posted on October 18, 2002 11:33:47 PM
Check out the request I just received....
Hi,
We are in business with reselling goods in Russia. We reside in Russia.
We would like to start attracting more customers and found eBay, great auction
place. After looking into it I understood that fair methods of payment would be
check, money order and paypal
http://www.paypal.com).
Can you be our representative in USA? I offer you 10% of the amount you
receive and resend to Russia.
I can't subscribe myself into Paypal since they don't accept Russia.
Also can't cash checks here - too long to arrive, very high bank interest
rates.
We mean about $2,000 turnover per week, yours will be about $200.00. All you
will have to do
is forwarding the payments arriving to your account and the merchandise is
shipped separately,
you will not have to take care of it.
Your help is very appreciated!
___________________________________
A name was attached but not listed here, and the email address was infact from Russia.
posted on October 19, 2002 07:58:58 AM
Just curious, Is this from someone you have had dealings with in the past? or is it just spam? (Probably the latter) Thanks for sharing! I think anyone who would respond to this kind of email is way too greedy and has air that has replaced the grey matter in their skull
posted on October 19, 2002 08:31:28 AMI think anyone who would respond to this kind of email is way too greedy and has air that has replaced the grey matter in their skull.
The con artist will have to cast the bait many times but sooner or later they'll find a stupid fish in the pond. The con artist will find someone to redeem his stolen credit cards and/or stolen accounts into money orders or wire transfers.
Over two years ago a poster on this message board did just that thing for a Romanian. She kept 20% and sent him his 80% via Western Union money orders. She unwittingly laundered around $20,000.00 in a 3 week period. When PayPal held her liable she became the poster child for "Innocent PayPal Victims," for months.
I prefer to think some of these scams are more of a stupidity/greed tax where the funds assist the economy of some 3rd world countries.
posted on October 19, 2002 09:26:34 AM
<Just curious, Is this from someone you have had dealings with in the past? or is it just spam?>
No never had dealings with a Russian buyer or seller. They must be harvesting names from Ebay. I tryed to access their website and came up with a blank Index page. This is obviously spam but also really "dumb" spam.
posted on October 19, 2002 09:32:43 AM
it may not be as bad as it sounds,you have to investigate and decide for yourself.
what is he selling??
if he is doing the listing,how does he pay ebay??
you can always hold on to the payment until you hear from the bidder that they have received the merchandise from him and are happy.
of course they can be happy and one day they decide to do a chargeback,so you need to hold some fund in reserve.
not everyone is a crook in russia.
another way to do business with him is to buy from him and sell them yourself,if he has something worthwhile??
i recall one ebay seller sells african wooden masks and they are shipped from africa,there are plenty of people in africa who love to get the us dollars,so why kill a golden goose by skipping town and not honor the transactions??
but then there is also a thread last year of a single mother with 2 teenage boys who sell jewelry on ebay,she was contacted by a man in nyc claiming he has jewelry factory and 3 warehouses worth of nice jewelry for her to sell.
he ended up listing under her ebay account,she collects the money via paypal and he shipped and she remitted the fund.
then he stopped shipping,so she withheld the fund,he managed to write paypal and said please release the fund and hacked into her account and transfer the fund himself.
so she became liable for all these items paid for but not shipped,as far as ebay bidders go,she is the one who listed,sold and have their dough.
this is a case of someone who trusted another person to use her ebay id,her password and list for her with nice glitzy pictures without paying for any of that inventory.
she never come back and posted what happens??
posted on October 19, 2002 10:19:48 AMit may not be as bad as it sounds,you have to investigate and decide for yourself. what is he selling??
uh oh... Please don't suggest this is a viable way to do business.
you can always hold on to the payment until you hear from the bidder that they have received the merchandise from him and are happy.
Ivan: I sold that laptop, I think the buyer will be happy, he'll contact you soon I hope.
Son of Ivan: I got that laptop, and I'm so happy! Please wire Ivan his $2,000.00 (less your 10%)
PayPal: We are reversing the transaction YSWS34927124G because of a dispute of unauthorized use.
Clueless Mark: Oh, that can't be, I know the buyer got their goods. You need to talk to Ivan, I wired him that money.
posted on October 19, 2002 11:51:37 AM
amid the rubbles,a few look for gems !!
well,in this case ,it is amid the russian rubles,we look for opportunity.
one has to use his common sense,and stay away from ivan specials of the day like usa made laptops etc.
like i said,that mighty greenback is still king of the hills,there are some russians out there who appreciate a steady stream of that dollar,if he has something worthwhile to sell,and more where it comes from,it pays to look into it.
i am saying not every situation warrants your attention,it is up to the author of this thread to perform due dilligence investigation.
posted on October 19, 2002 02:24:51 PM
If it looks to good to be true, it usually is.
Just use common sense. If you wished to do business in Russia, would you pick a stranger's name at random, ask them if they would collect 100% fo the money from your sales and then trust them to send you 90%.
By the way, exactly how are you to send them the money you collect for them? Remember they said they can't accept PayPal and don't want checks (and presumably money orders too) since they take "too long to arrive".
posted on October 19, 2002 03:12:45 PM
wiretransfer into their bank account.
or the russian mafia usa branch will personally carry the cash back to them.
or go ahead and indulge them,open a bank account for them in usa and just deposit their proceeds for them.
i have not been contacted by them,so dont think it is random,the author of this thread must be a super person recognised internationally for her competence and int financially savvy.
posted on October 20, 2002 08:31:26 AM
collect 200 dollars for every 1000 dollars sales,the author must find it rewarding enough to post the thread.
may be she has already made up her mind.
posted on October 20, 2002 08:50:41 PM
DO NOT DO IT!!!!!!
I live in an area that is heavily populated with former Russians. Fraud there is very high. Most of them grew up in the Soviet dictatorships and only understand fraud and deceit. Not intending to degrade Russian people here, but this is they way they were raised. If you go ahead and do it for them, your financial stability will be in jeopardy.
As the saying goes, better safe than sorry.
posted on October 20, 2002 10:04:20 PM
I posted this thread for the interest factor only. This is not something I would ever respond to but the posting is just a sample of how some people think they can use the Internet and ebay. There may in fact be a few folks that find it an attractive offer but it is only with dialog from experienced people like yourselves that a novice can learn before they are burned.
Greengate
"Super person recognized internationally for her competence and international financial savvy.” As well as her acclaimed spelling skillls.
