This scam keeps taking different forms althought he commoon thread is that they seem to target wholesalers or fabricators. This is the email communication I received from Mr. Ted Webb. It is exactly reproduced here with all spelling and grammar errors.From: Mr.Ted Webb <web3002@yahoo.com>
To:xxxxxxxxx@aol.com
Sent: Sun, Jun 28, 2009 7:31 am
Subject: Order
Hello Owner,
My mane is Mr. Ted Webb and I'm inquiring about an order of granite counter tops anf i want to know if you can special order it for me, I want you to Fabricate the counter tops from your Fabricator for me and below is the sizes i need you to fabricate for me.
Finish: polished
Thickness :3cm
Absolute Black Island 34 X 74 with 3/4" Half Bullnose
Absolute Black Island 40 X 80 with 3/4" Half Bullnose
Please I want you to email me how much it will cost for you to fabricate this counter tops for me which will be picked up from your location i don't want you to include installation because i will installed it myself so email me the cost include tax only and without installation becauise this countertops will be picked up from your location, also you can call me direct on my phone 812-610-4557.
I will be glad if you can get back to me with the prices on this counter tops and also can o know the types of credit card you accept as payment? Thank you very much and i look forward to you reply shortly.
Regards...
Mr.Ted Webb.
Well this looked like a fourth grader wrote it but I said what the hey..so I emailed him the following quote.
Hello Mr. Webb,
We received your email from XXX and wanted to follow up with you regarding the granite tops for the islands. The prices here are just an estimate made with the information that you enclosed; we can always come out and do a free in home estimate for you. The price for the islands in absolute black with a ¾†half bullnose edge is $1780.00. Please give us a call here or send an email if you have any questions for us; We would be happy to help you. Have a great week.
I got a phone call in the next couple of hours from "Mr. Webb" saying the following. He is located in Minnessota (I thought he was picking up the tops and installing them himself) and he is buying the granite for a friend in Ghana. He is emailing me the info for a shipping company and I am supposed to initiate contact with them and find out how much it would cost to have them pick up the tops and ship them. Then, I as supposed to get back to him with the price including shipment and charge it all on his visa card. I smelled BS immediately and goodled the email address that he gave me and found this site. Below is the email he sent me and the email I sent to him. Hopefully this stops him from trying to scam people in the granite business.
Hello,
Thank you for the email I want you to email the shippers the sizes and the weight on the counter tops and also the delivery address as well as your location address. below is the delivery address.
DELIVERY ADDRESS.
Mr. James Morrison.
2562 Kaneshie Ave.
Ghana-WA.00234.
And also below is the contact for the shippers.
Company name: Long Way Shipping Company Ltd.
Company e-mail:
longwayshippers@gmail.comAccountant department e-mail:
longwayshippers@accountant.comGeneral Manager E-mail:
longwayshippers@cooltoad.comPlease email the shippers and get me a quote back from them so that i can make the full payment for you to order this counter tops for me okay just email the shippers your location address and then the delivery address along with the sizes and weight of the counter tops to get me a quote okay.. Thank you for the understanding and i will wait to read from you shortly.
Regards....
Mr. Ted Webb.
and mine
Mr. Webb,
We regret to inform you that we are unable to comply with your request for the absolute black islands. Due to the nature of our business, we require that you appear in person and sign a contract before work can commence. In addition, any pieces that we fabricate that we are not installing are cash and carry only and we will not be able to accept a credit card payment for the pieces. These practices are generally an industry standard. I would be happy to refer you to a local fabrication company in ‘Minnessota’ that would be convenient for you to set up an appointment with and visit. You would have to arrange your pickup and shipping from there as a fabricator will not do it for you. I am sorry that we are not able to help, and if you would like a list of local companies, please let me know.
In retrosepct, I should have let him give me the card info so I could report them to the issuing companies but hopefully, he thinks that this scam cannot be pulled off in this industry. Thanks to this site, it was a great help!