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Topic:
Scammer possibly targeting installers
This thread has 30 replies. Displaying posts 1 through 15.
Post 1 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 12:55
jw2k_fr
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I'm hoping this will just be a source of amusement for my fellow installers, I mean surely people don't *actually* fall for this kind of stuff any more?

However, I received an email a couple of days back from "scottwalter447 at gmail.com" (might be a genuine account that has been hacked, or may have been purpose built for this). Either way, this distinguished fellow started off with

"Hello, This is Scott, I would like to know if you do Home Theater installation and if you accept credit card as a form of payment"

Credit card huh? Man gets right to the point. Always good to find those customers that don't come right out and ask the cost... So I wrote back to say yes we did, and yes we could. His response was:

"Okay I want you to install 42inch to the parlor with bose system installation and the bedroom 32inch TV (3) with the in-wall speakers.Will you be able to do that for me?"

Now I don't know about you, but most of my clients who can afford my time tend to have at least a bachelors from an good college and know how to spell, punctuate and write a vaguely decent email. Not all of them mind, but some of that wording was looking juuust a little "Nigerian". Not to risk looking a gift horse in the mouth, I forged on regardless, after all, you just never know.

I replied that I could, but that I would need to know which neighborhood, and suggested that he might want to know our hourly rate. He gave me a street address (which is undoubtedly not his) and asked me to give him an estimate.

I was surprised but flattered that he was giving me his address even before the first date - the guy moves quickly! I said I wouldn't be able to talk numbers without, yanno, seeing the place, cos I'm kinda picky like that when it comes to doing quotes. I also mentioned a need for a deposit prior to starting work. His reply...

"Okay no problem but i am out of the town for my Ailment and i will also need a little favor from you...."

Ahhhhh, now we get to it. I know that some people have a high opinion of this fair city, but there are plenty who would argue as to whether it is THE TOWN, and who on earth talks of an "ailment"... well who outside of those born in the Victorian era...

This was looking more and more "Nigerian Prince"-like by the moment. Shouldn't be long now before he delivers the money shot, I thought. I asked him to clarify just what this favor might be... after all, I had no daughters of marriageable age that I was looking to get rid of...

"I need to pay the Ex Owner a balance before you can work on the property and the problem is that he does not have access to cards and i am out of the town for my Ailment. can you please help me add his remaining balance.so i'll give you my card info to put thru for sum of $4600. once the funds hit your acct you will be holding $500 as a deposit for the work need to be done. and you will send the remaining $4000 to the Realtor via bank cash deposit and $100 as tip for you,once he receive the money he will make the keys available to you so that you can carry out your work on the installation."

Bingo! We have a winner. That was as much as I needed to file a proper scammer report with google (which you can do here [Link: support.google.com])

I did actually send him one more reply, where I laughed, before I blocked the address and came here.

I'm a little sad that these scams happen electronically, I would so love to hear the fool who tried to make this work over the telephone. I would have so much fun stringing them along, to the point where the drool was starting to come through the receiver, before laughing hysterically at them and hanging up.

I imagine others may have had a similar experience, but if this posting saves someone from a similar fate, it will have served its purpose!
Post 2 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 13:44
Brad Humphrey
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The ones I usually get ask if I'm a dealer for a certain brand. Then want to buy a ridiculous amount of them (like 30 Sony Bluray players or something). And have them shipped somewhere. Then ask if I take credit card.
Most of the time I don't reply. But ever once in awhile I respond with "I could but I don't think the people you stole the credit card info from will be happy". I never hear back.
Post 3 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 13:46
Hasbeen
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I've been getting these types of emails forever.  Just wait til you start getting the ones asking you to "bid" on providing a bunch of different equipment. 

What's funny about it is the generally the one thing that tips you off to it being a scam is their mis-use of the English language. 

In yours, the word parlor immediately sent my red flags up.  :)   What is this Gone With the Wind? 
Post 4 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 13:54
Brad Humphrey
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On November 22, 2017 at 13:46, Hasbeen said...
In yours, the word parlor immediately sent my red flags up.  :)   What is this Gone With the Wind?

A good reply: "Frankly my spammer, I don't give a damn"
Post 5 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 14:11
Hasbeen
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On November 22, 2017 at 13:54, Brad Humphrey said...
A good reply: "Frankly my spammer, I don't give a damn"

Touche'  my good man.


On a side note, I see that you and I get targeted by the same scammers.  I've just started messing with all of them now.   Whether it's through phone call or email, instead of just not answering, I'm fighting back!

I get a lot of them from scammers with this line.  "Your business has been selected to received up to $250k in credit...yada yada yada..I get at least 5-10 of these specific calls a day.  They spoof their numbers, it's a pain.   So I've decided that if they're going to call me, I'm going to keep these bastards on the phone for as long as I can.  It's actually kind of fun.  Sometimes I'll act like I simply can't hear them, or I'll ask incoherent questions, like..."ok, so when will you be done putting the new tires on it?". 

My friend, who's an IRS agent, get's the IRS calls all the time...He does the same thing.
Post 6 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 16:05
buzz
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Occasionally, I'll engage with a caller. Particularly, the ones that claim my computer is causing trouble on the Internet and they need to log on to my computer in order to fix this. In one case I recognized the voice from a previous call. In the earlier call I asked "what is my IP address". This was very flustering and I had to be transferred to a "supervisor". Evidently, they learned from that past experience because this time the caller was on top of the situation and replied "192.168.1.1" (er ... , not even close) I didn't have time to twist him any further and ended the call.

Years ago I had a crew call me over a period of several hours, first to see if I had a particular cassette deck in stock. This was to be a gift for a nephew. They called back to and gave a credit card over the phone -- in order to ensure that they could pick it up quickly because they were short on time. The card was invalid. They called back with another card, and again with "an uncle's" card. By this time I had caught on -- they were dumpster diving for old credit card imprints that were hard to read. Finally, they simply asked if I would be part of the scam. The final number that they gave seemed legit, and I reported this to the credit card security team.
Post 7 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 17:52
Impaqt
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Every industry has a version of this.....
OP | Post 8 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 18:12
jw2k_fr
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On November 22, 2017 at 13:54, Brad Humphrey said...
A good reply: "Frankly my spammer, I don't give a damn"

Haaaaaahhahahhhhahah... thank you... I needed a little pick me up :)
Post 9 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 18:44
Homeboy
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I am working with that same guy right now but via text messages. I have been stringing him along for three days really messing with him. I will send a dozen texts at a time asking for model numbers, attic, crawl space access, speaker sizes, the house address, cable TV provider etc. I figure the longer I can keep him occupied the less chance has to scam somebody else. It's actually fun to f*@k with him. I got him to send me a drivers license and his CC info. I said I can do the job and accept his terms. He asked what type of CC machine I have and I said I don't have one, I have my CC company handle all the transactions. He asked when can I process the payment and I said not till next Tuesday as I only process on Tuesdays. That made him mad.
I will start calling him at all hours (after *67 as to not reveal my number) just to piss him of even more. When I'm all done the last thing I will do is block his number.

I highly recommend doing this, it really makes for a good laugh.
Post 10 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 18:56
GotGame
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In that incoherent question that you mentioned, try asking them if they see the little red dot.
then add
" hey you know 50BMG 750gr flies at 2830 ft/s. "and "have you ever met an Army Ranger"?
I may be schizophrenic, but at least I have each other.
Post 11 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 19:06
sirroundsound
Senior Member
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"Frankly my spammer, I don't give a damn"
Should have been
"Frankly my spammer, I don't give a damn HDMI"

I particularly like the computer guys that call telling me there is an issue with my computer.
Which one? That usually stumps them.
Occasionally I get a guy that tries to guess by telling me it is the one with my name.
Many don't believe me when I tell them there are at least 5 operating in this house and I get mad at them because they don't know which one I should be checking.
I make like I am all concerned now because they have told me something is wrong, and I want them to fix it right now.
Once I get the supervisor on the line I let him have it and call him all sorts of nasty names and tell him what kind of pond scum he must be. They usually hang up before I finish.
Post 12 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 19:09
Don Heany
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...

Last edited by Don Heany on November 22, 2017 19:18.
Post 13 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 22:28
buzz
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"Do you stock XYZ? I need nnn shipped overnight (to an offshore location). I have a certified check for $mmm + $2000. I'm sorry that my boss wrote the wrong amount on the check. Can you just send me a check for the overage?"In about 10 days the bogus check is returned from some foreign land and the poor mark is out for the merchandise, expensive shipping and the change.
Post 14 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 23:20
amirm
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Reminds of James Veitch videos:
Amir
Founder, Madrona Digital, http://madronadigital.com
Founder, Audio Science Review, http://audiosciencereview.com
Post 15 made on Wednesday November 22, 2017 at 23:41
Hasbeen
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On November 22, 2017 at 23:20, amirm said...
Reminds of James Veitch videos:

Amir,

This may be some of the best 9 minutes I've spent on Youtube.  Thanks for this! 
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