The SETUP: I received payment for an auction item from a UK bidder who informed me that they would be sending a cashiers check for the item
plus a fee for me to pay their shipper. The shipper then sent me an e-mail asking me to "wire" the excess money to them and they would arrange pickup of the item. The shipper would come to my house and I keep what's left over as payment for the auction.
The TIP OFF: Why, I asked myself, would a UK buyer ask me to wire money back to the UK and risk currency fluctuations? Why did the UK shipper plan to charge a UK customer US$3000 for a 115 lb. package that FedEx or DHL would deliver for $600? Suspicious indeed.
The SCAM: The “buyer†and “shipper†are fraudsters. The check that the buyer used to purchase the goods is returned as counterfeit or stolen, and I would have lost the money wired to the shipper. I called Bank of America and they quickly confirmed it was a fake. The number didn't match the amount. This scheme, I was told, is often used when selling large items such as automobiles, motorcycles, boats, etc. The check or money order is frequently drawn off well-known businesses or US Postal Money Orders, so it seems legitimate, but it is not.
The guilty parties go by the following names:
becus06
becus06@yahoo.com
becus06@googlemail.com
becus06@gmail.com
shippermorgan
shippermorgan@gmail.com
shippermorgan@googlemail.com
shippermorgan@yahoo.com
The fake Ship To address was:
Louise Baker
15 Bennett Close
01293 888383
Crawley, West Sussex RH107HW
United Kingdom
The shippers name and address is:
John Morgan
48 Osbert Road (Rd.)
Dolset
London, SW5 7KM
United Kingdom
Hope this helps