I think someone is trying to scam me?

* inquiry from someone far away, often in another country
* proposed transaction includes a cashier's check, postal money order, Western Union, or escrow service (BidPay, Squaretrade, etc.)
* inability or refusal to meet face-to-face

and

* DEAL ONLY WITH LOCALS! Most non-local inquiries on craigslist are scams.
* NEVER wire funds to a distant person, via Western Union or any other carrier
* Be wary if the other party wants to use an escrow service such as BidPay or Squaretrade
* NEVER give out personal financial information (checking account number, SSN, eBay/PayPal info, etc.)
* trust your instincts, and always remember that the most important rule -- caveat emptor -- BUYER BEWARE -- applies to any transaction on craigslist where money is involved.

He will give you some excuse for having wanting to send a money order for a larger amount. The most common excuse is that he has a friend who lives in the USA and owes him $15000. And because he can't easily cash the money order in his country he would like you to cash it and send the remainder to him or his "shipping agent" via Western Union.

This sounds good to you. You are thinking, "get a money order, cash it, and send the remainder. Wow, he must trust you with the a lot of money". You agree to his offer.

He wants your phone number and address. He wants to call you to verify the information.

You provide a phone number and address.

He calls you using a system designed for those who are deaf. You speak only to the operator and she relays the info. (They almost always use this type of service). On the call you can verify the address and terms etc.

The deal is all but done. You wait for a money order. It arrives FedEx overnight.

You also receive an e-mail reminder to get to the bank and cash it. The e-mail also gives you the address of Western Union locations near you.

You deposit $11000 from the money order in your account. You get $4000 to send to the shipper. You go to Western Union and send the money. You send $3995 and give Western Union $5.00 in fees. You e-mail the code to the "shipper".

With everything complete you wait for the shipping agent to come by and pick up the bike. A week will pass, maybe two weeks.

Soon you get a letter from your bank. They have charged your account $15000 plus $20 service fee because the money order was returned to them unpaid and marked counterfeit. You check with Western Union. The money was picked up and their is no way to recover it.
The final tally: The bank
Western Union
The Scammer
You + $20.00
+ $5.00
+ $3995.00
- $4020.00

and yes this probably happens for anything over $1000

His plan is this:

He gets you to agree to accept this "money order" from him for the cost of your computer. Then he tells you, "oh, I have a friend in America who I owe money to as well. Please, if I send you a money order for $5,000 instead, will you take your $1,000 out of it and send the other $4,000 to this address (gives you address)".

You say "sure". He sends you the money order. It hits your bank account, you take your $1,000 out and you send the other $4,000 to the other address he gave you. No-one comes to collect your computer. Then your bank contacts you to say that the money order was a fake and you now owe them $4,000. You have no legitimate address for contacting your customer. Oh well.

They sit around thinking these things up because these things work. These money scams are as old as money, but they're even easier to do now because people are selling things online.

Don't even bother wasting your time telling him to fuck off. Just bounce his mails as spam in future.

-- suzy (theartskooldisk...) (webmail), June 1st, 2006 4:20 AM. (suzy) (later) (link)

My neighbor did this by opening a new account and then withdrawing the money from it. Made four grand but since he didn't give the money back, the bank fucked his credit and he can't open accounts.

Oh, no that's Scanners.

-- TOMBOT (tombo...), June 1st, 2006. (later)

I got 80% correct; for me the "chase" and the "capital one" mails seemed fraudulent, when they weren't; Guess capital one was a trick question, as it had this weird address in the status bar.

I only discovered these water “connoisseurs” when I watched that episode of Zac Efron’s Netflix show, and I absolutely hate them. pic.twitter.com/QYZFlmxIp1

— Paris Marx ☭ (@parismarx) March 1, 2021

"small water hydrates us on a cellular level"

"small water"

I can feel the small water rising in my brain, my thoughts becoming soggy, my Innsmouthian heritage claiming me at last

glub

Is this a vodka ad?

Also I want to chase that dude with a supersoaker filled with tap water.

i want to give him a glass of heavy water

I love it when they call it big water

I prefer a two-pack

Is your water making you insufferable?

What has adrian chiles got to say about this