Maybe someone already said this in a previous post....I didn't read them all.....isn't making a change to a Passport some kind of major federal felony? Maybe this should be shared with the FBI....granted it was only an image on the internet but I think it would be treated as something like illegal use of a forged passport.....just a thought. Great work on your part...the post was very informative......and entertaining in a sick kind of way NF4A
Excellent job, Fred, ~except~ you should not have sent the final email. Had you just said, "I'm sorry we could not make an arrangement for us to meet, but if you hear of another, similar radio, please let me know", you might have eventually nailed his hide. Have you researched the issue of a face-to-face meeting at which you can call upon local law enforcement or the FBI? Would they help you? That said, your effort was quite excellent and the progress of the emails in keeping the chump on the line was admirable. And, the band played on...
A worthwhile and sorry tale told. ID document forgery is a very serious crime, of course, mindful of the use to which such fake documents have previously been put. I hope the authorities' 'interest' translates into 'enforcement', though I won't hold my breath. Whilst legislation is not always the most effective means to an end, it is nevertheless easy to make false representation as a government-licensed ham a criminal offence with meaningful punishment behind it. No doubt false representation as a general concept is already unlawful in most nations. But it should be reinforced when some additional credibility in the form of a licence and callsign is handed out by government, and then abused by someone else. Maybe the membership of QRZ could be given an option box to tick - just like the QSLing options, for example, that is by default a 'No, I don't sell ham items on QRZ.com', but which may be changed by opt-in to 'Yes, I do sell ham items online.' Not perfect, but a useful piece of information that others can easily check.
Fred maybe we should limit all classifieds to subscribers only. This would eliminate this foolishness....
I get these types of scams every time I post stuff on Craigslist. I love playing along, but when I provide a name, address and phone number, I always send the address and phone number of the local FBI field office as well as the name of the special agent in charge. It's interesting to see how these people adapt their scams over time. Fred, thanks for the great post, it was interesting. Since I've been a member of QRZ, I won't even entertain a deal unless the sell uses PayPal for payment. 73, Leo - N3AEG
Probably but I think the real crime is modifying the physical passport. I'm not sure if a bad Photoshop job on an image really counts as a crime.
She may have been scammed into opening the account on her own accord...she may think she is an "employee" of the scammer... This post is in the wrong section of the forum, I figured he setup Stolen Radios, Scams and Rip-Offs section to be moderated by post so personal information is not spread Posting account information can cause this person to be further victimized Many folks are assuming that this account is the result of a stolen identity, this may be the result of someone else being a victim, the solution was NOT TO POST NAME and ACCOUNT INFORMATION and inform the bank I hope Fred decides to remove the account details; he may be causing this woman to be further victimized.
Well Done, Fred. It's hard to imagine how these novice hackers actually get away with this stuff. Gotta run, I just found out a distant relative is a Nigerian prince and has money to send me...
I'm just going to call the bank myself, I think it was extremely irresponsible to post the account information. If you've never dealt with scams or scammers, then you should know that one must take due diligence and care to not harm innocent people (or those of whom you're uncertain of their criminal involvement). In this case, the account holder could be totally uninvolved; and posting her account information for the World Wide Web is careless, to say the least, could be negligent at worst; and contributory to other crimes by obvious nature of the information. Law-abiding hams are not the only persons with access to this forum. It's also possible you posted this woman's home address, this is shocking! And hams are applauding the effort! SHAME! EDIT: I just informed the bank, and they thanked me for informing them; and stated that nobody had called to contact them.
Thanks so very much for your fine efforts! BTW, a search for the name of the female turns up an "adult films" actress. Coincidence? Al AB1QX
Fred; Thank you for this most interesting news report. It read like a mystery novel. I loved how you tested each response while tempting the scammer to give up or give more information. Very,VERY good. Not only does this artical point out the progress of a ham radio scam, but shows the basic pattern of all scams. Analyzing the the banter it looks like this may be a team of scammers. The unknown language translation to English gets worse as the scam goes on. The leader of the group may move on to more fertile propositions and hand this off to a second or third when the going gets tougher. This group may also be involed in multiple scams at the same time. Keep up the good work Fred. I hope to see you at Shelby N.C., Aug. 30th. Got a QRZ sticker from you at Shelby and proudly put it on my van. Jim Yelton WD4CMC
Great article. Bravo. As the old sayings go, "Caveat emptor" and "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." I investigated things like this for years; people being taken by scammers. Generally but not always, it usually involved someone trying to get something they knew was just too good to be true. My only advice is to always be aware of what you are doing. These guys come up with new ways to scam people all the time so examine each transaction carefully. One of my favorite experiences involved selling an item on Craigslist. I rec'd a reply from a potential "buyer" who was going out of the country soon but was going to send me a "Cashier's Check" for the amount plus about $50. Because he was in a hurry, if I agreed to the deal, he would have his "agent" come by with the cashier's check and pick up the item and I could keep the difference for my trouble. I just told him to take his scam and put it where the sun don't shine. Just a reminder that cashier's checks, money orders, currency, and just about any other written document can be forged easily nowadays with computers/laser printers, etc.
Unless I missed it, I dont think anyone else mentioned this. It's not the first time that we've seen that name. Click here and scroll down. http://www.eham.net/ehamforum/smf/index.php?topic=93120.0 That's from November last year at a different bank.
Good post for those not hip to the interwebs. I didn't read all the comments, so not sure if the following has or has not been mentioned. But, there are some great stories out there of the ole "scambaiting Nigerian 419 Scam". Google that for some entertainment in this arena. Sad to see good honest folks get taken on these kinds of deals. Be safe out there! 73
