Postal Letter

have you heard about the 4-1-9 scams from africa?

i have a antique pier mirror for sale , advertising with a internet company and i get this email from a guy in Africa. Stating that he's just over there for employment and his home is in Va. and he wants to purchase the mirror and send me extra money to forward to his shippers. they send you U.S. Postal money orders and want you to take them to your bank and cash them immediatley and wire the remaining funds to the so called shipper. I took the money orders to the post office and asked them to check them first cause i thought they looked fake, they were. so beware of the 4-1-9 scams this is also a website if you like to look into it further to see all the different scams they try to do

Public Comments

1. A) This is not a question. B) You didn't provide the website.
2. Oh yeah, they are rampant! I get them all the time. Once, I was trying to find a home for a dog I found as a stray. I get an email from a scammer wanting to know "my best asking price," and blah blah blah. He wanted to send me the check, cash it, and Western Union it to his "shipper." I was to keep some extra for the "trouble." So, I wrote him back, telling him all about the dysplastic rooster Chow, who was rare because it had a wonderful case of the mange and it was blue with orange spots! He still sent the check. I play with them all I can. I try to at least get them to send the check, because it normally costs them about $40 to send it! Be careful, though, because they will put a curse on you, lol! Check out this website for more info on the scam, and some funny correspondence between scammers and a woman who likes to play with them! http://www.bustedupcowgirl.com/scampage.html
3. Yes, I've heard of such scams. Classified ad sites are full of such scammers. There is no legitimate reason to write a check or send money orders for more than the asking price and have the recipient cash it and forward money to a third party nominated by the check sender. This is ALWAYS a check overpayment scam. It's a way of getting the law abiding victim to cash a stolen or fake check for a criminal and send the cash back to the gang via an untraceable route such as Western Union money transfer. If a check "clears" it doesn't mean it's safe to withdraw cash from it. Checks can bounce several months after they have "cleared" and it is always the person depositing it who will bear the full responsibility in that case, up to and including criminal charges that can be brought for check fraud! When the check eventually bounces the bank will take the full amount out of the account into which the check was deposited and you'll be fully liable, while the criminals can't be located.