Fun with spammers

[devi]

I have an ad up on a website called A+ Tutors. So far, I've had lots of legitimate enquiries from decent, salt-of-the-earth people who just want their kids to get good grades... until Mr Frank Sam came along. Or maybe he's Mr Mark Rich. Or sometimes 'Frank from England'. It's not entirely clear.

Frank or Sam or Mark is a generous man. He wants to send me 4500 quid to teach his son English. But to do that, he'll need my state and zip code.



[the initial mail from him:]
Dear Sir,
How are you and you Family, This is Frank from england ,I am very interested in your teaching and i will like you to teach my son (English) and i will like to know the price for 1 week.so i will be expecting your mail, because i dont want my son to come home for now because i am not at home now.so i will be expecting your respond.Thank
Mr Frank

(At this stage I'm just thinking he's a slightly mad old man who has hardly any English. I've had ones that looked this silly and were perfectly legit before)

[me:]
Dear Mr Frank,

Thanks for your mail, but could you give me some more information?

Firstly, what age is your son? What year is he in at school? The price
for a weekly lesson will depend on what level he is at - for example,
it will cost 20 pounds up to GCSE level and 25-30 pounds if he is at
A-level.

Also, where do you live? Does your son live with you?

Best regards,
Deirdre.

[him:]
Dear Sir,
Thank for the mail,the price is okay with me £25 and i have
calulate for 1 week now which is £175 and i have make my mind to issue £4500 and send it down to your location. and i will like you to know that i have tell my son that he will come fo the lesson in your location his age 17 age and is speaking english too . so get back to me with your information details so that i will issue the cheque and send it to your area so get back to me as soon as you read my mail.
And the rest of the fund will send to my son in school so that he will come for the lesson thank.i will be looking forward to read from you.Thanks
Mr Mark rich

Here is the information you are going to provide for me for the next mail

Full name .............
home address...........
state..................
city...................
zip/co.................


[me:]
Dear Mr Sam (or Mr Mark Rich?),

I'm curious. Since you live in England, and I live in England, why do
you want my state and zip code? Also, how are you calculating this
£4500?

Best,
Deirdre.

[him:]
let me know you mind i am traveling to italy now and i will like you to get back to me on time because my son is now in school in united state and i will like you to get back to me with your information so that i will issue the payment and send it down to your location.

Here is the information you are going to provide for me for the next mail

Full name .............
home address...........
state..................
city...................
zip/co.................
phone number...........

[me:]
You asked me to let you know my mind, so here is what I think: I'm
sorry if this is all just an unfortunate misunderstanding, but I don't
think you are a real tuition customer at all. I think you are a
spammer. This is because:

- you seem to have two names
- you say you're from England, but you think England has states and zip codes
- you've come up with this figure of 4500 pounds without discussing
with me how many hours you need over what period of time. I do have a
full-time job, you know

So unless you can provide me with actual contact details for your son,
and a realistic proposal for how many hours a week you want, this is
the last mail I will write in reply to you.

Kindest regards,
Deirdre.


I'm looking forward to seeing if he replies to that last one!

But what I'm wondering is, what's the point? What does he hope to get out of it? Is it just snailmail address collecting, for the sending of junkmail? If so, it seems like a lot of bother. Or is there something more sinister going on?

Comments

[alfaguru.livejournal.com]

It's a cheque scam. He'll send you a cheque, then shortly afterwards give some excuse as to why he needs some of the money back, hoping you'll send him it in return without waiting for his cheque to clear fully. His cheque will bounce.

There was a case in the paper the other day where a woman lost 1700 quid or something on one of these.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Ah. Now it all becomes clear.

But it would all fall apart because I probably wouldn't have a penny in my account to send back to him. I would vanquish him by the cunning ploy of being broke! Heh heh!

[http://users.livejournal.com/_kent/]

You could wait for the cheque, and keep re-presenting it. That'd cost him a few bob.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Would it really?

I briefly considered keeping it and framing it as an internet age curio, but that would be silly.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_kent/]

Well, you of all people know how much it costs verlaine every time he writes an ill-advised cheque. Volumes have been written on the subject.

I believe that if you present a cheque, and it bounces, it is returned to you. And hence, you can present it again. Costing him that £15 a time. Of course, you might also be charged for presenting a cheque that bounces, so best beware on that score.

I think framing the thing would be a good option.

[alfaguru.livejournal.com]

It would work - except that it won't be his cheque, it'll have been stolen. Do you really think these people use their own names and bank accounts?

[http://users.livejournal.com/_kent/]

Ah yes. Hadn't really given it that much thought.

[alfaguru.livejournal.com]

Tell him if he can afford to pay 4500 quid up front he's obviously a man of means so can you interest him in making an investment in this wonderful new invention by which a car can run on water. Once the market hears about it, the shares will just go crazy, but you can get him in on the ground floor...

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Yup, and I've got this Segway he might want to buy too, and a very picturesque bridge in New York.

[natural20.livejournal.com]

It's often Bank Drafts they use. You lodge this bank draft, your account is bumped up. Fair enough says you, I'll now write this man a cheque or wire a transfer back to him. Money departs. In the meantime the bank has noticed that the bank draft actually has nothing to back it up. Unfortunately you don't get to say "But he said...", the bank draft is cancelled, your account is debited by the appropriate amount and he's got your money. Slam dunk so to speak.

A recent case in Ireland nearly had someone taken for tens of thousands in a similar scam, but the postmistress asked the scamee to check that everything was legit.

And why do people fall for it? Because people are greedy and dumb. What a wonderful world...

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Hang on. I thought bank drafts had to be bought with cash before being sent, unlike cheques where the money's withdrawn when they're cashed. What am I missing here?

[natural20.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to find the details on this one. It may not be a bank draft (which as you say, is normally bought with cash), but I didn't think it was a cheque either. Damn, I need the exact details here. However the method used was essentially the same, the scamee's account was credited with non-existant money so they could send it back with the time overlap just enough for the scammer to get away with it, leaving the scamee to pick up the bill.

[bluedevi.livejournal.com]

Maybe it was a counterfeit bank draft?