pays ahead of time for a custom item that can take weeks to make, but at that point the 45-day PayPal chargeback window is already closing. Etsy has already banned the seller, but since they don't handle the money directly, they seem to consider the matter closed. Still, they haven't done anything to remedy this major loophole in the way they operate, so it will almost certainly continue.

Does anybody have any ideas what to do to keep this from happening again? (Besides not paying in advance for custom items?) Anything I could do to get closure on this would be appreciated as well.

Is there such a thing as free money?

knystress — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 19:10:33 -0800

IsThisAScamFilter: Melaleuca Inc., the internets seem to be on the fence about it. Have ye any experience? A friend was approached today about becoming a distributor for this company, and after extensive Googling we still can't figure out whether it's a run-of-the-mill MLM scam or a fantastic opportunity for some free/easy money.

Do any of you trusted Mefites have experience with this company or some anecdotes to sway the vote? Your help would be very much appreciated since this means the difference between being paid to do nothing and paying through the nose to wind up with a bunch of useless crap.

Help! My landlord is trying to scam me!

Anonymous — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:29:48 -0800

Help! My landlord is trying to scam me! Okay, so, when I first signed my lease, my landlord had me sign a "rider" that basically said the following : Although the amount on the official lease is $1800, the actual rent on the apartment is $2150. However, as long as I pay my rent on-time, I get a "discount" of $350.

This is obviously a ploy to get around the rent control laws of my city. If not for the "rider," my apartment would be rent-controlled since it is under $2000 a month.

Anyway, I renewed my lease in June, and he wanted me to sign another "rider" along with it, since the original "rider" was only valid for the term of the lease. I kept putting it off, and ultimately I forgot to send in the new "rider."

Months later, he calls me and bugs me, so finally I bring it into his office.

A few days later, he calls me and tells me that my last rent check bounced, and that I need to write him a new check and pay the $350 late fee. I knew this was absurd, because I have plenty of money in my account. A quick call to my bank confirmed that my landlord never tried to cash the check, and that it never bounced.

I called him back, and he yelled at me, insisting that the check had bounced, and that he has the "bounced" check which was "returned" by my bank with stuff written on it. He threatened me with eviction if I didn't send in a new check along with the $350.

Tomorrow, I am going to the bank to get an official letter stating that they never recieved the check and that it never bounced. I called his office to say that I will be bringing in this letter, but his secretary was instructed to tell me "not to bother, since he won't be in and that I don't have an appointment." Obviously, I'm going to bring in the letter anyway and leave it with his secretary.

But I'm wondering what happens next. Over the phone, he threatened to evict me! I don't want to lose my deposit, and I don't want my credit effected. I don't even want to leave my apartment. He's obviously mad at me for taking so long to bring in the "rider," but I wonder if it's really in his interest to evict me over this, especially since I've been a good tenant and have always paid my rent on-time.

What can I do to avoid being scammed, evicted, or losing my deposit? Would his "rider" even hold up in court? Does eviction effect your credit rating? Is this worth lawyering-up over? My deposit was $1800, but I have no idea what a lawyer would cost.

I live in NYC, if that makes any difference.

If you like, you can email me privately at dontwannabescammed@gmail.com.

Fake bills and what to do about them

jinjo — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:17:48 -0800

I have in my hand a "Past Due Notice" for my stay in-- and I quote-- "the hospital." It claims to be from Texas Medicine Resources, which is a real company, but the address they want me to mail my $250 to is of course different from the one Google gives me, and besides that there is not a lick of specific information anywhere that would convince me they have any connection to my medical history. Assuming I'm right that justice needs to be served, how can I help that happen? Now: I did go to the emergency room somewhat recently, because nothing else was open at the time and I was scared of malignant ear tumors or whatever I was imagining I had. They said there was nothing wrong with me, and I could have them check harder, for money, or go home for free. I chose the latter. Does some scammer know about that event? Was it a lucky guess that I might have had a hospital visit in my recent past? Is the whole thing in fact legit?

All I have done so far is open it, squint at it, and run to y'all. There is a number, but I haven't called it in case of advice like "WHATEVER YOU DO, DON'T LET THEM GET YOUR PHONE NUMBER" or something. So, again, the question here is not just "Is this a scam?" (unless it isn't, in which case tell me that), but "What do I do about this now, assuming it is?" Thanks, folks, you're wonderful~

How did I get made party to a scam?

stupidsexyFlanders — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:31:25 -0800

A random person in a city I don't live in called me and said he was seeing two charges for $155 each on his bank statement, and his bank says I'm the party that the payments were made to. What kind of scam is this, how did I get involved, and what's my responsibility? These are point-of-sale charges his bank says were made with his debit card. On his statement, where the merchant information is, appears a domain name that happens to be where I have my resume, and then the first few lines from my resume appears, including my contact info.

Is this a result of something I might have done, or did somebody just scrape my website randomly to populate the merchant information? Why would the bad guy go to that trouble, rather than just putting in something like ACME Widgets, 1234 Main Street, Anytown USA? Am I at risk at all here? It's obviously not my money, but this is the second call I've gotten in the past few months like this. How can I end this?

I should note that each of these two callers seemed satisfied when I explained that I had nothing to do with their charges and they should work it out with their bank.

Please critique my spam

goshling — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 03:42:22 -0800

Received the following email yesterday in regards to my domain name. My first reaction was to hit delete, but I thought I'd just make sure I wasn't ignoring something I shouldn't be ignoring. Is this spam? Are they waiting for me to respond defending my "property" at which time they'll hit me with a pile of SEO crap for a "small fee"? Is it a scam? Legit? My domain name is {suburb}massage.com. I also have {suburb}massage.com.au and {suburb}remedialmassage.com My registered business name is {suburb} Remedial Massage. I'm in Australia. Obviously there are many places called {suburb} and many businesses offering massage in those places.

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are a domain name registration center in Hongkong,mainly dealing with domain name registration and internet intellectual property rights protection. On June.29,2009 we received a formal application from a local company of your country who is applying to register some domain names with the keyword “{suburb}massage ” and register it as their internet keyword. After investigation,we find that you are the original user of the keyword. As this refers to your company name or trade mark, and in order to avoid the confusion and dispute on the internet, we inform you and would like to know your ideas, if you agree about this issue, we will finish the third company's registration, If you don't agree the third company to register, please inform me.looking forward to your reply.thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Should I respond to this or just hit delete?

Gold fences on tv

yesster — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:46:02 -0800

Are those cash for gold outfits advertising on tv operating as a fence for stolen jewelry? It just seemed to me on first seeing the ads that their target customers would be petty crooks. 'We melt it ourselves' means no traceability.

Gemstone scam?

PowerCat — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:01:30 -0800

A friend of mine has become involved in a new... "job" It sounds too good to be true so it must be! Basically, this "job" involves my friend receiving very specific money transfer requests from some dude he found on craigslist.

He gets a transfer, sometimes western union, sometimes an interac or email transfer, he then has to cash it and transer it to someone else. The guy usually wants this done within the next hour or so.

The guy explained that what he's doing is getting clients to buy gem stones over the internet or something, then he has to transfer it in my friend's name and then he has to collect the money and transfer it to some other person (A NIGERIAN!)

Is this some sort of money laundering scam? I really don't know what's up with whole deal and I'd like to know if there are ricks for him at all? My friend's name is on all these transfers...
Any info is appreciated.

Bait and switch, or something less sinister?

man down under — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 03:22:22 -0800

Is this a scam? I'm looking at buying a LCD HDTV and found this offer online: Samsung LA40B750 40 in. LCD TV for AUD$ 1,450.00 from www.marthaelectronics.com How can I determine this is a legitimate firm? Google searches offer no consumer reports or angry bloggers, but it seems too good to be true...

Is This A Scam Or A Mistake?

justcorbly — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 11:39:30 -0800

Is this a twist on a money order scam or is it some weird mistake? I received in the mail two Moneygram money orders, both for an equal amount (less than $1000).Addresses on the envelope were handwritten. The return address is that of a married couple in Oregon. Both money orders are payable to one of the people in the return address.

Nothing else is in the envelope. I do not know the people in the return address. I haven't sold anything online.

I called the fraud people at Moneygram who reported both money orders have already been cashed. That is, the numbers on the orders correspond to cashed orders. Note that is not equivalent to saying I have two authentic money orders.

So, is this a scam? If so, how does it work? If not, how do two people unknown to me get my address and then mail me cashed money orders?

I'm leaning strongly toward scam, if for no other reason than my address on the envelope includes my full Zipcode, e.g., the xxxxx-xxxx format, such as might be found in a list of stolen addresses from a bank or business.

Finally, one of my credit card issuers caught a few instances of attempted fraud on my account recently. The account was closed.

What say you all? Is there a scam that involved mailing legitimate but cashed money orders to strangers?

Or, are these money orders counterfeit copies of legitimate money orders a scammer managed to acquire?

How does this work?

Brennus — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 11:54:59 -0800

USB car charger on ebay going for $0.98 with free shipping from Hong Kong, how can they make any profit? I came across a number of auctions like this one. $0.98 for a car charger sent for free from Hong Kong. After ebay fees, shipping, and the actual product, can they make any money? Is this a scam?

Can anyone confirm the existence of the Arbonne Institute of Research and Development in Sion Switzerland?

doppler68 — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:42:39 -0800

Is there anyone here who lives in or around Sion Switzerland? I am looking for confirmation that the Arbonne Institute of Research and Development (AIRD) has a lab at "chemin des Orlons 10, 1860 Aigle, Switzerland‎." I discovered that there is a different company at that address: FCC - Fragrances, Cosmetics and Consulting. I spoke to a man from FCC and asked about Arbonne and he didn't know what I was talking about. But when I emailed him, I was emailed back instead by a "Torre Fortunato" who said that yes in fact, there was an Arbonne AIRD lab there and that he worked for both companies. I believe that he is colluding with Arbonne International to perpetuate the lie that Arbonne has a lab in Sion Switzerland. I looked on Google earth for that address and found it is a field. It could be possible that the lab was constructed after the satellite photos were taken. However, I've seen the AIRD address in print in a blog comment in 2006. I assume that the satellite photos are more recent then that.

Any help that could be provided would be greatly appreciated.

To swat a scammer?

ConstantineXVI — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:21:21 -0800

I have a foreign scammer trying to get me on a Craigslist item that just won't take the hint and give up. Should I ignore them, or should I make their lives miserable? Few days ago, posted a link to a phone on our local Craigslist. The likely scammer's reply is word-for-word as follows:

Thanks for getting back to me concerning the inquiry mail i sent to you about the item and i will like to let you that am so serious in buying this from you, i live at Tynen Starbucks here in US residing in Brooklyn.The price of the item is okay with me.so i want you to know that i will not be able to come over to you to make the pick up and pay in cash due to the fact that am at the camp for a Rugery Coaching in Florida, i will be much glad if you can handle the shipping down to my partner who was currently transferred from USA to Benue Republic at oversea with his team on a research on Human development under world Health Organization also you will be mailing the item out through the US local post office United EMS Express Speed post mail (USPS)down to my partner,i will be paying you through a {USA}paypal or (USA) money order,i have agreed to mail out as bank paypal of $330 for you on my behalf to cover the shipping fees.all i will be needing now from you is your paypal account name and e-mail account address.so that i can send your account info to paypal for the money transfer..i will be expecting the info from you now, so that i can send it to paypal for the instant money transfer.

Gave a reply that amounted to "go away, don't bother". The scammer replied back with "please send me your paypal posthaste". I've gone back and forth a few times, poking a new hole in their story each time, yet they won't give in. Should I just let this one go? Or is there somewhere I can submit them to either:
a) warn others?
b) torture them until they give up scamming?

Paying Payroll taxes on Employer Expenses?

Anonymous — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:00:41 -0800

I have a good friend who's getting screwed by his (soon to be former employer) re: expenses and payroll taxes. What's the best way to resolve this situation? This is all pre-accountant/pre-lawyer information gathering.

Long story short, my friend is an office manager for a consulting firm that does a lot of entertaining. He pays for catering out of pocket, and then is reimbursed for it at each pay period.

So far no problem, but where it gets dicey is these reimbursed expenses are being reported on his paycheck as income, which has totally fucked him at tax time. We plan on going to an accountant, possibly a lawyer, but before we do I want to know what I'm talking about.

What are the various things we need to be wary of here. The consulting firm has a lot of shady business practices, and I don't think they'd react well (either feet dragging or outright hostility) to an employee asking them to correct this. They have more time and money for lawyers than we do. My gut says he should be able to go with an itemized deduction of the business expenses, but the employer collects all receipts. He has copies, but I know the IRS is big on originals.

Any advice no ways to smartly deal with this cluster fuck? Oh, and a preemptive "are you helping" to the "you should be happy to have a job in this economy" people. Just because times are tough is no reason we should let employers slap us around.

eBay and counterfeit goods.

pdb — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:14:29 -0800

Should I send my counterfeit goods back? About a month ago, I bought something on eBay because the price seemed too good to be true. Which, of course, it turned out to be. Shortly after "winning" the item, I was notified by eBay that the item I had purchased was "under investigation", which along with the fact that my auction was never listed under "my eBay" as having been won, indicated to me that I was probably buying something counterfeit. I paid with PayPal, so I opened up a dispute with them so I could get my money back, since I was pretty sure that I wasn't going to get the item for which I had paid. We went back and forth a bit, during which time I attempted to contact the seller with no luck, but ultimately, I got my money refunded. End of story, or so I thought.

About two weeks after all that, I got a package in the mail from China, containing the item that I had purchased - and, sure enough, one simple glance confirmed that it was counterfeit. I figured, whatever - I got my money back, PayPal considers the matter closed, chalk this one up to experience and move on. I reported the item as being counterfeit to the makers of the real item, and went on with my life.

Fast forward to today. I get an email from the seller which says:

"dear friend:

i am sorry to trouble you.the money have been return to your paypal account. if you receive the items and you like the items.could you pay the money to me again? If you no like please return the items to me."

The fishy thing is, the name on the email matches the seller's name, but the email account is totally different. What is my obligation here? I still have the item, but since what I received is not what I paid for (the ebay ad claimed that it was a genuine item, and it clearly is not), do I still have to return it? I'd just as soon throw the thing away and forget all about it, but I want to make sure that there is no recourse for the seller here if I ignore the email that was sent to me.

It should be noted here that I understand that a line on an eBay sales item screen is by no means a guarantee. I'm not upset, I don't feel like I was taken advantage of, I just want to know how much attention I need to pay to the person that wants me to send back their cheap knockoff goods.

What scam are these macbook box bandits running?

miniminimarket — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 15:38:03 -0800

We've had to buy five macbooks in three years because of a couple of apartment break-ins. Now we're moving (because of apartment break-ins). I put up the old macbook boxes up for free (seem too nice just to recycle) on Craigslist and got a surprising number of takers. Is there a scam here? We ripped off the old serial numbers on the boxes, so that's useless for them. But I don't want to find out I'm giving away boxes so some jerk can sell his freshly stolen macbook (possibly my macbook) as "new in box." Is this something people do? Or do nice people need macbook boxes too? Thanks in advance.