Is this a Scam

So about 2 weeks ago i found this guy on criglist that wanted to hire someone to take care of they dog. He was offering 18$ an HOUR and i was so exited. The dog was a German shepard and he sent me emails, picuture of the dog and phonenumbers and taked about his whole family life. I really thought he was real He told me this how he cant really hear well and it would be best to message and email him. He also told me how he lost his wife and duaghter and how his other dauger is in a wheel chair. To get to the point we wanted to meet at a MC Donald and he also asked if i was willing to recieve a check and buy a wheelchair for him. Im a smart person and i like to help people but i was really suspicious of why he would want to give me money and for me to buy it. He told me he wanted to get the wheelchair at a cheap price and for it to be available as soon as he moved here with his dauther and i was wondering why he wouldent already have a wheelchair. Anyway i agreed to his terms but asked for him to prove to me that he was the owner of the check and that he was the right person. He dident reply to that but simply said that the check was mailed and to message him if i cashed it. In the end i never got the check and he gave me the tracking number and the check was supose to be dilvered on tuesday 2/4/14 however someone ordered a change and the check was shiped off to Louisville, KY. In the UPS tracking website it said it was a Delivery Intercept and that the

02/05/2014 5:00 A.M. Package has been forwarded to Government agency for further investigation.

this really freaked me out and i knew someone was wrong. I emiled him one last time to see if he is legit or not but i really think he is a scammer. What do you guys think? What do i do now? I gave him my information such as name adress and phone number can he do anything with that that would harm me? im really worried and i hope i can find some answers here Thanks.
-Billy

Oh ya and his email is Francis J. Cornely [email protected]

[AlanJones]

100% a scam - no legitimate person mails a cheque to a stranger and asks them to buy something for them. They would order it themselves to be delivered to their new address.

It sounds like the authorities were on to the person issuing his fake cheques and they have intercepted the shipment. It would probably be a good idea for you to prin off all your email correspondence and take it to your local authorities, so that they understand your role in this is that of a victim.

As to what he can do with your details - he'll be located out of the country and won't want to draw his attention to himself, so he probably won't do anything, except hound you with calls about the cheque.

Please could you post examples of the emails he sent you and also his email address as these could be searched for by other victims.

ETA: Thanks for the email address - if you can post some example emails as well (remove your details) that would be great.

fugeee so i have to go to the COPS? jeus i was just looing for a job danggg. What is a cheques?



Well this is what he said to me when i wanted to job

Hello! I received a couple of resume but i have chosen to reply you. My name is Francis J. Cornely. I recently moved from Charleston, South Carolina to Phoenix, Arizona with my family but i`m relocating again to Los Angeles on 6th February. I have a 9weeks German Shepherd Dog who needs care to start on Saturday 8th. Time is 9am to 4pm Saturdays and Sundays only. This is a long term position but its fine to start temporary. Some weekdays are also flexible if you are available and i`m willing to pay 18/hour.

I lost my wife and a 4months old baby in July and my 6 year old daughter who is the only survival is still on a wheelchair. I have had terrible times this year and this is one of the reasons i have decided to move because staying here brings back some sad memories. I bought the dog after the incidence just so we have more company in the house. My child's name is Stephanie and the Dog is Emma. I hope you re good with dog sitting because we want the best care for Emma. I`m hard of hearing and can only communicate via writing, reading lips or text messaging. I hope that inst a problem?

I`m easy going and love to laugh. It will be nice to read about you. Kindly include your complete name, address and cell phone number in your response so i can check the map to read the distance between us also to have your address on file. You may ask questions in case you have any. I await your email soon.

Thank you!

Francis

Thank you for your email. We are going to be moving to 2701 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles. The sitting could be in our place because i will have a babysitter for my child in the house but if you want to have Emma at your place i could drop her every morning. I think it`d be nice to meet on Friday 7th before you start working on 8th. This way we get to know each other in person and share some interest about ourselves and the dog sitting activities. As said in my previous email, the year hasn't been good so far and i wouldn't want to get stocked with Emma on arrival so i`m willing to make a deposit to you ahead of time to ensure a secured appointment to avoid disappointment. The total cost of your pay per weekend is $252($18/hour x 7hours/day = $126/day x 2days). I hope i can issue your first week deposit check with the below information.

Thank you for your prompt response and i`m glad that we re on the same page. I have made arrangement to get Stephanie a powered wheelchair and i got a cheaper one in Los Angeles. I`m wondering if i could have the seller deliver it to you so you can help pay on delivery. The seller is a private seller and the wheelchair cost 2928. I will be sending you a check to cover your first weekend deposit and the cost of the chair so you can take out your deposit and pay the cost of the wheelchair to the seller on delivery and we will follow you to pick the chair after our meeting on Friday. Please understand that the aim of having you purchase the wheelchair is to ensure the wheelchair is available for Stephanie on arrival. The wheelchair isn't assembled yet. Its still packed in pieces so its not big at all. Due to her condition, i wouldn't want any delay with the arrangement of the chair so you can let me know if everything is clear.

Hello Billy, I`m sorry for the silence. I hope you're having a wonderful day. Its just about a week ahead to move so i`m ensuring everything is in place. I`m emailing to let you know that your check will be processed and mailed to you on Monday to be delivering Tuesday morning via UPS. The check will be in the amount of $3180. $252 stands for your first weekend deposit payment and the balance of $2928 goes to the wheelchair seller on delivery. Please understand that the delivery won't be scheduled until you have received the check and have the funds available. This is just to ensure no complications at time of delivery. I will contact my bank and ensure the funds re processed into your account on a next day basis so all you need to do is go have it deposited on Tuesday so the wheelchair delivery can be scheduled on Wednesday as soon as the funds has been made ready in your account.
We are happy to meet you soon and we hope for a great time together. Please do not hesitate to contact me in case of any concern/questions.
Regards,
Francis

100% a scam - no legitimate person mails a cheque to a stranger and asks them to buy something for them. They would order it themselves to be delivered to their new address.

It sounds like the authorities were on to the person issuing his fake cheques and they have intercepted the shipment. It would probably be a good idea for you to prin off all your email correspondence and take it to your local authorities, so that they understand your role in this is that of a victim.

As to what he can do with your details - he'll be located out of the country and won't want to draw his attention to himself, so he probably won't do anything, except hound you with calls about the cheque.

Please could you post examples of the emails he sent you and also his email address as these could be searched for by other victims.

ETA: Thanks for the email address - if you can post some example emails as well (remove your details) that would be great.

If the goverment got to him howcome the packege still got delivered

Louisville, KY, United States 02/05/2014 9:45 A.M. Delivered
02/05/2014 5:49 A.M. Destination Scan
02/05/2014 5:00 A.M. Package has been forwarded to Government agency for further investigation.
02/05/2014 2:08 A.M. Arrival Scan
Ontario, CA, United States 02/04/2014 7:40 P.M. Departure Scan
02/04/2014 6:42 P.M. Arrival Scan
Baldwin Park, CA, United States 02/04/2014 6:27 P.M. Departure Scan
02/04/2014 10:20 A.M. UPS has requested a Delivery Intercept for this package.
02/04/2014 9:08 A.M. The UPS Initiated Delivery Intercept request for this package was successfully completed.
02/04/2014 6:23 A.M. Arrival Scan
Ontario, CA, United States 02/04/2014 5:36 A.M. Departure Scan
Ontario, CA, United States 02/03/2014 10:50 P.M. Arrival Scan
Phoenix, AZ, United States 02/03/2014 10:39 P.M. Departure Scan
Tempe, AZ, United States 02/03/2014 5:03 P.M. Pickup Scan
United States 02/03/2014 2:00 P.M. Order Processed: Ready for UPS

[AlanJones]

What is a cheques?s

Cheque = check (I'm British)

If the goverment got to him howcome the packege still got delivered

Louisville, KY, United States 02/05/2014 9:45 A.M. Delivered
02/05/2014 5:49 A.M. Destination Scan
02/05/2014 5:00 A.M. Package has been forwarded to Government agency for further investigation.

It was delivered - but not to you. I would guess that the address in KY is an agency facility.

well cheese balls, thats not good, but do i really have to take this to the cops? im only 17 and my parents are going to kick my butt if they found out i almost got scammed......

[AlanJones]

It's up to you - but you going to them and explaining you have been a victim of a scam would probably be a lot better than them arriving at your parents house to talk to you.

are going to kick my butt if they found out i almost got scammed

The key word here is Almost believe me they would be a lot more upset if you had been scammed, I agree you have to tell them about this.

I have to disagree with above advice. You weren't involved in any scam. You wisely avoided being scammed by asking right questions. No reason to report to police - would be like calling the fire department to report that there is no fire or smoke. Local police could come get you if you had cashed that check but you didn't. Just go on with your life. You can tell your parents some joker tried to send you a fake check but you didn't take it.

[AlanJones]

You weren't involved in any scam.

Yes he was - a fake cheque was on its way to him.

You wisely avoided being scammed by asking right questions.

No he didn't - he avoided it because someone reported the fake cheque in transit and the mention of the package being diverted alerted him to a possible problem. Had it arrived with him then there is every chance that he would have banked the cheque and sent the money on as requested.

No reason to report to police - would be like calling the fire department to report that there is no fire or smoke.

.

Big difference - a fake cheque was produced in his name and sent to his address. The authorities are now investigating a crime and they will want to know why he was being sent a fake cheque. Either he goes to them or they are likely to come looking for him - only he knows which option is going to go down best with his parents

Well things are a bit different here in the colonies. Local police are not part of a national police force. To prosecute, the local police need to go to a prosecutor with evidence that a crime has occurred in the local jurisdiction and that a certain person has commited this crime. The prosecutor must then agree people need to be brought to court, that a judge needs to decide the facts and penalties. In addition, minors are not usually held responsible, and cases of delinquency would be handled secretly in a less formal family court. This minor is clearly innocent of any crime and won't be prosecuted by anybody. The decision to seek advice from police should be made by the parents, not me or you.

'Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you'

The authorities already know why the fake checks were sent. I'm happy to hear they were quick enough to save some victims, in this case.

[AlanJones]

Well things are a bit different here in the colonies. Local police are not part of a national police force. To prosecute, the local police need to go to a prosecutor with evidence that a crime has occurred in the local jurisdiction and that a certain person has commited this crime. The prosecutor must then agree people need to be brought to court, that a judge needs to decide the facts and penalties. In addition, minors are not usually held responsible, and cases of delinquency would be handled secretly in a less formal family court. This minor is clearly innocent of any crime and won't be prosecuted by anybody. The decision to seek advice from police should be made by the parents, not me or you.

Nowhere did I say he is at risk of prosecution or that he should contact the police, so I'm not sure why you are causing confusion and trying to scare him by inventing things.

Check crime can be a State or Federal crime - as this one appears to cross State boundaries I would think that it is being investigated Federally. I told him he should go to the authorities - I don't have a clue whether you can just rock up at your local FBI field office and tell them you are the victim of a crime - but as he's in the US, he or his parents can probably find out.

The authorities may not even be aware he is a minor, so they could well just turn up at his address to ask him about the cheque he was being sent (or ring up and ask him to visit them - whatever the authorities do in a case like this). Having a couple of Feds in dark suits turn up on the family doorstep is going to be a lot more intrusive than a quick call and visit to them to tell them what he knows.

I will update my advice to him to he should tell his parents what has happened and then they should all contact the authorities to provide the evidence that they have of the scam he was nearly a victim of.

'Don't trouble trouble until trouble troubles you'

That's a rather naive and simplistic view - would you give the same advice to someone who had actually received and banked a fake cheque?

The authorities already know why the fake checks were sent. I'm happy to hear they were quick enough to save some victims, in this case.

The authorities may not have a clue why the cheques were being sent or the full details of the scam - their information may just be a list of tracking numbers suspected of containing fake cheques. The person who sent the cheques probably won't even know the real reason why they were being sent.

Ok all, let's focus on the issue at hand without turning a thread into an argument.

The check was most likely shipped using a phished or hacked UPS account, which is typical of scammers. The account was flagged by authorities, the account holder or another victim, and the check was stopped. What will happen next is really dependent on how deep the investigation runs.

If the authorities feel an investigation is not worth pursuing, or they feel the OP won't add to the info they already have, that's the end of it.

Unless the OP already has a history of check fraud, they are unlikely to be looking at him as a criminal, but they might see him as a witness. So yes, if they pursue further investigation, it is certainly possible they will contact the OP and/or pay a visit to ask some questions. After all, his/her name and address are obviously on the fraudulent package.

So, icecream, you have to make a decision: say nothing and hope that the parents never find out (which could certainly happen), or assume there is a chance (which could also happen) that they will and take action first.

Personally, I would recommend the straightforward approach of simply telling your parents what happened. Assuming they know you are pursuing job opportunities on the internet, it should be quite obvious to them that your intentions were good. In the end you weren't scammed, so no real harm has come to anyone--but at least then if the authorities do want to ask some questions, your parents aren't going to freak out. And now you have learned some valuable lessons about how scammers operate (including that you should never accept an advance fee check from strangers.)

If you had attempted to deposit the check, we would typically recommend filing a police report for documentation, but since you never received it, it's not as big an issue. You can always file an IC3 report if you want to make sure the attempted scam is at least logged for tracking purposes (in general more data = better chance of identifying trends.)

It's a learning experience. Just treat it as such, and move on.

Ya i understand the problems im faced with, I have told my parents and they gave me like a 30 min lecture of how in the real world its not all icecream and lollipops see what i did their cause my name is icecream . They told me the be more careful which i certinally will and i have printed out all the emails and text messages in case anyone comes to my house looking for me. My parents and i have decited not to go to the police bceause no real harm was done and it would be too much of a toruble since they dont speak english and i would have to explain everythiung. If the goverment comes to my house we will just explain what happened. Thanks so much for your adivce and ill learn from my mistakes.