Need help anyone heard of this?

by networkmom

Posted: 14 years ago 11 replies

INTERNET MARKETING

I have an online store and someone from Australia contacted me to sell them a couple pieces of equipment. They want to send a freight forwarder to pick up the equipment.
They would like me to charge their credit card for the equipment and the forwarders fee, plus they are adding a little money for my trouble. Once I charge his credit card they want me to western union the money to the forwarder then they will pick up the equipment.
This has never happened to me before and it just seems a little strange.
Anyone have any ideas about this, could it be a scam?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Denise

#heard

jorgesil 14 years ago

Originally Posted by networkmom

Anyone have any ideas about this, could it be a scam?
Any advice would be appreciated.

Denise

I'm absolutely sure this is a Scam.
You'll loose your equipment and the money to.
If it was me I,ll ask them to send money upfront not a credit card.

Good luck
Jorge
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travlinguy 14 years ago

Could be legit, but smells like fraud. I have a freind in the tool business and ships his stuff internationally. He gets offers like the one you've described from time to and more often than not, the credit card is stolen. Ask the buyer for the card number and then contact the issuer and explain the deal.

They should be able to tell you if the card is valid. Even if they tell you its clean, it still could be a card that has been stolen and not yet reported, though I doubt that in a case like that you'd have any liability if you processed the transaction. Good Luck
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PatriciaJ 14 years ago

Suggest you ask them why they can't western union the money to the forwarder

I think it's a scam
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- dmarze 14 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by PatriciaJ
  
  Suggest you ask them why they can't western union the money to the forwarder
  
  I think it's a scam
  
  Yes, that is right.
  Be careful with them and forget about it.
  
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Hebe 14 years ago

This is a scam. Here is what they are doing. The money that you are sending by western union is going right to them, not a forwarder. They are going to use stolen CC details and the end result will be that you will be out of pocket and you may even run into problems with your merchant account. Unfortunately I've seen this before in many forms. Pass on this and dont touch it.
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Tom Harvey 14 years ago

Hi Denise, This is a total scam and one of a multitude of variations ..Stay totally away from these "please help me" requests. The old adage: If it sounds too good to be true, I most definitely is. Report this as spam..

Tom
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- Scott Ames 14 years ago
  
  Scam...I agree with everyone here. Don't be tempted.
  
  Its a variation on an old scam.
  
  Read this:
  
  Fake shipping company scam using Western Union and stolen credit cards | Daniel H. Bailey's Adventure Photography Blog
  
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networkmom 14 years ago

Thanks for your reply's on this. I tried calling the number the freight forwarder gave me and it is a recording of some sort but nothing to do with a freight forwarder.

They also told me they can not western union the money because they do not have a western union where they are at in some village. I am so glad I came here first to get your opinions because I was ready to do the transaction but something was telling me not to Thank you all very much.

Denise
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Scorched Earth 14 years ago

Total scam - Western Union recommend you should never use their service with people you don't know.
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travlinguy 14 years ago

It's probably a scam but it's worth the time to check. I mentioned above that a friend of mine is in the tool business. He gets an average of three of these suspicious deals every month. Since money is tight he checks them all out.

He's even gotten fraud insurance to cover certain losses. For the insurance to kick in he has to have proof that the credit card company okayed the purchase. He gets that with both email and a recorded phone call. He tells me that one out of five actually go through while the rest are immediately rejected when he checks. So 20% are real.

There are lots of reasons for someone to have a different address than what's noted in the credit card account. In my buddy's case his average sale is around $1000 and he gets three of these deals a month or 36 per year. If he closes 20 percent of those, that's an additional $7,000 in gross sales. Nothing to sneeze at, especially if you can eliminate the risk.
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seanyd 14 years ago

Total scam I agree get money first
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