scammed!!!

I was selling an item on craigslist and was contacted by a Dave Solomon who gave the following info..

my name is Dave Solomon I reside at 7865 Montecito El Paso Texas 79915 Phone # 773-240-1711 , I greatly want to buy your item.please provide your name ,address,and phone #.

All of which I did.All the emails after that where broken english and seemed written buy a different person each time.My item was 250.00.He replied a 750.00 check was on its way.I replied the actual price was 250.00.The first package shipped , in tracking this package was notified it was forwarded to a goverment agency for further investigation,I then emailed buyer and asked what was up?The price difference,the seizing of package,and everthing was just to fishy and to forget it.Today I receive a package from UPS with a 750.00 .Mainstay High Yield Bond Fund check issued from State street Bank and Trust Company , Boston , Ma 02101.In checking online I find both are real places.So I google the packages sender -Howard Richard 1520 Collins Ave Miami,FL 33139 and find him in your scamwarners site as a scammer....Thank you guys for caring enough to make this site available to people like me. Any advise on what to do now? I reported it to UPS.Anything else I should do???Please advise..Thank you

Quoted scammers mail to make it easier to follow - Ralph

Welcome oldhippie42

We are pleased to hear that you haven't lost money to this scammer.

The street address that you have is of little or no consequence, and it seems that the authorities have matter in hand as the package as been forwarded to a government agency for further investigation.

The scammer had no interest in whatever was being advertised. He wanted to send you a (counterfeit) cheque or money order for far more than you were expecting and hoped that you would cash it, and send his non-existent shipping company a large portion of the money before your own bank or cashing agent realised that the cheque or money order was bad and pursued YOU for the return of the FULL AMOUNT, possibly pressing charges against YOU for attempted fraud and money laundering.

The best thing you can do now is to post here an e-mail that you have received from the scammer that shows his e-mail address. Doing so will help any other of his potential victims who may be searching for his details.

Just be sure to mask your own details like this "XXXXXXXXX" before posting.

After receiving any counterfeit cheques or money orders ,the way I see it you will have three main options:-

* Take the cheque and any packaging to your local police , although they won't do much with it unless you have lost money in the scam. If you are in the USA obtain form 'PS Form 8165 - U.S. Postal Inspection Service Mail Fraud Report' from your Postmaster and file a report.

A copy of the form can be found by following this link:-

http://www.usps.com/forms/_pdf/ps8165.pdf

(Tick the box marked "Nigerian Fraud")

* When the check arrives, mark it as fraudulent and save it as a souvenir of a near miss,
* Rip it up and bin it.

You can also contact the bank that the check is written on and notify them that the account is compromised and being used by a scammer.

The email addresses of the scammers are as [email protected] and howard [email protected] Thank you for your help!!!

Also , is there anything they can do with the info I provided them?? They have my email address and also my name,address and phone # . That is all I gave them...Thanks again for your help.

Thank You for posting this scammers information oldhippie.

Your post will alert and save others from being scammed. Well Done

If you have any questions or concerns please post - a support team member will be glad to help you.

This link may help you http://www.scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3237

What do I do if I think I've been scammed?

Cease all communications with the scammer immediately. Delete any emails unopened and hang up if the scammer calls you.

Report the scam to your local police and to the Internet Crime Complaint Centre if you are in the US. There is not much chance that the scammer will be caught, as he is probably overseas and certainly using false details. However, the more scams are reported, the more the authorities can tell how widespread it is, and the greater the effort that goes into stopping it.

If you have given the scammer your bank account, credit card or other financial details, tell your bank, card company or other provider immediately, and ask them to change your accounts and card numbers.

Do not accept any deliveries that are from the scammer or that you are not expecting. If you receive a check or something similar (such as a money order) take it to your bank or local police and tell them it is fake.

Do not panic. Whilst scammers are criminals and some of them are dangerous, the risks are negligible if you simply stop communicating with them. If you are in any doubt about your safety, report your concerns to your local police, who will be able to advise you.

Spread the word. We know it's very uncomfortable to feel that you got conned, or nearly got conned, but if you fell for it, so will others. Talking about it may be hard, but the more you help educate everyone about scams, the less opportunities there are for scammers to defraud others

They have my email address and also my name,address and phone # .

You will likely see an increase in scam attempts via email, phone, or mail. On (rare) occasion, the scammers might use your name and address in a future scam, though they are generally more likely to do this out of anger when they invest a great deal of time in a victim (or baiter) with no payout.

They might continue to harass you, demand the item or their money back, and even tell you they are sending the police or FBI after you. Ignore them, or simply tell them that the bank told you the bank said the check was a fake (you don't really have to take it to the bank--there is no doubt it is one already, but they don't need to know how you learned the truth) and that you want nothing more to do with them.

Even after emailing these idiots ,one emails me back and threatens to inform me to the FBI , then an hour later anouther email saying , great to see you got the check.Now just cash it and take an extra $50 for your troubles and send the rest to -- Teresa Dianna Neale 1562 S. 11th St. Joseph, Missouri 64503 --- and she will take care of arrainging pickup of the item. Now isn't there someway they could catch this person when they went to Western Union to pick up the cash??? Just wondering....I have contacted the bank that issued the supposed check and they don't really seem to interested at the moment.I'm about ready to just forget about the whole thing.You try and do the right thing and just seem to get the run around....

I'm disappointed to hear that the bank the cheque was drawn on didn't seem to be interested. Thank you for trying to alert them

The address that you have been given for the payment is simply a distraction.

The scammer wants you to sent money by Western Union with those details and once he has the payment details it can be picked up virtually anywhere in the world.

hi, quick question, i got a check from same place, but under different name, then for no reason, i got another and another. needless to say i havent even attempted to cash, but not sure what to do with them, besides burn`em