Scammer operating on the site via PM

[Dood]

[quote name='Linus27' post='914168' date='Aug 3 2010, 07:21 PM']You are also welcome to view the PM I got from this scammer. Just don't look at the ones I've had from,

Keira Knightly
Yvonna Strahotski
Natalie Imbruglia
Neve Campbell
Laetitia Casta
Jennifer Love Hewit
Estelle Skornik
Alicia Silverstone
Billie Piper
Debbie Gibson
Marget Thatcher (Don't ask, its a long story, complicated and could cost me thousands)[/quote]


Blimey! These spammers will even use innocent women's names to try and snag us!!! lol lol

[pete.young]

[quote name='dood' post='914457' date='Aug 3 2010, 11:40 PM']Blimey! These spammers will even use innocent women's names to try and snag us!!! lol lol[/quote]
Margaret Thatcher? Innocent??

[mcnach]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='911583' date='Aug 1 2010, 12:27 AM']Thanks to a heads up by EBS_freak, we believe there's a scammer operating on the forum who has been active on other non-bass related forums as well.

He has sent the following message:

[i]My name is Chris Corner from Madrid Spain...I am contacting you regarding your advert you place on website that you are looking for the above subject...I have it in very good condition and if still interested,Let me know and i will forward you details of the item and i will also need your shipping address and telephone number to calculate the shipping cost to your destination.My mode of payment is Via Paypal,Western union,MoneyGram..Bank wire transfer..Let me know which method you prefer and i ship the next day after payment has been receive..My phone number is +33424029617..Feel free to call me anytime for further discussion or email me back at [email protected] thanks and hope to hear from you soon.[/i]

We're only aware of one user account which has been shut down but if you receive a PM from anyone offering stuff and asking for payment via any non secure international payment methods eg. Western Union, Moneygram etc. please let a Mod know.

cheers
Steve[/quote]


Good that it was picked up... but the best safeguard is... "common sense".

Some flags:
1) when they just say "I have the item" or "the subject" or any other vague statement like that, it just flags immediately as "lazy scammer who can't even adapt his script to the message being replied to".
2) Too much info about how to pay upon first contact? Wouldn't it be more normal to say "hey, I got one of those", and then exchange a few messages to figure out details etc? Again, lazy scammer.
3) Chris Corner from Madrid, Spain... with a phone number from France? (33 code is France. Spain is 34).

May they rot on Earth.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='913387' date='Aug 2 2010, 11:50 PM']Russ, do you think we're taking reasonable steps? This post is in the most prominent part of the site and features on the RSS feed. The only other thing we could do is issue a forum wide email but we still can't protect people against themselves.[/quote]

THAT is the crucial part.

It's great to keep an eye out and remove scum like that when you see it. But I do not think we have to go crazy... You will neevr be able to remove EVERY instance of dodgy dealings.
The best safeguard is something everybody has somewhere above their shoulders: a brain.
If you are capable of using a computer and login to this forum, then you also have the ability to understand that internet can provide anonimity and may be attractive to certain undesirable characters... so any transaction you ever do with someone you don't know personally is potentially dodgy... so don't jump to part with your money/instrument too quickly. And if something doesn't make sense, don't ignore it. Question the person, and if not satisfied, move on.
It's incredibly easy to pick a scammer 99.9% of the times. Just *think*.

There will always be somebody who falls for the Nigerian scams (amazing!)... you can't protect those people unless you lock them up.

So, thanks for the information about this scammer. But beyond that (and closing the scammer's account)... I think the admin/mods don't really need to do anything more. These scammers will nevr use a legit email that can be used to track them down, they'll always use hotmail, gmail or something along those lines... they're hardly going to send an email from their job's email, eh?

[flyfisher]

+1,000,000

(both the above posts!)

[charic]

Basschat secret handshake Something written on all emails known only to trusted members?

[aemberson]

[quote name='Bigwan' post='913470' date='Aug 3 2010, 07:26 AM']Oggy and I have spoken about this joker by PM. I got a response to my Markbass wanted add. I'd listed 3 amps I was interested in and he just said he had exactly the amp I was looking for - set alarm bells ringing straight away when he didn't mention which one it was. I deleted the PM unfortunately - think it came in yesterday (maybe day before).

Ian[/quote]

I got one from sallian26

DEAR FRIEND,
I AM MISS SALLIAN MAMBO A CITIZEN OF SUDAN BUT PRESENTLY RESIDE IN SENEGAL, I WAS MOVED TO CONTACT YOU WHEN I READ YOUR ADD IN in partner seeking SITE, PLEASE I ACTUALLY HAVE AN IMPORTANT THING THAT I WISH TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT WAS WHY I DECIDED TO WRITE TO YOU, PLEASE BEER WITH ME, I AM A 26 YEARS OLD GIRL, PLEASE RESPOND TO ME THROUGH MY EMAIL [email protected] BECAUSE I MAY NOT LOG INTO THIS SITE AGAIN SINCE I AM NEW TO INTERNET, I WILL BE WAITING IMPATIENTLY TO READ FROM YOU THEN I WILL SEND TO YOU MY PICTURE AND ALSO TELL YOU MORE ABOUT MY SELF. PLEASE RESPOND TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
YOURS SINCERELY,
SALLIAN

[G-funk45]

[quote name='aemberson' post='1011708' date='Nov 4 2010, 09:30 AM']I got one from sallian26

DEAR FRIEND,
I AM MISS SALLIAN MAMBO A CITIZEN OF SUDAN BUT PRESENTLY RESIDE IN SENEGAL, I WAS MOVED TO CONTACT YOU WHEN I READ YOUR ADD IN in partner seeking SITE, PLEASE I ACTUALLY HAVE AN IMPORTANT THING THAT I WISH TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT WAS WHY I DECIDED TO WRITE TO YOU, PLEASE BEER WITH ME, I AM A 26 YEARS OLD GIRL, PLEASE RESPOND TO ME THROUGH MY EMAIL [email protected] BECAUSE I MAY NOT LOG INTO THIS SITE AGAIN SINCE I AM NEW TO INTERNET, I WILL BE WAITING IMPATIENTLY TO READ FROM YOU THEN I WILL SEND TO YOU MY PICTURE AND ALSO TELL YOU MORE ABOUT MY SELF. PLEASE RESPOND TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
YOURS SINCERELY,
SALLIAN[/quote]


I got the very same message.

[G-funk45]

[quote name='aemberson' post='1011708' date='Nov 4 2010, 09:30 AM']I got one from sallian26

DEAR FRIEND,
I AM MISS SALLIAN MAMBO A CITIZEN OF SUDAN BUT PRESENTLY RESIDE IN SENEGAL, I WAS MOVED TO CONTACT YOU WHEN I READ YOUR ADD IN in partner seeking SITE, PLEASE I ACTUALLY HAVE AN IMPORTANT THING THAT I WISH TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT WAS WHY I DECIDED TO WRITE TO YOU, PLEASE BEER WITH ME, I AM A 26 YEARS OLD GIRL, PLEASE RESPOND TO ME THROUGH MY EMAIL [email protected] BECAUSE I MAY NOT LOG INTO THIS SITE AGAIN SINCE I AM NEW TO INTERNET, I WILL BE WAITING IMPATIENTLY TO READ FROM YOU THEN I WILL SEND TO YOU MY PICTURE AND ALSO TELL YOU MORE ABOUT MY SELF. PLEASE RESPOND TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
YOURS SINCERELY,
SALLIAN[/quote]


I got the very same message.

[darkandrew]

Also from Sallian26 this morning (she has been busy!)

[i]"DEAR FRIEND,
I AM MISS SALLIAN MAMBO A CITIZEN OF SUDAN BUT PRESENTLY RESIDE IN SENEGAL, I WAS MOVED TO CONTACT YOU WHEN I READ YOUR ADD IN in partner seeking SITE, PLEASE I ACTUALLY HAVE AN IMPORTANT THING THAT I WISH TO SHARE WITH YOU THAT WAS WHY I DECIDED TO WRITE TO YOU, PLEASE BEER WITH ME, I AM A 26 YEARS OLD GIRL, PLEASE RESPOND TO ME THROUGH MY EMAIL [email protected] BECAUSE I MAY NOT LOG INTO THIS SITE AGAIN SINCE I AM NEW TO INTERNET, I WILL BE WAITING IMPATIENTLY TO READ FROM YOU THEN I WILL SEND TO YOU MY PICTURE AND ALSO TELL YOU MORE ABOUT MY SELF. PLEASE RESPOND TO ME AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
YOURS SINCERELY,
SALLIAN"[/i]

Something tells me that this might not be 100% legit, I was particularly impressed with the offer to have a "beer with me"!

Edited November 4, 2010 by darkandrew

[darkandrew]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='911583' date='Jul 31 2010, 11:27 PM']Thanks to a heads up by EBS_freak, we believe there's a scammer operating on the forum who has been active on other non-bass related forums as well.

He has sent the following message:

[i]My name is Chris Corner from Madrid Spain...I am contacting you regarding your advert you place on website that you are looking for the above subject...I have it in very good condition and if still interested,Let me know and i will forward you details of the item and i will also need your shipping address and telephone number to calculate the shipping cost to your destination.My mode of payment is Via Paypal,Western union,MoneyGram..Bank wire transfer..Let me know which method you prefer and i ship the next day after payment has been receive..My phone number is +33424029617..Feel free to call me anytime for further discussion or email me back at [email protected] thanks and hope to hear from you soon.[/i]

We're only aware of one user account which has been shut down but if you receive a PM from anyone offering stuff and asking for payment via any non secure international payment methods eg. Western Union, Moneygram etc. please let a Mod know.

cheers
Steve[/quote]

"Chris Corner", wasn't he the guitarist/bass player in Sneaker Pimps (and now the vocalist, guitarist, bass player, keyboard player, drummer, etc in IAMX)? Atleast this scammer's got an interesting taste in music. Anyone got a PM from John Paul Jones asking for money to be wired to an exotic location?