Rick:

I just got this. I informed Damon and Hotmail. Wish we could put these ASSHOLES in jail!!

Doug


Hello,
Thanks for getting to me fast. mere reading your mail i see how honest you are.

haven read your mail i will contact my colleague who is indebted to me.so he will be sending you the us cheque. mind you he will be sending a check of the total amount of money he owes me which is $990 when you get the check,go and deposit it in your account and when it has been transfered to your account you deduct your $74 and forward the remaining to my shipping company in Dublin Ireland through western union money transfer.

The shipping company will be coming for the pickup of the item,that is three days after you have sent them funds.the funds will be meant for the shipping and clearing arrangement of the item. i hope i can count on you for my portion after you have deducted your $75

I WILL NEED YOUR NAME,ADDRESS AND YOUR PHONE NUMBER FOR THE ADDRESSION OF THE CHECK.

REPLY

Thanks
Kelv.


>From: "Doug Snell"
>To:
>Subject: Re: The Beachcats Classifieds
>Date: Sat, 26 Nov 2005 20:25:17 -0600
>
> Kevin:
>
> I can try to take a photo this week, it is in storage unit. It is like >new condition, has a few scratches. I only used it 3 or 4 times, I just liked boom better. It is missing front cap but you had to take it off and on anyway to get it on. Just works better without it. I want $75 plus
>shipping ( whatever UPS charges to you zip) a new one is a lot more that >that.
>
> Doug Snell
> 281-326-2702
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From:
> To:
> Sent: Saturday, November 26, 2005 7:27 PM
> Subject: The Beachcats Classifieds
>
>
> > Hello Doug Snell,
> >
> > User mark_0007 from The Beachcats sends you these comments/questions
>about your ad 'Hobie 17 Boomlet':
> >
> >
> >
> > Hello,
> >
> > This is Mr Kelvin Moore,the reason why i mailed you
> >
> > was that i saw you advert placed on net that you want
> >
> > to sell the above mention proparty
> >
> >
> >
> > please if is still available kindly tell me?
> >
> >
> >
> > 1.the current condition[tell if negotiable]
> >
> > 2.your asking price
> >
> > 3.the item picture
> >
> > 4.phone number
> >
> >
> >
> > Best regards
> >
> > kelv.
> >
> > To answer this message send email: kelvmoore@hotmail.com
> >
> > Thank you!
> > The Beachcats Classifieds
> >
> >
>
>
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>

_________________________________________________________________
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I got the same email from Kelvin this evening concerning my P18 for sale at thebeachcats.com. I figured that it was a scam and haven't replied. I also forwarded the message to Dammon.
Jack

Jack:

If you still have it, send it to Hotmail like I did. Maybe we can put this guy in jail for mail fraud.
Doug

Hotmail isn't going to do anything about it. These emails are coming from overseas and even the government has a tough go at it. There is a government organization setup to handle these although I can't recall the address....and it's pretty apparent that they aren't being terribly effective.

It's not strictly a classifieds scam, but it's a scam all the same. This warning is currently circulating in Europe:

VISA & MasterCard Telephone Credit Card Scam

Quote: This information is worth reading. By understanding how the scam works, you'll be better prepared to protect yourself.

One of our employees was called on Wednesday from "VISA", and I was called on Thursday from "MasterCard". Note, the callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it.

The Person calling says, "This is (name), and I'm calling from the Security and Fraud Department at VISA. My Badge number is 12460. Your card has been flagged for an unusual purchase pattern, and I'm calling to verify. This would be on your VISA card that was issued by (name of bank). Did you purchase an Anti-Telemarketing Device for £3249.99 from a Marketing company based in (name of any town or city)?"

When you say "No" the caller continues with, "Then we will be issuing a credit to your account. This is a company we have been
watching and the charges range from £3150 to £3249, just under the £3250 purchase pattern that flags most cards. Before your next statement, the credit will be sent to (gives you your address), is that correct?"

You say "yes". The caller continues - "I will be starting a Fraud investigation. If you have any questions, you should call the 0800
number listed on the back of your card and ask for Security. You will need to refer to this Control Number. The caller then gives you a 6 digit number. "Do you need me to read it again?"

Here's the IMPORTANT part on how the scam works. The caller then says, "I need to verify you are in possession of your card". He'll ask you to "turn your card over and look for some numbers". There are 7 numbers; the first 4 are part of your card number, the next 3 are the security Numbers that verify you are the possessor of the card. These are the numbers you sometimes use to make Internet purchases to prove you have the card. The caller will ask you to read the 3 numbers to him.

After you tell the caller the 3 numbers, he'll say, "That is correct,
I just needed to verify that the card has not been lost or stolen, and that you still have your card. Do you have any other questions?" After you say No, the caller then thanks you and states, "Don't hesitate to call back; if you do", and hangs up. You actually say very little, and they never ask for or tell you the Card number. But after we were called on Wednesday, we called back within 20 minutes to ask a question. Are we glad we did! The REAL VISA Security Department told us it was a scam and in the last 15 minutes a new purchase of £3249.99 was charged to our card.

Long story made short - we made a real fraud report and closed the VISA account. VISA is reissuing us a new number. What the scammers want is the 3-digit PIN number on the back of the card. Don't give it to them.

Instead, tell them you'll call VISA or Master card directly for verification of their conversation. The real VISA told us that they will never ask for anything on the card as they already know the information since they issued the card! If you give the scammers your 3 Digit PIN you think you're receiving a credit. However, by the time you get your statement you'll see charges for purchases you didn't make, and by then it's almost to late and/or more difficult to actually file a fraud report.

What makes this more remarkable is that on Thursday, I got a call from a "Jason Richardson of MasterCard" with a word-for-word repeat of the VISA scam. This time I didn't let him finish. I hung up! We filed a police report, as instructed by VISA. The police said they are taking several of these reports daily!

They also urged us to tell everybody we know that this scam is
happening. Please pass this on to all your family and friends. By
informing each other, we protect each other.

John,

You are not alone and it is not only in the U.K. Bonnie and I had a friend here in the states approached by the same identical routine. They seem to be getting smarter. I wonder where they are getting the card number information (and why we haven't seen this in the news yet)?

I believe they get the information in two ways.

1: Stolen. This can be after break-ins at diverse netshops, pishing (you are redirected to a fake website who looks just like e.g. your bank), or "social engineering" as described by John.

2: Bought from dishonest operators of stores, netshops etc.


I know there is a whole industry trading and selling credit card information. Personally, I never let the card out of sight when using it in stores/restaurants etc. And I am careful about where I use it online.

This problem is so common that some card issuers block the credit card for any transaction without the actual card. For each online transaction you have to request them to temporarily allow online transactions.
It is not efficient, but is certainly safer.

At our store here on this site, we had a lot of bogus charges that were fraudulant a year or so back because back then our card authorizing company did not require the security number.
Now they do and the fraudulant purchases have just about ceased.
Yet, with this new scam it seems the bad guys are trying to find a way around that.

Thanks for the report.
Rick