jaxxcandles Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Hi,I am checking in here to get some advice/opinions. I have a request from a lady who says she is acquiring stock for a store in Fiji. At first I was like, SCAM! But I answered her questions anyway. We have had several exchanges and I believe she is going to have a courier service pick up the packages, so I won't have to deal with shipping them. I told her I don't take credit cards directly, but could invoice her through paypal. I sent her a quote, then she came back and upped the order. She left me with an email address of the courier service and the account number to let them know the weight of the packages for shipment. I don't know what the exact weight will be and will have to estimate. She gave a phone number, which I haven't called yet.I am checking on here to see if anyone else has had any similar experience. It would be great if it is for real, but I am still very leery. Anyone have any thoughts\advice?Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb426 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 It is a scam. I forget how it works but it has something to do with security fees, the courier and paypal. I think its common on Craigslist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxxcandles Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 It is a common scam on Craigslist?? I don't use Craigslist, but I will do some google searches regarding the scams to see if they are similar.Thanks!Has anyone else gotten requests like this before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown5052 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I received this today. Name: Fred HarrisonEmail: ritchiesstore@gmail.comComments: Hello,I browse through your contact and I find some items which we have interest in purchasing to our store in Sydney, Australia. for urgent supply, I will like to know the prices per each items minus the shipping cost because I have my personal freight forwarder that will come and pick up my order from your location, and my payment will be remitted via Visa/Master Card issued in US bank.I await your quick response so I can proceed with my needed items and quantity,and please do not forget to include your online catalog including price list if possible with in your reply.Regards,Fred.Fred HarrisonFor: Ritchies Store.Shop 55, Cavill/Ferny AvenueSurfers Paradise, QLD, 4217.I have "statcounter" installed on my website so that I can see where my hits are from. When I went to my account with statcounter, I saw that this person was actually from Lagos, Nigeria. I ,of course, didn't reply and quickly deleted it. I seem to be getting more and more of this type of request. If this person really had looked at my website, he or she would of known my prices and could pay online as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxxcandles Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 Here is the original email I received:Dear,>>>> I saw some items which really interest me and i will like to order them ,> But first i will like to know if you can ship to Lami , Fiji Island . We> opened a new store and we are stocking our market with products which are> presently scarce to find in Fiji market and in regards to payment do you> accept credit card. Do kindly get back to me as to so i can proceed with my> order.>>>> I will await your prompt response as soon you receive this mail.>> Locke-Rite Store>> Oakland , MD 21550>> Sincerely.>> Tel :533-8009 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lauramw71 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Jackie - I smell a scam.. There's so many going around it's hard to trust any of those kinds of emails! Is that the whole telephone number? Did you do a google search on it or call it? If tey didn't include their area code you can look that up on google too... Just do a little more information before actually making the product... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deb426 Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 The reference to "items" is common in scams. No area code is questionable. And did it say "Dear," and you removed your name or is that what it said in the email? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnvyCandles Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Google "nigerian scam" ...That is what this is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxxcandles Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 I did not remove my name, it came in the letter that way. I did get provided a name (contact) in future emails as well as an area code. The area code is in my state, which I found interesting. I called and got a machine or voice mail, whichever it is. They had asked at first to give them a shipping quote and gave me an address where it would be shipped. I could locate the town on google, but not the exact street address. Will the post office or UPS check validity of addresses for you?Once I said they could pay through paypal, they listed specific products in subsequent emails so they had to have been on my website or Etsy shop.I sent an email to the courier address they gave me asking for a POC and citing the account number she gave me. We will see what kind of reply I get from that.I appreciate all the advice/opinions, I kind of thought this may be too good to be true. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) Sorry Jackie but my scam radar is going off on this one!The idea is to get you so stoked about a large order that they will walk away with your money before you know what happened. There is a bit of work involved on their end to set up their scam. A huge part of that is back and forth communication with you until you feel like you know them enough and begin to trust them and feel safe. When they sense this they will try to hook you by sending you payment for the order along with the cost of the shipping which they will ask you to take care of thru their shipping carrier. Then when you get the payment you think you have already been reimbursed for the shipping so don't mind taking care of the shipping for them liked they asked. Problem is, the payment never clears and the shipping you pay ends up gone along with the scammer and the order.Unfortunately this is a huge international scam that has been going around for a long time. People still fall for it because of the trust issue and the expectation of making a large sale. They know how to push your buttons and get you to trust them. It can happen to anyone. Those who succeed at it are very good at it and can scam the most skeptical minded people. Edited January 10, 2012 by Candybee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 I did Avon for a few years & got these emails all the time. It's a definite scam, no question. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pleasureridgecandles Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Sounds like a scam to me as well. I have gotten similiar emails in the past. First they were wanting a huge quantity of product (without ever trying them) and wanting to know pricing. I did respond just to see what if any response I would get. I told them pricing was listed on the site and they could place their order on the site and pay through paypal. Never heard from them again. I don't remember where the person claimed to be from (it was another country though) but the email sounded like those Nigerian scams. Horrible english!! Atleast your person has a better handle on the english language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacktieaffair Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Ok I gotta stick my oars in this water, on something no one has mentioned yet. Yes, it is more than likely a scam, but since you have emailed this person ( or just by opening your email ) you may have had a keylogger put on your computer. This is not technically the same as a virus, but at the same time it is. I know that doesn't make much sense but please, trust me on this. I was a computer programmer in another life.Anti spam, malware, virus protectors can do a lot in catching a lot of things, but there are things that I can catch with one program, that the one running before it didn't catch. A keylogger, is a program that gets dumped into your registry and it stays there until removed and its not quite as easy as hitting "delete virus" sometimes.It can, and will, record every single solitary keystroke you make on your computer, and this information can be accessed by whomever sent you the keylogger. They can tell any website you went to if you hit any keys, if you put in your CC numbers, it can read em. The hard part of being in this business is knowing when you can trust to open any email and not get hacked, but after reading this scam, and the other thread about peoples CC's being stolen, I thought I needed to pop in with an "alternative scenerio " for you guys to consider. They may not want "jack crap" from you in the way of products, but they may have gotten you to open that email so they could plop down a keylogger.And NO............. NOT EVERY anti virus program will catch them. Do a Google search for keylogger removeal tools , and use about 3 random ones. This is important maintenance for your computer , every time you run your scans, run one of these too.HTHS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faerywren Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Scam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SDM Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 Ok I gotta stick my oars in this water, on something no one has mentioned yet. Yes, it is more than likely a scam, but since you have emailed this person ( or just by opening your email ) you may have had a keylogger put on your computer. This is not technically the same as a virus, but at the same time it is. I know that doesn't make much sense but please, trust me on this. I was a computer programmer in another life.Anti spam, malware, virus protectors can do a lot in catching a lot of things, but there are things that I can catch with one program, that the one running before it didn't catch. A keylogger, is a program that gets dumped into your registry and it stays there until removed and its not quite as easy as hitting "delete virus" sometimes.It can, and will, record every single solitary keystroke you make on your computer, and this information can be accessed by whomever sent you the keylogger. They can tell any website you went to if you hit any keys, if you put in your CC numbers, it can read em. The hard part of being in this business is knowing when you can trust to open any email and not get hacked, but after reading this scam, and the other thread about peoples CC's being stolen, I thought I needed to pop in with an "alternative scenerio " for you guys to consider. They may not want "jack crap" from you in the way of products, but they may have gotten you to open that email so they could plop down a keylogger.And NO............. NOT EVERY anti virus program will catch them. Do a Google search for keylogger removeal tools , and use about 3 random ones. This is important maintenance for your computer , every time you run your scans, run one of these too.HTHSthis is something I hadn't thought about. thanks for bringing it up! do you have any suggestions on good keylogger removal software? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacktieaffair Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 There's quite a few out there, most are extremely good. Its kind of like anti virus or anti spamware, some will get everything, some wont. That's why I suggest running two at least.Just do a Google on "keylogger removal" and you will have lots of things pop up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxxcandles Posted January 11, 2012 Author Share Posted January 11, 2012 It is definitely scary to think there are people tracking all of your keystrokes. Thanks for the info so we can all protect ourselves further. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacktieaffair Posted January 11, 2012 Share Posted January 11, 2012 You're welcome everyone, and I truly hope no one finds anything like that on their computer, just know it's something you need to do every day. I do not recommend waiting a week ( like a lot of people do) to run scans. A lot can happen in a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitn Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I smell scam too..I hope I am wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 I don't think this is a keylogger scam. This was an email that left a contact name and phone number that she can and did call to speak with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth Posted January 12, 2012 Share Posted January 12, 2012 Locke-Rite Store Can't find a listing for this anywhere.... "Lock-rite" is a brand name of other things, but w/o the "e">> Oakland , MD 21550>> Sincerely.>> Tel :533-8009 Searched for this number using both area codes for Oakland, MD. Came up with nothing. Any time there is mention of a courier or shippers or freight service, it's a scam. Often, they will say that they "do not operate credit card". I saw that allll the time.Often, bad spelling, bad English, way too many words.... "do kindly get back to me".. who talks like that? They have resorts & shopping centers & tourism there, but they don't have candles? hmmm.. It's a common sense/instinct thing. You were suspicious enough to post it here & ask for opinions, so follow your gut & forget about it. They send out zillions of emails like you got waiting for someone to bite. Don't bite Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaxxcandles Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 Well they never wrote back anymore so it looks like it was a scam. Thanks for all the advice/opinions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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