Another Scammer on Gear Swap

[allgood27]

Hey, I know this has been discussed multiple times and everything in the state is going off, so I will keep this brief. I have a boat for sale on the buzz and I got an e-mail that made no sense from a guy named Jerry at the e-mail: tomjltd@yahoo.com
Here is his first e-mail

"Hello
Well i am intersted in buying your (Prijon Release) it.So i want you to tell me the features and it's condition and i will need the picture of it, also what is the last offer you can give me, also to let you know that i will be paying with (Cashier cheque) ok. I will be looking forward to hear from you soon.Mail me back so as to start transaction
Regards..
jerry"

I informed him that there is a picture and description on the site and he replied:

"Hello
Good to hear from you and thanks for the explanation, and i'm ok with the price. well i will need your contact details. and mail me the name that wil be on the cheque when sending it ok, i will lbe looking forward to hear from you. till i hear from you..

Full Name...
Address...
City...
State...
Zip...
Phone...
Country...
Thanks....
well plz note this that my client will be coming for the pickup ok and that is after the transaction as been cleared ok....


jerry"

Obviously I didn't respond with any of my personal info, but this guy is quite the low life.

I remember reading a thread a year or two ago about how to get someone like this back. Any suggestions? Or should I just ignore this dumb*ss?

Thanks,

Adam

[Jack Bombardier]

You're right, this "Jerry" guy is trying to scam you. I ran into this scheme multiple times will trying to sell an old Saab Sonett a couple of years ago. What these "buyers" do is agree to sell your boat/car/necklace/Star Wars figurines etc at a price, and then Fed-X you a check for an amount higher than the sale price. When you contact them to ask about the discrepancy, they ask you to wire them the difference and give some reason for the extra money.
If you deposit their cashier's check, then wire them cash back, you are on the hook to your bank for the amount of cash you withdrew to wire them. I got lucky, my bank put a hold on the first check I got. I spent a lot of time trying to get the bank, the Secret Service (its their jurisdiction), or the dutch police (where the scumbag was) interested in it but no takers. Since I didn't get ripped off, no crime was committed.
Anyway subsequent to the first "check", I got about a dozen more similar responses (using language very similar to the email you got) and I played them all like fish. I got them all to think that I was taking their deal, them let them Fed-X me a check, which I then tossed away. At leas that way I wasted their time, and made them pay for an international Fed-X charge. It wasn't much but it was easier than travelling to Europe or Nigeria to kick some bastard in the balls. The way to be sure the cashiers check is fake is to call the bank that "issued" it and give them the serial number.

[JCKeck1]

I wanted to mention that I got that exact same first email about a creeker I was selling. I ended up selling it to someone else before I replied to him. Definitly a scam

[NMT]

I had the same thing, I said "you don't exactly sound like a kayaker to me" and he went away.

[Waterpooch]

Yeah this is a very common scam. I sold a boat last fall and got the same emails. Be careful not to get tied up in it. I got my emails from canada. I traced all the ip addresses in the email to a fake web hosting company. The company was gone a month later.

[Paul the Kayaker]

Ya a guy that goes buy

"Jimmy Brown" <jimmybrown_autodealers@yahoo.es>

is trying to pull the same thing on the buzz. He is threatening to call the FBI now if I dont send him the extra 1000 dollars the check was made out for, after the deduction for the boat. Shit this guy claims he lives in London, I told him I would keep the money and personally deliver the boat to him while I tour england for two weeks on a 1000 dollars. Keep your eyes out, this has been happening a ton on Ebay too. Just tell them the bank and the police are holding the check in suspicion of fraud and that you'll get back to them as soon as it clears. Usually scares away the meek, for the ones that keep coming back, just tell them to come pick up the boat, it now comes with a swift knee to the face.

[kayakArkansas]

Waterpooch....that avatar is freaking hilarious.....

[robatnordic]

Thanks for the heads up! I had this as well last year, but went with a buyer in Bozeman. Riverpooch-my dog saw that and started barking at the screen.What the hell?

[boshawn]

"Jerry" is back and trying to scam you. He sent me the very same correspondence word-for-word. He's not very creative. watch out for this guy. I would love to hang his testes off the stern of my boat.

[El Flaco]

If you're looking for ideas to "scam back", or for just entertainment, go to www.419eater.com. You can come up with all kinds of creative ideas about how to waste their time, and hopefully their money.