Conning a Con Man
 

It all started after a buddy of mine sold a big 'ol tesla coil on eBay.  Some guy sends me an email trying to sell me the same item.  Not smart on his part.

Very fun to Jerk this guy around!
 
Message from eBay Member carbunel40


Dear eBay member,
Our eBay seller made you a second chance offer.
You expressed interest in an item TESLA COIL - 6FEET TALL- COMPLETE - 2 Million Volts by bidding,however the
auction has ended with another member as the high bidder. In compliance with eBay policy,the seller of that item is making this Second Chance Offer to you at your bid price
US $1,050.00.The seller has issued this Second Chance Offer because either the
winning bidder was unable to complete the transaction. If you accept this
offer, you will be able to exchange Feedback with the seller and will be
eligible for eBay services associated with a transaction, such as fraud
protection.To purchase this item contact the
seller at: carbunel40@cs.com
eBay Inc.


===================================================

This request is related to item # 7615236995.

 http://www.ebay.com.sg/viItem?ItemId=7615236995

===================================================


Marketplace Safety Tips

Never respond to an unsolicited email that includes incentives to buy or sell an item off the eBay Marketplace. If you get such an email, please report it to eBay at http://www.ebay.com.sg/helpTSForm.

Never pay for your eBay item through instant cash transfer services such as Western Union or MoneyGram - such services offer Internet shoppers no protection against fraud.


===================================================


Note: Immediately contact Rules & Safety http://www.ebay.com.sg/help?page=helpPolicies if one of eBay's rules were violated, such as:

- Your contact information was used for purposes unrelated to eBay business, published online or offline, or was used for the purposes of harassment.

- You received contact information which you believe to be erroneous.

Thank you for using eBay!

 http://www.ebay.com.sg/
 

There are all sorts of things wrong with this e-mail, including links from Singapore and poor english.  The fact that it came from a private party with a CompuServe return address didn't help him either.  Notice that the e-mail specifically warns against "instant cash transfer services such as "Western Union"  This is important later.

I decide to bait him and send the message below:
 
Hello,

Sorry your auction didn't go as planned. I am still very interested. Are you firm on the $1050 price or is there room for negotiation?

Thanks,

Charles.
 

I get the following reply from him.  He's asking for some personal info so that he can "Forward" the information to eBay.  Gosh, I'm so excited!
 
Hi, Thank you for your e-mail! You are one of the bidders who bid on my auction. I have begun this second chance offer because the winner of my auction did`T respond to my emails. There is a lot of bidders who bid on the auction for fun and I hope you are serious and we can make a clear deal. Now for the start, I will explain you some steps for finish this transaction. You can see in the rules that the price is your last bid! So, if you are really interested, now all you have to do is to send me exactly those information's:

e-Bay ID:
First name:
Last name:
Address: City/State:
Country: Zip:
Total amount: Item # :

I need the details exactly like I have requested , because I have to forward the email to e-Bay. In short time, they will contact you with an Invoice in order to complete this transaction! I am dealing only thru e-Bay!!! The price including the shipping costs. Thanks
 

So I reply to him with a bunch of made up "information's", and throw in that I'm stupid and really think we are doing the exchange through eBay.
 
Hello,

I'm glad we are doing this through eBay. Sometimes I get a little scared doing stuff online.

e-Bay ID: cesibley
First name: Charles
Last name: Sibley
Address: 4420 8TH AVE
City/State: Los Angeles, CA
Country: USA
Zip: 90043
Total amount: $1050
Item # : 7615236995

Look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,

Charles
 

So I get an e-mail from "eBay", actually an e-mail from some e-mail address "ebay@purchaseplanprotection.com".  Sure looks official.  I don't understand why eBay, after warning me about "Western Union" is now telling me to use them.
 
Second Chance Offer -- Buy The Item You Recently Bid OnPer your request, we have verified all the details of this transaction. We concluded that they are accurate. Please follow our instructions to complete the transaction safely.

eBay Purchase Protection Program - Transaction No. 7615236995
eBay Protection Program Transaction.

The seller is David RangerI
tem: TESLA COIL - 6FEET TALL- COMPLETE - 2 Million Volts

David Ranger is the Seller.eBay accepted the transaction and will offer purchase protection to the buyer.Charles Sibley is the Buyer.

TESLA COIL - 6FEET TALL- COMPLETE - 2 Million VoltsYour Price : US $1,050.00Shipping :
US $00.00 Insurance :
US $00.00 Total :
US $1,050.00

Delivery Information:
First Name: Charles
Last Name: Sibley
Street: 4420 8TH Ave
City: Los Angeles
State/Zip: CA 90043
Country: United States

Seller Verified Details:
First Name: David
Last Name: Ranger
Street: 552 Romford Road
City: London
Zip code: E12 6BU
Country: United Kingdom

How to make payment :
Our customer ( David Ranger ) required the payment to be done through Western Union money transfer service.
1. Locate the nearest Western Union Office;
2. Make the payment with cash using the above seller verified details ( Do NOT use phone or online payment. Go to nearest Western Union Office and pay with cash. It is the most indicated way ). Click here to locate the nearest Western Union Office in your area;
3. E-mail us ( ebay@purchaseprotectioncenter.com ) the following details from the payment receipt:
- MTCN - 10 digits number from the payment receipt;
- Sender Name and Address;
- Receiver Name;
- Amount;

Once we receive the payment confirmation, we will instruct the seller to start the shipping process. We will hold the payment details until you send us your confirmation that you are satisfied with the product you received. As soon as we receive your confirmation we will release the payment details to the seller.

If you are not familiarized with the Western Union money transfer services please visit: www.westernunion.com. If you want to locate the nearest Western Union Office in your area please click here. You have to pay with cash at any Western Union Office.


I also get a personal message from him:
 
Hi,

I started the transaction with eBay. Let me know if they contacted you.

Thanks

So I throw him a bone and make him think he won:
 
Yes, I got it.

I will go to Western Union at Lunch to do the transfer.

Thanks,

Charles.

But not so fast, after lunch I send him this.  I thought I'd needle him a little because the original auction said cashiers checks were acceptable.
 
David,

I went by Western Union today and they want $15 to wire the money. That's outrageous!

The auction terms said that you accept cashier's checks, and I get those at my bank for free. So I went ahead and cut a check for you. I will send on my way home tonight. Please confirm your mailing address.

First Name: David
Last Name: Ranger
Street: 552 Romford Road
City: London
Zip code: E12 6BU
Country: United Kingdom

Thanks,

Charles.

Let him squirm a little...
 
Hi,

The only way for the moment to receive the money here is Western Union. Please send me the money by Western Union and send me just $1000 and with the difference pay the Western Union fee. I wait your replay.

Thanks

Awww, he can't take checks.  Go figure.  Do you suppose that the address might be fake?  He seems like a nice guy, since he'll give me $50 off! I guess I'll give him the "replay" that he requested.  Do you suppose that English is not his first language?

Gosh, I can't wait for the 4th of July!
 
David,

I didn't realize that would be a problem. I'm glad I didn't already send the check. You offer to lower the purchase seems fair. I'll drop by the office again on my home. Will contact eBay once transfer is complete.

How long will it take to ship? I'd love to have it in time to set it up and impress my friends on the 4th of July.

Charles.

About this time my buddy looses his patience.  He goes to Western Union and sends the SOB $0.10 - Ten Cents!  Cost him $15 to send it, but it was pretty funny!

We sent the information to "eBay"
 
MTCN: 330-315-8944

Sender Name and Address:
Charles Sibley
4420 8th St.
Los Angeles, CA 90043

Receiver Name:
David Ranger

Amount:
$1000

After waiting almost 24 hours we finally hear back from him.
 

Ebay informed me that you sent me a low amount than $1000.What happen?
 

End Game!
 
That is correct jerk! I sent you $0.10 - ten CENTS! I hope you spent more than that on gas. It has been great fun screwing with you.

By the way, I have forwarded all of e-mails associated with your fraud to the appropriate legal authorities, and have notified all of the Internet organizations including eBay, CompuServe (your Internet service provider), Everyone.net (host of purchaseprotectioncenter.com) and networksolutions (your domain registrar).

We have logged the IP address of your computer (from your e-mail header) and have provided that information to AOL/CompuServe. They will determine exactly who you are and where you live.

We have also performed a WHOIS search and identified the owner of the domain purchaseprotectioncenter.com, and have his address and phone number. Are you David Webster of Newport Beach, or do you know him? Either way you are in trouble.

If I were you, I'd go to Western Union and collect that ten cents just in case you need to call your lawyer from jail.

It has sincerely been a pleasure - DORK!

Charles.

Last time we checked, the $0.10 was still unclaimed...