Help with online payment?

[joshbr7257]

ok i put an add in the recycler ( an LA recycler) and this guy emailed me and says hes in germany? how could he read the recycler than? and i dont really get what else he said, but my add was for $50 and he says hell give me $100 extra if i do this? is this a scam? heres what he emailed me:

hello
I am presently in Garmany on a bussiness trip,but my shipper still remain in the hospital for a medical check up in the London . a sum of $1050 will be issued to you because he can not go to the Bank at this moment to clear the cheque.
   therefore i want you to please accept a chashier cheque so that the trasaction could be make ontime and also, that is the only way the money could be send to you at this moment.
    Nevertheless,immidiatly it gets to you, i want you to go ahead and deduct the $50 on the good together with the sum of $100 for your pucket money which also include you removing the good from the web so that it sholud not be sold to some other buyers.the remaining money should therefore be sent to my shipper so that he can come up for the shipment together with the shipment of other goods that is surpose to ship for me in his name.I pray he should be okey before then but if not, that means i will have to come over my self or send another repreentative to you.
    I want you to know that money is not the problem. Tefore, i want you to send the remendant of the money to him as soon as you gut it through Wester Union Money Trasfer.Although, this is my first bussiness with you.so, if you're truthful i will love dealing with you next time,
   I ALSO WANT THIS TO BASE ON TRUST CAN...... I TRUST YOU?... Pls i need ur contact info,such as
Name in Full,
Adress,..............
ur City................
ur State................
ur Zipcode......................
ur Phone....................

now to me this looks way to much like a scam!

[DaveMMR]

Send him $100 for a spell checker.  But yeah, it's a scam.  Delete.  Move on.

[Q*Bert_OP]

SCAM!!!

[joshbr7257]

yeah i thought so. why is it that everytime i get an email likethis they always say there in india or germany and have a shipper in the states? and whats with western union money order, ive had to many emails saying they want to pay through that? this is why im so hesitant about online sales!!!!! to many scams

[Q*Bert_OP]

I had someone want to buy my "XX Mission Kit-Working" once, and they asked what kinda condition it was in and how much I wanted for it, all of that was clearly spelled out.

At first I thought they were plain stupid...

[paigeoliver]

The western union scam is terribly easy to spot.

First off, 98 percent of the time the idiot scammers aim the scam at items that are not traditionally shipped, much less shipped overseas.

And 100 percent of the scammers use form letters, they often don't even mention the actual item itself, or they call it "the item".

It is also very common for scammers to mistakenly claim 2, 3 or even 4+ names in one email. One scammer answering my ad for a roommate claimed 5 different names in one email.

And because they use form letters they will often ask for information that was already spelled out in your advertisement.

[joshbr7257]

  this is what i emailed back to him...

hahahaha lol, ok let me stop laughing. Ok first STFU. Then use your damn spell check, and let me get this strait you are going to give me an extra $100 on top of the $50 for "pucket" money, and why the hell are you giving me this sap story about your shipper being in the hospital? why do i care? lol, nice scam and story, did you just make it up as you typed?

[paigeoliver]

Wow, that is a lot nicer than I usually am.

Also, more hints.

The scammers often have this mistaken idea that everyone in America is a rich world traveller (like the people they see in the exported American entertainment industry). They are operating under the beliefs that Americans have things like "personal shippers".

Other common Nigerian mistakes.

Assuming there are oil fields EVERYWHERE. At least 3 different Nigerians who answered my roommate ad were coming to St. Louis to "survey oil fields", "drill new oil wells", or other such nonsense (we have no oil here!!!!!).

Using first names of incorrect genders (when going for an "American" name).
Using traditional African last names when impersonating Americans or Europeans. Sometimes you'll get them both combined, so you will get an email from "Mr. Janet Kolex".

Another name gaff is using a common english last name, but making it plural, like "Smiths" instead of "Smith".

They always type in Nigerian English, which is like 80 percent British English and 20 percent US english. They even do this when impersonating Americans, and the British slang and usage makes it painfully obvious that they are not Americans.

On the subject of roommate ads, most of their profiles tend to be completely impossible. The picture will be some skanky looking mildly ethnic girl of about 20 (they usually tend to impersonate women, usually ones that are neither white nor black), who "doesn't drink, smoke, or do drugs, but doesn't mind if you do, who is a great fun person, who is generally quiet, who is a "consultant in the oil field industry" and is willing to pay $2000 a month for a room in an area with a going rate of $300 - $400. GENERALLY slutty looking 20 year old Latino girls aren't usually employed as "consultants in the oil field industry", and if one was I bet she would sure as heck be smart enough to research prices before making offers.

Basically, the guys doing the scams are completely clueless, if they had half a brain in their head then they would be a WHOLE LOT more successful at them.