Musical Arts Limited, UK, but Nigerian sales agent

A friend responded to this advert:

MUSICAL ARTS LIMITED

14 FRAMPTON HOUSE
FRAMPTON STREET
LONDON
NW8 8LY

[email protected]
+447024097883

We offer you the best of Music Equipments cause we love that quality sound,MUSIC IS LIFE and we are using our company to support dreamsby supplying Quality Instruments at cheaper rates,we have from the magnificent Jonathan Cooper Del Gesu Violin to Knute Reindahl Violin down to Vintage French and Hill Bow/Handmade American Violin.

Available products and their prices.

Jonathan Cooper Del Gesu Violin - $8,800 USD
Knute Reindahl Violin - $5,400 USD
Italian viola from Naples, crafted approx. 1930 - $3,000 USD
Hill Bow for violin - $2,300 USD
Handmade American Violin - Joseph Bohmann - Chicago c. 1900 - $1,500 USD
Taylor T5 - $1,150 USD
Rare 8 string Violin c.1920 - $1,150 USD
1895 Czech Violin - Strad copy - w/ Pernambuco bow - $345 USD
Recent Chineese fiddle with Perfection Pegs - $550 USD
Rare Antique French violin lab JTL Barnabetti Loud&Deep - $600 USD
Violin - Old Strad copy and hsc - $580 USD
Newer Unlabeled Violin with Ebony-Crowned Button - $470 USD
For sale 1960 'salvarez montana 5 string banjo w/c - $320 USD
Vintage German Strad Copy -Price Reduced - $350 USD
Eastman VL100 3/4 violin outfit - $200 USD
Vintage French Violin 4/4 - $300 USD
1900-ish German-ish Stainer Fiddle Professionally Setup - $250 USD

Hours of Operation:
Monday-Sunday : 24hours (We are always at your service)

WHY BUY FROM US?
* Your privacy is assured
* Our prices are second to none
* Secure transaction guaranteed
* We ship Monday through Saturday.
* Free shipping on qualified orders
* We offer reasonable discount on bulk purchases
* We ship same day after confirmation of payment.
* We offer a 120 days return policy and a 100% money back guarantee.

To place your orders please contact us via the following options below.

[email protected]

+447024097883

Garon Fadrick
Sales/Advert Manager
MUSICAL ARTS LIMITED

and discovered that a violin I own, and have advertised for sale is one of these being offered for sale.
After the phone call from my friend, I reviewed the ad, looked up the top four instruments and discovered that they are all instruments that have been advertised online, by their owner, but their info and pictures were swiped, and collectively ~ fraudently ~ advertised by this sham/front musical arts business registered in London, at reduced prices, of course.

I initiated e-mail inquiries, from a seldom used account, with a fictitious name, with a fictitious address, with this sales agent. His e-mails came from Lagos, Nigeria.

We've gotten to the point of arranging payment, and surprisingly, payment doesn't appear to go to Lagos, nor to Musical Arts Limited, but instead:

.......Yes the Money comes to the United Kingdom and that's where the Violin is right in our companies R&D department.
Well i don't really know how it got here cause our company is a big one and our products are purchased directly by our CEO.
You will get to find out more about the Violin when you read about it cause it comes with a booklet and i think the full story of the XXXXXXXXXX Violin should be there.

Here is the summary of your order:
The Total amount of your Order including shipping is $ XXXXXXXusd
We are shipping to you via FedEx express courier service and the item would be delivered to you in 24hrs time from payment confirmation.

PACKAGE:
1 Unit of XXXXXXXXX Violin

DELIVERY ADDRESS:
3 Poisson Puant
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Order would be Received By:
XXXX XXXXXX
Your Mobile Number:
XXXXXXXXXX

All you need is to Visit a Western Union Agent Location near you and make the payment of your Order to the Address Below.

Name--Jamie Ross
Address-- 352 UPPER RICHMOND ROAD WEST
City--West Sussex
State--LONDON
Zipcode--SW14 7JT
Country--UK
Amount to be paid:$5,500usd

As soon as you make the payment you get back to me with the information below:
THE FULL SENDERS NAME:
THE MTCN NUMBER:
As soon as you make the payment and your payment is confirmed over here you would be given a FedEx tracking number and your item would be shipped out to the address you provided in 24hrs time from payment confirmation.

Hope to start a long term business relationship with you.

Regards,
Garon Fadrick.

and how sweet! He wants a long term relationship.

Nice job, CabinBoy!
There is one minor problem which I'll explain in a PM.

Did you spot the re-direct phone number?
Numbers beginning with 0044-70....... pretend to be from the UK but in fact re-direct the call to anywhere the scammer wants.

I've got that potential issue covered, but thanks for the message.
Someone else also explained the redirected phone prefix.

Does the fact that they are using a UK front company make it any easier to legally go after them?

Any suggestions on how I can make my pal waste more of his time and resources?

They may mention a (real or fake) UK company, but notice you are not sending or transferring money to a company.

If there is a real company by that name, the scammer just picked up the name and used it. There is no actual company involved.

of course, that makes sense.

thanks Dotti

apparently I've been handed off to a higher-up sales agent, although he goes by the same name. This lad's english is much improved. He has given me 3 or 4 different places I can send money from. Does that mean my first lad was probably rewarded from sending up a stool pigeonl?

but all I want to do is scream at the fraud, call him names, generally emote, and let him know I am NOT a mugu, but I have understood from the very beginning (well, from my first e-mail) the fraud they are attempting to pull-off. ----- I suspect that is not the best strategy -----

gol darn it, they're still at it... (advertising things they don't own for sale)

http://www.alibaba.com/member/uk1002456720.html
pitiful- they didn't even spell musical correctly in their company name...