Do you think this sounds fishy?

Hello,
I've received the following response to a For Sale posting I have on TUG. THe language and the payment terms sound a little fishy, so I've responded initially to say that the deal would have to be brokered by closing service. Are the types of payment he's offering legit? I'd appreciate any comments anyone may have.

Thanks,
Mr.Xcitement

Hello,
i saw the advert mentioned above is for sale...after going through the little description which you gave in the advert,i am a little bit impress...i will want you to please forward a full description of the item to me...i will also appreciate it if you can send the pictures of the item to me asap...please let me know the last price ... Also i will like to know if you will accept a banker draft or a certified personalcheque or money order for the payment . Please get back to me asap because the item is needed urgently...
Regards..

I really dislike these scammers!

It's a scam. All of the scammers have poor grammar and spelling. Now if I made up some ridiculous scam to get money from innocent people, I would use the absolute best language skills. But it just adds to our ability to tell them from legitimate offers.

The scammer will eventually send you a cashier’s check for more than your agreed price - several thousand dollars more. You will be asked to deposit the check. It's good since it's a cashier's check, right? You'll be asked to send the excess amount to a third party as a finder's fee or some other description. You'll send the funds via Western Union, as instructed.

Some time later - perhaps weeks later - your bank will charge your account for the full amount of the cashier's check, because it turns out that - as in every such case - the cashier's check was fraudulent. Thus, you'll be out the amount that you sent to the third party plus the fees your bank charges for the fraudulent check and (if applicable) overdrafts in your bank account.

Worse, the "buyer" will send you another message, once you send the Western Union funds, telling you of some calamity (usually health-related) that has befallen someone in the family, necessitating that you return the rest of the money - by Western Union of course. If your bank hasn't yet notified you of the fraud, you might pay again and lose again!

For some practical advice on how to successfully sell your week without getting scammed, carefully read the "how to sell" article (which includes a brief description of this scam), located at the top of the list of topics for this Buying, Selling, Renting forum.

Thanks for the replies

Yes, I did read the How To before posting the listing, so I was aware that there were plenty of scammers out there. I figured the regulars here would have plenty of experience with this type of scam, so I'll take your advice and forget about this or any other response that smell even a bit like cat food.

Thanks,
Mr.Xcitement

Same exact "scammer" email interested in my harborside/atlantis property

Well, well. I read Mr.xcitement's posting about is this a scam or not? I got the exact same email from danlouvre@yahoo.uk. (that is close to the actual email) and he said he had several interested clients. I also got one from tom moore@yahoo saying pretty much the same thing. any cyberpolice available for this sort of thing?

Here is one with much better English.

I got this email today after an initial inquiry yesterday from m_carrick05@yahoo.co.uk.

"HELLO,
>I AM INTERESTED IN PURCHASING THE TIMESHARE AND I AM ALSO OKAY WITH THE PRICE.
>I WILL AUTHORIZE A CASHIER"S CHECK FOR $53,000 IN YOUR NAME MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU, SO THAT WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE CHECK YOU WILL KEEP $47,000 AS YOUR MONEY FOR THE TIMESHARE FOR YOU TO REMOVE THE TIMESHARE FROM THE AD AND CONSIDER IT SOLD TO ME AND TRANSFER $6,000 TO MY PROPERTY MANAGER SO THAT HE WILL BE ABLE TO ARRANGE AND COME FOR THE INSPECTION OF THE TIMESHARE.
>AFTER INSPECTION OF THE TIMESHARE BY MY PROPERTY MANAGER,I WILL SIGN THE NECCESARY PAPERS, BEFORE I ACQUIRE THE TIMESHARE AS THE NEW OWNER.
>PLEASE I WILL WANT YOU TO EMAIL ME BACK WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION SO THAT I CAN ARRANGE AND SEND THE PAYMENT TO YOU.
>1..YOUR FULL NAME AS YOU WILL WANT IT TO APPEAR ON THE CHECK.
>2..YOUR FULL OFFICE OR HOUSE ADDRESS,P.O.BOX IS NOT ACCEPTED
>3..YOUR CELL OR DIRECT PHONE NUMBER.
>THANKS AND NICE DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU.
>MICHEAL CARRICK.
>+447040122461

Got the same scam email from "micheal carrick" <m_carrick01@hotmail.com>


HELLO,
I AM INTERESTED IN PURCHASING THE TIMESHARE AND I AM ALSO OKAY WITH THE
PRICE.
I WILL AUTHORIZE A CASHIER"S CHECK FOR $9,000 IN YOUR NAME MADE
AVAILABLE TO
YOU, SO THAT WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE CHECK YOU WILL KEEP $4,000 AS YOUR
MONEY
FOR THE TIMESHARE FOR YOU TO REMOVE THE TIMESHARE FROM THE AD AND
CONSIDER
IT SOLD TO ME AND TRANSFER $5,000 TO MY PROPERTY MANAGER SO THAT HE
WILL BE
ABLE TO ARRANGE AND COME FOR THE INSPECTION OF THE TIMESHARE.
AFTER INSPECTION OF THE TIMESHARE BY MY PROPERTY MANAGER,I WILL SIGN
THE
NECCESARY PAPERS, BEFORE I ACQUIRE THE TIMESHARE AS THE NEW OWNER.
PLEASE I WILL WANT YOU TO EMAIL ME BACK WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION
SO
THAT I CAN ARRANGE AND SEND THE PAYMENT TO YOU.
1..YOUR FULL NAME AS YOU WILL WANT IT TO APPEAR ON THE CHECK.
2..YOUR FULL OFFICE OR HOUSE ADDRESS,P.O.BOX IS NOT ACCEPTED
3..YOUR CELL OR DIRECT PHONE NUMBER.
THANKS AND NICE DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU.
MICHEAL CARRICK.
+447040122461

Michael Carrick Strikes Again!

Yes - he's still out there trying to get suckers like me to believe he'd pay $5K for my timeshare...as long as as I give $6K to his property manager. he was going to send a cashier's check for $11K. He ignored my attempts to get him to work through a title company...then I finally woke up and got online to check him out. Imagine my horror to find his name mentioned several times as a scam artist.

here's his new email address and a copy of his 1st message:
-----Original Message-----
> >From: micheal carrick [mailto:m_carrick01@hotmail.com]
> >Sent: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 2:32 AM
> >Subject: interested in purchasing your timeshare
> >
> >Goodday,
> >I am interested in purchasing your time share.Please kindly get back
> >to me if you are the owner of the time share or an agent.I will also
> >like to know
> >the last asking price.Awaiting your mail with details.
> >Have a nice day

Here's is next salvo after asking how he'd found out about my listing:
>-----Original Message-----
>From: micheal carrick [mailto:m_carrick01@hotmail.com]
>Sent: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 7:34 PM
>To: Rebecca Monroe
>Subject: RE: interested in purchasing your timeshare
>
>HELLO,
>I FOUNG OUT ABOUT YOUR AD AT TUG.NET
>I AM INTERESTED IN PURCHASING THE TIMESHARE AND I AM ALSO OKAY WITH THE
>PRICE. I WILL AUTHORIZE A CASHIER"S CHECK FOR $11,000 IN YOUR NAME MADE
>AVAILABLE
>TO YOU, SO THAT WHEN YOU RECEIVE THE CHECK YOU WILL KEEP $5,000 AS YOUR
>
>MONEY FOR THE TIMESHARE FOR YOU TO REMOVE THE TIMESHARE FROM THE AD AND
>CONSIDER IT SOLD TO ME AND TRANSFER $6,000 TO MY PROPERTY MANAGER SO
>THAT HE WILL BE ABLE TO ARRANGE AND COME FOR THE INSPECTION OF THE
>TIMESHARE. AFTER INSPECTION OF THE TIMESHARE BY MY PROPERTY MANAGER,I
>WILL SIGN THE
>
>NECCESARY PAPERS, BEFORE I ACQUIRE THE TIMESHARE AS THE NEW OWNER.
>PLEASE I WILL WANT YOU TO EMAIL ME BACK WITH THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION
>SO THAT I CAN ARRANGE AND SEND THE PAYMENT TO YOU.
>1..YOUR FULL NAME AS YOU WILL WANT IT TO APPEAR ON THE CHECK.
>2..YOUR FULL OFFICE OR HOUSE ADDRESS,P.O.BOX IS NOT ACCEPTED
>3..YOUR CELL OR DIRECT PHONE NUMBER.
>THANKS AND NICE DOING BUSINESS WITH YOU.
>MICHEAL CARRICK.
>+447040122461

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