So, I got this email through eBay today. Obviously, it looks like some kind of scam but it’s of a different sort than I have seen in the past so I wanted to share it here so we could discuss it.
Two things that strike me from the start are that its well written (no broken English), which is unusual, and, when you Google the man’s email, (which I removed from the post below) you don’t see any other people talking about this. I find it hard to believe I’m the only person he contacted but whoever he contacted, there are few enough of us that I’m the first person talking about it or its a randomly generated email.
What makes the plot a little twist-ier is that there IS a registered eBay seller with a very similar name as the username in the email, similar enough that Google caught it. But it may just be a common last name. That makes it seem more like a person trying to get an illegal favor done rather than a big time scam, but who knows.
Anyway, join me in looking into this, won’t you? Here is the email I got.
Subject: Business proposal
Hi,
I found your email at Trading Assistant Program website and have a very lucrative business proposal for you!
You can make guaranteed $2,000 per month doing a very easy task. I’ll be very honest with you from the beginning. I’m from Europe and I’m working with checks, but not in a legal way.
What I need, is a partner in the US able to print personal checks for me. Basically you will receive the info from me (the numbers to write on the checks plus the addresses where to ship them) and then simply print the checks out, put the checks into envelopes and ship them out.
I will cover every single cost, from paper and ink to shipping labels. The job is simple, secure and requires very little of your time. You will do this printing work only two days per week, Mondays and Thursdays.
This is totally anonymous, therefore there no kind of risk whatsoever. I will provide the USPS shipping labels and then you can just drop the envelopes at the post office or at a street mail box, and it’s done.
Email me only at: [email removed]
He admits what he’s trying to do is illegal. That’s… refreshing? I don’t know.
I also don’t really know what scam he’s trying to pull here. But the fact that he’s specifically targeting eBay sellers and Trading Assistants is a strange twist.
What do you think of this? Legit? One guy trying to do something illegal? Worldwide scam targeting eBay sellers? An easy way to make $2,000?
Anyway let’s discuss this below in the comments.
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You know, that would be really funny if he had meant “illegal.”
Strange one! I bet he MEANT to say not in a illegal way – thats hilarious he made a typo thereby admitting he is a scammer.
Strange one! I bet he MEANT to say not in a illegal way – thats hilarious he made a typo thereby admitting he is a scammer.
You know, that would be really funny if he had meant “legal.”
Sounds like a forged check scam. You will be held accountable for the checks and other victims will be asked to western union funds to scammer. I would not touch this with a ten-foot pole. You would be looking at forgery, fraud and theft by deception charges and have to repay for the loss suffered by victims and their banks.