I have just bought a new hand-phone for myself. It is a Motorola A1200. It is a very nice little PDA flip phone with a 2Mp camera. I was exited when I first bought it but somehow, I have problems using it as it doesn't have an ordinary key-pad for call dialing and SMS purposes. To send an SMS, one has to use its stylus pen to spell every letter out. I also realize that my rough way of handling flipping gadgets will make it no longer usable in the future *if you know what I mean*. So, after 2 days using the cool new hand-phone, I decided to re-sell it while its still in its best condition.
I was going to trade it at stores but since I had no plan of going out for a new hand-phone hunting, I decided to try online selling *plan A*, and then go trade it at stores if the online selling doesn't work *plan B*. Based on my on-line shopping experiences, I chosed www.mudah.my as my first site to try selling my Moto on-line. When everything was approved, Mudah.my finally allow me to place my ad on the site. Here's my Advertisement
Within few hours of waiting, I get my first email from this person who claimed to be a pastor from Texas. Here is the content of his first email.
From: Chris Williams (pastorchriswilly@yahoo.com)
Subject: Motorola Mint A1200 2 days used 2nd hand
To: onn_buy@hotmail.com
Date: Friday, 12 Feb, 2010 9: 39 AM
Hello seller,
Its nice to see your item listed on www.mudah.my as i will be interested in its immediate purchase for a fellow pastor who is on a missionary work abroad so as to enhance proper communication with him.i will also like to know the present condition of the phone if its still clean,working perfectly,and can be presented as gift.....if all this qualities are guaranteed,then i will pay the scheduled RM300...i will also pay the shipping charges down to the destination...
Kindly get back to me soonest so that we can discuss better better concerning the payment.
Thanks and God bless you abundantly.
Pastor Chris Williams from Texas USA
Reading my first buyer email was the happiest moment to me for it gave me glimpse of hope to be able to buy another new hand-phone again after selling the Moto out. I eagerly replied this;
From: Onn Mandadi (onn_buy@hotmail.com)
Subject: RE: Motorola Mint A1200 2 days used 2nd hand
To: pastorchriswilly@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, February 12, 2010, 6:42 AM
Shalom pastor.
It is good to know that someone is interested in this item.
I am happy to let you know that this item is in excellent condition, as I only used this item for 2 days due to some gadgets intellectual problems.
As stated in my ad, I would like to confirm that this item has no scratches, clean and well function, thus make it appropriate as a gift.
About the payment, this is my first item selling on-line. As far as I'm concern, Bank Transfer is the only payment method I know, and like any other seller, item will be sent out only after the full payment is received. Price is fixed at RM300 as you know.
About the shipping, I consider the shipping cost FOC if item is to be sent out within Malaysia. If the shipping address is out of Malaysia, I will have to include the shipping cost together with the price in your payment. For both international and local shipping, I will use Skynet courier service.
For my own reference, I would like you to first e-mail me the receiver's name, address and contact numbers.
Hope to hear from you soon and thank you again for your interest in this item.
Have a blessed day.
He continue to excite me with his instant reply!
From: Chris Williams (pastorchriswilly@yahoo.com)
Subject: RE: Motorola Mint A1200 2 days used 2nd hand
To: onn_buy@hotmail.com
Date: Friday, 12 Feb, 2010 6: 02 PM
Hello seller,
I appreciate the swift response.....i will like you to verify the shipping cost to the scheduled address first so as for me to know the total cost of the item and shipping and to get prepared for the payment.below is the shipping address,
Address:No17,University road Agbowo UI
City:Ibadan
State:Oyo state
Zip postal code:23402
Country:Nigeria
Tell:+2348075334968
For the payment,i will be making that up through bank transfer.all you need to do is to get me the following details of the account which you will like me to pay the money,
Account holder's name:
Bank name and Location:
Account number:
Bank Swift code:
I promise to proceed with the payment once i receive the total amount to be paid plus shipping.pls don;t forget to include the bank details in your reply.
Its nice doing business with you
i hope to read back from you soonest.
Thanks@Pastor Chris willliams.
At this point, I was really excited to sell out this item. The only thing that made me stuck here was "Bank Swift Code". What is a Bank Swift Code? I did some research on the internet and found out that Bank Swift Code is a Bank Identifier Code a.k.a (BIC) use to identify your bank to enable international Money Transaction directly into your account. Just as soon *overnight* as I get the information needed to provide this buyer my details, I logged into my inbox and get this from him.
From: Chris Williams (pastorchriswilly@yahoo.com)
Subject: RE: Motorola Mint A1200 2 days used 2nd hand
To: onn_buy@hotmail.com
Date: Saturday, 13 Feb, 2010 1: 12 PM
Hello seller,
I am the buyer interested in your camera.kindly let me know if you have sold it because am still expecting to read from you....once again,get me the total cost and the requirements to get your Bank account credited.please indicate asap so that i can know what next to do.
Nice doing business with you
Pastor Chris Williams
From his single mistake here *the word camera which could be consider a typo for the un-paranoid people*, I began to feel a little fishy about this. I mean, I am an active on-line shoppers and I have never made such silly mistake or even a typo when it comes to ordering an item that I really intend to buy. I mean, how could you mistake a hand-phone to a camera when the ad clearly states that its a phone? So I begin analyzing his previous emails.
First clue, pastor. So I type in "Ibadan Nigeria Church" and googled. I found this list of Ibadan churches and convents. All of these listed churches have at least an Apostles name to begin with but the address he gave me was only street address.
Second clue, "enhance proper communication" from the first email. To me, this phrase clearly tells people that you need a phone. NOT a camera. You wouldn't be that stupid to tell people that you need a drink when you're actually hungry. Would you? So, this common sense reject the last email mistake as typo. It was either he's lying to many sellers at one time enough to get him confuse on the items, or he was in an honest rush. I mean, he's a pastor right~? LOL. Then again, if you are really in a rush to give someone a gift, why would you choose a store which is half way across the earth away from you instead of your friend's country local store? Nigeria has their own online store like http://www.bidnigeria.com/ and I'm sure there are some more.
It really bothers me knowing that my first customer is a scammer, but I need to know the truth and it's better knowing it before you get victimized. So I gave another shot of googling by typing "23402 Nigeria" from the address he gave me and voila! OMG! The list of scams using the exact post code is in every list of the search result! It happened to hundreds of people already!
Basically what these Nigerian cons do are, they show their interest in your item and offer a high price to gain your interest into selling it to them. When you're trap, they will give you their address and request for your bank details. Using their IT knowledge, they build a so-called official bank website and send you the legal payment notification from the fake website. They will then tell you that you will have to send the item ASAP for the payment proof has been sent even though you haven't receive the payment yet *international money transfers require at least 2 weeks of working days to legally approve the transaction and bank it into your account following the recent currency*. If you are smart enough, you will refuse to post the item until you see the real money in your account, but most people get panicked and quickly post the item out before the real money comes in. Next thing you realize is the money isn't gonna come but the item has already been sent out. If you are determined enough to claim your item, the scammers will simply tell you that your item has been blocked at the Custom service thus give them good reason to not be able to post the item back to you. After all, what else can you do? They're in Nigeria and you're in Malaysia. You got PUNKED!!! LOL!
So, I got lucky to be able to find out before being victimized but what if I wasn't careful enough? You, if you are intend to sell something online, make sure you are not dealing with any Nigerian online shoppers! When I say don't, I meant NEVER! These so-called online shoppers will scam you when they get the chance. Not all Nigerians are bad, only those scammers who are living in the 23402 area in Oyo State of Nigeria.
By the way, I sent my last email to "Pastor William" couple hours ago telling him that I have found another convincing buyer who can pay me in cash. Last thing I said to him, "May God bless and forgive you in every bad things you do".
I was going to trade it at stores but since I had no plan of going out for a new hand-phone hunting, I decided to try online selling *plan A*, and then go trade it at stores if the online selling doesn't work *plan B*. Based on my on-line shopping experiences, I chosed www.mudah.my as my first site to try selling my Moto on-line. When everything was approved, Mudah.my finally allow me to place my ad on the site. Here's my Advertisement
Within few hours of waiting, I get my first email from this person who claimed to be a pastor from Texas. Here is the content of his first email.
From: Chris Williams (pastorchriswilly@yahoo.com)
Subject: Motorola Mint A1200 2 days used 2nd hand
To: onn_buy@hotmail.com
Date: Friday, 12 Feb, 2010 9: 39 AM
Hello seller,
Its nice to see your item listed on www.mudah.my as i will be interested in its immediate purchase for a fellow pastor who is on a missionary work abroad so as to enhance proper communication with him.i will also like to know the present condition of the phone if its still clean,working perfectly,and can be presented as gift.....if all this qualities are guaranteed,then i will pay the scheduled RM300...i will also pay the shipping charges down to the destination...
Kindly get back to me soonest so that we can discuss better better concerning the payment.
Thanks and God bless you abundantly.
Pastor Chris Williams from Texas USA
Reading my first buyer email was the happiest moment to me for it gave me glimpse of hope to be able to buy another new hand-phone again after selling the Moto out. I eagerly replied this;
From: Onn Mandadi (onn_buy@hotmail.com)
Subject: RE: Motorola Mint A1200 2 days used 2nd hand
To: pastorchriswilly@yahoo.com
Date: Friday, February 12, 2010, 6:42 AM
Shalom pastor.
It is good to know that someone is interested in this item.
I am happy to let you know that this item is in excellent condition, as I only used this item for 2 days due to some gadgets intellectual problems.
As stated in my ad, I would like to confirm that this item has no scratches, clean and well function, thus make it appropriate as a gift.
About the payment, this is my first item selling on-line. As far as I'm concern, Bank Transfer is the only payment method I know, and like any other seller, item will be sent out only after the full payment is received. Price is fixed at RM300 as you know.
About the shipping, I consider the shipping cost FOC if item is to be sent out within Malaysia. If the shipping address is out of Malaysia, I will have to include the shipping cost together with the price in your payment. For both international and local shipping, I will use Skynet courier service.
For my own reference, I would like you to first e-mail me the receiver's name, address and contact numbers.
Hope to hear from you soon and thank you again for your interest in this item.
Have a blessed day.
He continue to excite me with his instant reply!
From: Chris Williams (pastorchriswilly@yahoo.com)
Subject: RE: Motorola Mint A1200 2 days used 2nd hand
To: onn_buy@hotmail.com
Date: Friday, 12 Feb, 2010 6: 02 PM
Hello seller,
I appreciate the swift response.....i will like you to verify the shipping cost to the scheduled address first so as for me to know the total cost of the item and shipping and to get prepared for the payment.below is the shipping address,
Address:No17,University road Agbowo UI
City:Ibadan
State:Oyo state
Zip postal code:23402
Country:Nigeria
Tell:+2348075334968
For the payment,i will be making that up through bank transfer.all you need to do is to get me the following details of the account which you will like me to pay the money,
Account holder's name:
Bank name and Location:
Account number:
Bank Swift code:
I promise to proceed with the payment once i receive the total amount to be paid plus shipping.pls don;t forget to include the bank details in your reply.
Its nice doing business with you
i hope to read back from you soonest.
Thanks@Pastor Chris willliams.
At this point, I was really excited to sell out this item. The only thing that made me stuck here was "Bank Swift Code". What is a Bank Swift Code? I did some research on the internet and found out that Bank Swift Code is a Bank Identifier Code a.k.a (BIC) use to identify your bank to enable international Money Transaction directly into your account. Just as soon *overnight* as I get the information needed to provide this buyer my details, I logged into my inbox and get this from him.
From: Chris Williams (pastorchriswilly@yahoo.com)
Subject: RE: Motorola Mint A1200 2 days used 2nd hand
To: onn_buy@hotmail.com
Date: Saturday, 13 Feb, 2010 1: 12 PM
Hello seller,
I am the buyer interested in your camera.kindly let me know if you have sold it because am still expecting to read from you....once again,get me the total cost and the requirements to get your Bank account credited.please indicate asap so that i can know what next to do.
Nice doing business with you
Pastor Chris Williams
From his single mistake here *the word camera which could be consider a typo for the un-paranoid people*, I began to feel a little fishy about this. I mean, I am an active on-line shoppers and I have never made such silly mistake or even a typo when it comes to ordering an item that I really intend to buy. I mean, how could you mistake a hand-phone to a camera when the ad clearly states that its a phone? So I begin analyzing his previous emails.
First clue, pastor. So I type in "Ibadan Nigeria Church" and googled. I found this list of Ibadan churches and convents. All of these listed churches have at least an Apostles name to begin with but the address he gave me was only street address.
Second clue, "enhance proper communication" from the first email. To me, this phrase clearly tells people that you need a phone. NOT a camera. You wouldn't be that stupid to tell people that you need a drink when you're actually hungry. Would you? So, this common sense reject the last email mistake as typo. It was either he's lying to many sellers at one time enough to get him confuse on the items, or he was in an honest rush. I mean, he's a pastor right~? LOL. Then again, if you are really in a rush to give someone a gift, why would you choose a store which is half way across the earth away from you instead of your friend's country local store? Nigeria has their own online store like http://www.bidnigeria.com/ and I'm sure there are some more.
It really bothers me knowing that my first customer is a scammer, but I need to know the truth and it's better knowing it before you get victimized. So I gave another shot of googling by typing "23402 Nigeria" from the address he gave me and voila! OMG! The list of scams using the exact post code is in every list of the search result! It happened to hundreds of people already!
Basically what these Nigerian cons do are, they show their interest in your item and offer a high price to gain your interest into selling it to them. When you're trap, they will give you their address and request for your bank details. Using their IT knowledge, they build a so-called official bank website and send you the legal payment notification from the fake website. They will then tell you that you will have to send the item ASAP for the payment proof has been sent even though you haven't receive the payment yet *international money transfers require at least 2 weeks of working days to legally approve the transaction and bank it into your account following the recent currency*. If you are smart enough, you will refuse to post the item until you see the real money in your account, but most people get panicked and quickly post the item out before the real money comes in. Next thing you realize is the money isn't gonna come but the item has already been sent out. If you are determined enough to claim your item, the scammers will simply tell you that your item has been blocked at the Custom service thus give them good reason to not be able to post the item back to you. After all, what else can you do? They're in Nigeria and you're in Malaysia. You got PUNKED!!! LOL!
So, I got lucky to be able to find out before being victimized but what if I wasn't careful enough? You, if you are intend to sell something online, make sure you are not dealing with any Nigerian online shoppers! When I say don't, I meant NEVER! These so-called online shoppers will scam you when they get the chance. Not all Nigerians are bad, only those scammers who are living in the 23402 area in Oyo State of Nigeria.
By the way, I sent my last email to "Pastor William" couple hours ago telling him that I have found another convincing buyer who can pay me in cash. Last thing I said to him, "May God bless and forgive you in every bad things you do".
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