Personal Shopper Scam - Auction Me Today.com

Hello Everyone, I have a scammer on the line right now. I have been asked to be a personal shopper for an individual and I can't quite figure out where the scam is going to get me. Obviously, I will not do anything more stupid than I already have, which is give him my real telephone number, my email, and my savings account number. I did this with the knowledge that I thought I knew what to do. I notified my bank before I gave the account information out. I gave the person my savings account number and routing number for him to make a cash deposit to the account for my to do his "personal shopping" I have been assurred by the bank that no one can withdrawl any funds from the account as it does not have a debit card with it nor does it have checks that can be used on the account. All withdrawls have to be done at the bank with my identification. So, I hope that I haven't given him to much info. Well, I have given him more information than I am comfortable with and that's too much. I am a little concerned about how to handle this. I would really like some advice from you guy's. Tomorrow I am supposed to receive a wire transfer to the western union office or a cash deposit via wire into my savings account. The amount should exceed 3,000.00 and I can't figure out how he could GET ME with it being a wire transfer into my account or to a Western Union. I am supposed to receive shopping instructions from him as to what to buy for him, shipping information as to where to send the products and I am supposed to have a balance of 5% of the total cost to keep for myself.
1. Could this be a real person actually wanting me to shop for him?
2. How can he send me money to purchase things for him and turn around and profit from me for it?
3. What should I look for in regard to making sure I don't loose any of my personal funds?
4. What risks am I personally taking by acception money he wires to me, purchasing the said items, and shipping them to him?
5. Am I to be held responsible if he aquired the money then sent it to me, where i follow his instructions, and accept a predetermined fee for my services.
6. What am I missing Here guys? Where am I vulnerable? Please ADVISE!

Thank you,

brianjames (not my real name)

[AlanJones]

What you are doing is baiting the scammer and you are not doing it safely. This site is for advising victims of scams, not assisting baiters. I would recommend visiting our sister site 419eater.com where you will learn to bait safely (which means not giving any real life information to the scammer.

But to answer your questions
1. Could this be a real person actually wanting me to shop for him? No
2. How can he send me money to purchase things for him and turn around and profit from me for it? He will not be sending you any money. It will either be a victim of another scam sending you money or he will deposit a fake cheque in your account. So it costs him nothing to get all the items he wants you to buy
3. What should I look for in regard to making sure I don't loose any of my personal funds? I would tell your bank that you want to close your current account and open a new one with a new account number.
4. What risks am I personally taking by acception money he wires to me, purchasing the said items, and shipping them to him? You are risking a criminal record. If you do this then you will be a criminal like him, the only difference between you and him will be that it is a lot easier for the police to arrest you!!
5. Am I to be held responsible if he aquired the money then sent it to me, where i follow his instructions, and accept a predetermined fee for my services. See 4.
6. What am I missing Here guys? Where am I vulnerable? Please ADVISE!

What I would advise you to do is cut off all communication with the scammer.

If the money comes into your bank account tell your bank that it is a fraudulent transfer and do not withdraw the money. If the money is sent to you by Western Union do not pick it up, but instead PM one of the Moderators or Admins here (there names are in green and red) with the MTCN. They have contacts at Western Union who will ensure that the money is refunded to the person who sent it.

Thanks Allan! I appreciate your advise and I will follow it. I'm not really interested in "getting" this guy, I think I am just a little more aggrivated and feel a little dumb for thinking that I could actually earn some extra money this way. I'm really not a "baiter" though I do love to give these guys a hard time for being so intrusive to innocent people. First and Foremost, I have no desire at all to profit from anyone elses good heartedness or outright foolishness. I wouldn't mind profiting from the scammers, more to give them a taste of their own medicine type thing. I am not a bad person. Now that I know the funds would be coming from someone else who had been fooled or their information had been compromised, I will take the actions you suggested. My intentions are to close my savings account information first thing in the morning, cut off all communications with the individual, and therefore, I won't even know if the money has been western unuioned. If it does go to my bank, I will also follow your instructions. What if anything can I do about the fact that he has my phone numbers and address? I think that's the only information that I can't just change. Can you please advise me as to what else I might do to ensure that no harm comes to me or my family. Thank you again for your help. I look forward to hearing back from you about the address and numbers.

[AlanJones]

It is highly likely that the scammer is in somewhere like Western Africa, so he isn't going to turn up on your doorstep. What is likely is that when the money is transferred to you and you don't send him his goods, he will try phoning you to see what is happening, the best thing to do in this case is just ignore his calls or see if your phone provider can block his calls.

hi! I'm an Italian girl, yesterday I received an email from _the auction me today _asking me to send my cv to nominate for a job position as an administrative assistant! I think it's the same mail that has been sent to you! But what is it? Is it a scam?I don 't know what to do..... :/

If you received the same offer as the original poster, it is definitely a scam.

Simply ignore the person and/or delete his emails.