Strange Email

[Guest]

I have an advertisement posted online for puppies i am selling. tonight i got a call through "IP-Relay" ((408)-822-1645). it was someone who wanted to buy one and wanted me to contact him/her via email at jvaldez0000@yahoo.com. i sent him an email saying i only have 2 left and the following reply was sent to me.

HI [my name].

Thanks very much for your email, am valdez i staying in illinios.it was really nice speaking with you on the relay call, you have to bear with me as I have hearing problems,hence the use of the relay call. The reason I am sending you this email is to make final reconfirmation of it ,and also to let you know that payment will be by certified Money Order. In view of this I need you to email me any information that may be required to send the Money Order, as I do not want to send the Money Order to a wrong location lest they get into the wrong hands.Regarding the shipping, I have a company that takes care of the pickup of my consignments for me and ship to my destination anywhere in the U.S.A, you do not worry about shipping, the company will send down a representative to arrange the sales documentation and the pick up from your end for onward transfer to my destination.I also want to alert you on the fact that you will be receiving an overdraft Money Order, which will cover the money for the pickup (pickup and shipping to the final destination) as well as the money to be paid to the company that will take care of the pickup and the documentation with you. So please, as soon as you receive the Money Order, go and cash them immediately, deduct the money that accrues to you, and send the balance to the Head Office of the company that handles the shipment via the nearest Western Union agent in your area. Deduct the Western Union charges from the balance and send the remaining to RECIPIENT immediately . The Money Order will be in your name to make it easier for you to
receive payment, deduct your money and send the balance via Western
Union as regards my earlier direction, please reconfirm your details one more time.
I will give you the details of the company that you will send the
balance of the money to, once I get a reply and agreement
that you will send the money to them via Western Union money transfer
immediately you cash the Money Order.
Once the money is received by the agent , the shipping
agent will contact you immediately to arrange the documentation as well as the pick up immediately. So in view of the above, here are some of
the details I will need for final issuance of the Money Order to you.



(1) Full Name
(2) Mailing address, no p.o.box please
(3) your direct telephone number
(4) acceptance of my offer
(5) Final asking price



Once you get back to me with all the above, the Money Order will be
issued out immediately and it will be sent to you .
Hope to hear from you immediately.


Regards,
Valdez.

N.B.: I will pay you extra $50 to reserve one male puppy for me

[FW Admin]

This is a scam - absolutely 100% without question.

Relay Operators are commonly used by scammers, for the reason that they need to hide their voices or accents. Operators, no matter how strong their suspicions, are not allowed to voice them or make any comment to the other party under penalty of dismissal.

It is a common scam tactic for scammers to send either a check or money order in excess of the amount payable, and to use 'shipping agents' that they conveniently happen to have. These checks/money orders are fakes, and the scam is for you to send the cash (alleged balance) to them in the guise of agents or other third parties via Western Union - a firm favorite of the criminals since it is probably the most insecure method of cash transfer (it's akin to leaving a bag of cash in an alley with the recipient's name written on it...).

There is no interest at all in what you're selling; only the money that they hope to con out of you. The problem is, if you deposit the check or money orders, then you could face criminal charges yourself for passing a forged instrument once the bank is informed that these are duds. By that time, if you sent the money to the scammers, you'd be out of pocket not only the cash, but the total amount drawn against the value of the deposit.

Bottom line: don't do it. Cease all contact with these scammers, and ignore any further emails or phone calls. If you do receive the checks/money orders, take them (with the envelope, put them into a plastic bag for possible foresics) and take them to the local postal inspector or law enforcement.