Fake check Scammer - [email protected]

I got the same thing just the other day from "Laura" deaf girl. OMG! Makes me sooooo mad! I just simply wanted to sell something and it turned into I would have to pay her movers. I was like this stops here. You are not ok and I am not following through with this. It's like that commercial. Thank you for calling, dis is Peggy. I wanted to email back and say some nasty things and make some threats but I don't think that would affect them. They just move onto the next victim.

I received the same thing Saturday from "Jennifer Thopmson" ([email protected] and [email protected]). The difference in my situation as I actually got an email about another posting for furniture from a local person with the same name. I did internet searches and tracked down where she worked and called her. She was interested in some other furniture, but not the actual item I got the check for. I am not sure how the scammers did this, but I could assume they posted some ads and got correspondence from her and used her name. This would make it look more legit. The difference in the real Jennifer's email is it had a company url not gmail. I guess they are getting smarter and taking the scam a step further being I had not seen anyone else post about this situation. I did not fall for it, but wanted to update about my situation and the extra detail. Is it worth following up with the local lawenforcement? The fake emails were almost the exact email verbatum:

Hello Michael,

How are you doing today? It's me Jennifer and this is my main email thanks for getting back to me with the details I just wanted to let you know that the check would be delivered to you on Tuesday A.M definitely,I am still sorting out quotes once finalized it would be added to the check. Please do forget to delete the posting

I really appreciate your understanding and consideration I would update you with all the information needed I would be expecting your email thank you

Jennifer Thompson

I then received the email asking about my info and received a check by Fedex from an Apache Corporation the next day for $2500. After receiving the check I got the follow up email as follows:

Hello,

How are you doing today? l I just wanted to let you know that the check has been delivered today via Fedex thanks for your honesty towards this transaction so far. Well, the overpayment is meant to cover the cost of shipment for the item alongside my other properties including tax and insurance plus the movers and agent fees.

Please deposit the check today so that it clears tomorrow after the check has cleared,All you have to do is go the bank and have the rest of the money withdrawn in cash and have it sent to the movers via Money gram

Name : Alicia Rose Tanksley
Address : 112 W. Ocean Blvd
City : Long Beach
state : CA
Post code : 90802

Do let me know your schedule for the week regarding pickup as i have some other properties to be moved alongside the item. Please do act accordingly as agreed after deducting your money for the item, make the rest fund available to the movers via money gram at any of their outlet around you or check on www.moneygram.com {click find location} and check for their outlets around and get back to me with the transfer details below (as it appears on the receipt) so i can contact the movers for the pick-up at your location ....Deduct the money gram transfer charges from my fund also $50 for yourself (meant for any hassle or run around).

1}Sender's name and address
2} Reference number which is the 8 digits reference on the Money gram receipt
3}Actual amount sent after the fee had been deducted
4} Scanned copy of the receipt or picture if possible

Hope i can trust you with the overpayment? Your Honesty and transparency will be appreciated.

I await your response, Thank you

Jennifer Thompson

I apologize I left out the original email:

Hello,

This is Jennifer thanks for getting back to me I want to buy this but the only way i can pay you is via a Bank Certified Check that i would mail to you using the FedEx overnight delivery,

To make sure that everything goes smoothly i would wait for the check to clear before the pickup is done, I would be responsible for the pickup and it would be done by the movers and their payment would be included in the check i mail to you and this is all due to my disability (am deaf) and it makes it hard for me deal with this and it makes the transaction better and quicker.

I know you were not expecting this and I would have loved to come for the viewing but i cant I really want it and am offering an extra $50 for you to delete the posting to show i want it as i am just settling into my new house i want good deals to furnish the apartment i stay in.

if you are okay with this please send me extra pictures and get back to me with the following

Your Full name
Your Physical address (as FedEx does not deliver to P.oboxes)


I await your response . thank you and stay blessed

Jennifer Thompson

Local law enforcement won't be able to do anything, I'm afraid.

If you want to report the scam attempt, IC3 is the agency responsible for this type of crime.

Thanks so much for posting your experiences! I decided to sell a few things on Craigslist and minutes after listing something today I received the deaf and certified check email that's been listed here. The sender's email address is [email protected]. I should have known it was too good to be true! I listed the sofa for $200 and was offered $250. Currently the offerer is shopping around for moving quotes. I haven't responded yet after seeing these results. It I did de-list the item - which Craigslist says I can re-list in a few days. Really - thank you guys so much for taking the time to post. I have a baby at home and don't need weirdos showing up at my door. Who knows if this scammer is monitoring search results for their email address. If anyone is interested in my transaction details just send me a PM and I'll keep you posted.

I thought I would post the 2nd email from this Scammer. The 1st came from a [email protected]. This one came from [email protected]. Also, I got two subsequent emails for my sofa listing within hours of listing and I googled both emailed addresses and both came up with scammer-related results. From now on I'll be googling all email addresses and not entertaining anything relating to money orders or checks. Here is that email:
Hello,

This is Jennifer  thanks for getting back to me I want to buy this but the only way i can pay you is via a Bank Certified Check that i would mail to you using the FedEx overnight delivery,

To make sure that everything goes smoothly i would wait for the check to clear before the pickup is done, I would be responsible for the pickup and it would be done by the movers and their payment would be included in the check i mail to you and this is all due to my disability (am deaf) and it makes it hard for me deal with this and it makes the transaction better and quicker.

I know you were not expecting this and I would have loved to come for the viewing but i cant I really want it and am offering an extra $50 for you to delete the posting to show i want it as i am just settling into my new house i want good deals to furnish the apartment i stay in.

if you are okay with this please send me extra pictures and get back to me with the following

Your Full name
Your Physical address (as FedEx does not deliver to P.oboxes)


I await your response . thank you and stay blessed

Jennifer Thompson

Also got this. Told them I would move it for them to save money. Have not heard back yet.

How interesting... I found this page because I was getting suspicious e-mails from [email protected]. I posted a piece of furniture on LA Craigslist and a few minutes later I got this reply:

"Jennifer": My name is Jennifer and wanted to know if this item is still for sale

Me: Yes it is

"Jennifer": I am interested in buying, My mover will be picking up things for me around there and will be able to buy it from you today. Please do get back to me with your number so i can give it to him and he can pay for it today.

Me: XXXXXX is my number. Either me or my boyfriend will be home all day today. Do you know what time you'll be around here?

"Jennifer": I bought few things which my mover picking up but have extra money of mine with him,His a registered Craigslist mover and he said he sent you a reference code which you will give to me so he can go ahead and give you the money in cash when he arrives, Please can you confirm the code received(code via call or text yet) so i can have him call you to get your address and schedule the pick up. Thanks

Me: I never got a code, this sounds like a scam.





So... that is weird. I knew it was too good to be true because I over priced the item by a lot haha. So what was the plan, they were going to write me a bad check and take my furniture? I almost want to play dumb to catch them in the act.

I just realized that the original e-mail was from Jenni Garr <[email protected]> and then the other replies were from Jennifer Thompson <[email protected]>

In most of these scams, the scammer doesn't want the item at all (unless it is electronics or jewelry).
Usually, what the scammer will do is send the fake payment for more than the agreed price, then one of two things will happen: (a) he will tell you the mover needs to be paid (or paid more), but they can only take the money by wire transfer--so you need to deposit the check and wire the extra money to the "mover" or (b) something will happen that he can't get the item after all, so you need to send the money back, again by wire transfer, though he'll offer to let you keep something for your trouble. In the end, he is simply using you to turn his fake checks or payments into cash for him.

I got another FedEx/mover scam e-mail today. This guy's e-mail is [email protected] and he goes by Richard David. I knew it was a scam from the beginning since the e-mail was in grey text and he said 'is your item still available", never mentioning any specifics. I played along and the follow up e-mail said:

I am okay with the price of this item and the condition of items and
i will like to make an outright purchase of this particular item
immediately because i am in need of it and i want to get it as soon as
possible, I anticipate that a cashier check or certified check will
be sent to you via express mail or ups or Fedex as the mode of
payment, concerning the pickup, i will be responsible for that, where
the mover will come for the pick up at your location upon your
confirmation of receiving the payment and i want you to remove this
item from the ad now. And I would have love to come for the viewing
but due to my work frame that might not be possible,i will send the
payment which will include the pick up charges, in which you will make
payable to the mover via money gramm/western union immediately after
you have receive the payment and you will be compensated with $50
extra for your running around to the money gram/western union outlet
to avoid the delay...So I'll like you to provide me with the following
information so as to notify the payment for the item.
full name .............................
full home address (physical)..................
City................................................
state................................................
zip code..............................................
tel#
As soon as this is provided i will let you know when payment is mailed
out and i will update you on when you will receive the payment and
give you instructions on what to do....thanks and i hope we handle
this in good faith.
Thanks.

Is there any benefit to me playing along? Is there anyone I can contact who can pursue this?

Hello everyone,

I received the same email, but thanks to this website I quickly realized that it was a scam. To get them back, I still had the individual overnight the check anyway across the country.

Once I received the first check, I responded to them that I never received the FedEx package - apologized and to resend the check again (and I would give them the extra $50 they promised me...) and the idiot actually did it.

Once I got the second check, I responded to the scammer that the check was not made out to the correct individual and to resend another check but made out to a different individual. To make up for the inconvenience I would throw in a free lamp (picture included)...

Are you ready for the punchline?

The picture was just of my hand giving them the middle finger

So now the scammer is out $150 and they get nothing in return...

Serving up justice - $150 at a time.

Hopefully this post makes people who have been scammed feel a little better.

Welcome JimJim,

What you were doing is called scambaiting, and we have another website dedicated to it, 419eater.com - I would highly recommend checking it out if this interests you, as there is a wealth of information and even tools. However, this scammer sent something to you, and we never recommend baiting scammers with your real information. While they are unlikely to show up on your doorstep, scammers have still caused some major headaches for people who messed with them. For example, an angry scammer may now turn around and use your address as the return address for the next batch of fake checks--and when victims fall for the scam and then contact the police, whose doorstep do you think they will show up on? I remember one former victim spent months dealing with angry phone calls, threats, and numerous visits from law enforcement because of this very action. There have been plenty of other forms of retaliation--this is just one.

The other thing to realize is that this didn't cost the scammer $150--it cost an innocent victim or company $150, and the scammer less than $5. Scammers don't use their own money to ship the checks. They either use phished/hacked shipping accounts, in which case the shipping charges were most likely paid for by a business with no connection to them, or they use stolen credit cards, either conned from a victim or purchased from a hacker/creator of a phishing site. If the scammer got the account/credit card info out of a victim, it cost him nothing. If he bought it, it would have cost him from $1 to $5. Either the real account/card owner will end up eating the cost of shipping those checks, or they will go through the dispute process and the credit card or shipping company will end up covering it.

This reply to a craiglist ad:

From: Mark Ridgewell <[email protected]>
Date: April 21, 2012 9:12:50 PM GMT+02:00
Subject: Re: SONY HVR-V1U - $1700
To:

Thanks for responding, I'm okay with the price. I would like to send
payment asap.Please let me know if a certified Bank check is ok.
After my check clears my shipper will come and pick it up at your
location.I would have loved to come and take a look but I can't.
My shipper will though. If you can get back to me with your details
I'll get the check out asap. Need your Full Name and Address Not P.O
Box and your Telephone Number.

Obvious scam. Second time she has tried to get me in the last couple of months.
First email contact was from timesmportant always <[email protected]>;
Second email contact was from Laura Mccray <[email protected]>;


Hello,

It is me Laura thanks for getting back to me I want to buy this but the only way i can pay you is via a Bank Certified Check that i would mail to you using the FedEx overnight delivery,

To make sure that everything goes smoothly i would wait for the check to clear before the pickup is done, I would be responsible for the pickup and it would be done by the movers and their payment would be included in the check i mail to you and this is all due to my disability (am deaf) and it makes it hard for me deal with this and it makes the transaction better and quicker.

I know you were not expecting this and I would have loved to come for the viewing but i cant I really want it and am offering an extra $50 for you to delete the posting to show i want it as i am just settling into my new house i want good deals to furnish the apartment i stay in.

if you are okay with this please send me extra pictures and get back to me with the following

Your Full name
Your Physical address (as FedEx does not deliver to P.oboxes)


I await your response . thank you and stay blessed


STAY AWAY!!

I literally got the EXACT same email today! I posted an ad on Craigslist for a sofa & table set and within minutes received an email asking if it was still available. I responded that it was, and then got the following email. It seemed suspicious to me, so I did a google search for the name (Jennifer Thompson) which led me here. So glad I checked!

Hello,

This is Jennifer thanks for getting back to me I want to buy this but the only way i can pay you is via a Bank Certified Check that i would mail to you using the FedEx overnight delivery,

To make sure that everything goes smoothly i would wait for the check to clear before the pickup is done, I would be responsible for the pickup and it would be done by the movers and their payment would be included in the check i mail to you and this is all due to my disability (am deaf) and it makes it hard for me deal with this and it makes the transaction better and quicker.

I know you were not expecting this and I would have loved to come for the viewing but i cant I really want it and am offering an extra $50 for you to delete the posting to show i want it as i am just settling into my new house i want good deals to furnish the apartment i stay in.

if you are okay with this please send me extra pictures and get back to me with the following

Your Full name
Your Physical address (as FedEx does not deliver to P.oboxes)


I await your response . thank you and stay blessed

Jennifer Thompson