Is this legit?

[kbletzer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kbletzer]

Hi. I recently posted my Westgate Town Center 2/bd/2ba floating value season on redweek.com. I received the usual want to donate it emails (wish I could).
However, I received an email from this man I will call John Doe......as follows:


okay no problem...all i need now from you is the last price..ok just let me know ur price if am ok ya will give me were the address and name am going to send the check to..ok

John Doe (name changed to protect the possible innocent heh heh)

Am I missing something here? His first email asked me in the same grammatically correct way if my "advert was still good! and were to send check."

Is this a joke from some kid or possibly some guy in Africa that wants to send me a check for 100,000. and send him the difference! heh heh
Is there a new scam out there that I missed?

Help folks!
K

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

Hard to tell, but be suspicious of everything when you are dealing on the internet.

[1950bing Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close 1950bing]

See the big red flag ?

[Sydney Contributor - Bronze Find all posts View Profile Close Sydney]

Why on earth would he want to send you a check without going through escrow or some third party to ensure that he isn't ripped off by you? Doesn't really make sense.

[gophish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close gophish]

I would agree with Tony, be suspicious, although I don't see what is in it for him unless he ask you to allow him to deposit the check or something.
It could also be someone that reads adds and sends emails just to goof on people.

[tonyg Goomba & Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close tonyg]

There's an old saying that applies to rentals and sales- Money Talks and BS walks. The first one that pays gets it- there are deabeats, con artists and goofballs galore out there.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

If this goes true to course, since this person appears to be speaking the Nigerian version of the English language, he will likely have a check for more than your price.

He will want you to deposit it and send him the difference.

Heck, I never thought of it, but why not let him send you the check. Deposit it. Wait. If it clears, go from there.

[kbletzer Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kbletzer]

Oh Guys you are gonna love this! Here is my reply to him and today's email response. I feel so foolish!
Hi (John Doe)
The price of the timeshare is $5,000.00 at this point plus closing costs (approximately $300.00 through a Florida title company).
The payment is handled through the title company not through me personally. It protects both parties involved.

The closing costs cover the title search and transfer of the title into your name.
If you are prepared to move forward I have the name and information of the title company and they can go over the details of the closing
and terms.

Thanks again for your interest.
K

His response...........

How you doing today,am not in the states now went for business trip to denmark,spain and now in africa to see my stores and my new clients there because i normally supplied goods for them directly from the states and canada Am going to send the check drawn from usa bank to you from there and you going to get the check with 6 to 9 working days,when you get the check and been cash at the bank we will proceed. However i was thinking if i could send you the money via bank transfer to you but the problem is that..i can ony make transfer to you if you have an account in WELLS FARGO,AMERICAN EXPRESS OR ETRADE
BANK or if you have anybody that can receive for you there...ok i think that will be faster... i hope you get that. Nice doing business with you.Wish establish long term business relationship with you.

(John Doe)

Well there you go! An attempt to scam me. He used a legit address in the US ( I looked it up on zillow.com).
This is fun. Thanks folks for the input.
K

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Phishing for your account number, so that he can withdraw the money himself!

There's a pretty bold one going on in this area. A pre-recorded phone call to people asking for their account number at a local bank, so that they can peform an audit. The calls are at random, so most do not bank at that bank, but some have been scammed.

Even after being reported on the news, it has continued.

In that story last night they talked about freezing your credit with the 3 credit agencies, so that no one can apply for credit in your name. They said you still could, but no one else.

[JLB Please excuse me, I'm a Dick. Not a moron just a Dick Find all posts View Profile Close JLB]

Well, he has your email address!

[bnoble Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close bnoble]

In that story last night they talked about freezing your credit with the 3 credit agencies, so that no one can apply for credit in your name. They said you still could, but no one else.

My wife had to do that, after someone else obtained enough of her personal information to successfully convince our bank that the thief was my wife. Turns out the thief in question was the girlfriend of our landlord's son, and she (and probably the son) riffled through the landlord's copies of rental applications. It was well worth the minor trouble---basically, whenever my wife applied for credit, opened a bank account, etc., the agency would have to call her to verify that she actually was the one who authorized the activity.

Interestingly, the thief got caught by buying things in a department store without ever looking at a price tag. Turns out, people genearlly only do that with Other People's Money, and doing so will attract the interest of store security.