Scam? I'm puzzled by this one...

[Negative]

I got two e-mails today (I've gotten similar ones in the past, but never paid attention to them):

From a Yahoo account

Hello
i will like to know if you have Seagate 80 GB Barracuda 7200RPM SATA in stock ,and i will like to order for 100 pieces ,and i will also be paying with my credit card so kindly get back to me asap if you do have it in stock.
Continetal Maketting Associate

I replied back, telling him that if he'd give me $8,900, I'd be more than happy to ship them to him in a matter of days.

Then I got another e-mail:

From another Yahoo account

My name is Margarita Henandez,Please i will like to
know if you have the following products in store
SEAGATE BARRACUDA 7200.7 80GB HARD DRIVE ATA/100
8.5MS 7200 OEM
SEAGATE BARRACUDA 80GB ATA 2MB 7200.7 [ST380011A ]
or you can kindly list the ones you have in stock.if
you dont have the ones i mentioned so get back to me
with the price of this items as we are ordering for
(100 pieces) of this items to Indiana, Terre
Haute.i want to know the total cost of this items
plus the shipping and handling.
Please kindly get back to me as soon as possible as
i will be online waiting for your fast responce of
this qoutes.

Thanks

Regard
Margarita Henandez
2211 cleveland ave
*********
IN. USA
*********
(***) **** ****

I replied back with the same answer: get me $8,900 and I'll ship them out asap...

Then I got a reply back from yet another Yahoo account:

Hello *******
thanks for getting back to me and i so much appreciate it ,well as for the price there is no problem ,so pls kindly get back to me with total cost plus shipping within the US.and also advice if i can forward in my Credit Card Information so that it can be charge cause i want product ship immediately.
thanks hope to hear from you soon.

This has scam written all over it, but I don't get it... what's the deal? Are they hoping I'm going to send them the HDD's before I have my money - indicated by the "I want product ship immediately (yeah right)? Or is there something else wrong... are they using stolen CC's? Anyone?

I don't take credit cards (too costly) - kinda sucks, because I'd love to know if he can get me my $8,900 right away - so should I just give him my bank account info - nothing much he can do with that, I'd think...

[;TT]

Setup a paypall account and have him wire you the money... or reply that you'll have to go through paypal and demand payment first. See where it takes you, but don't hand out your bank account information, very easy to abuse that.

[whatthe]

We used to get that all the time where I worked before. I'm sure the name on the card isn't the name of the person contacting you. Ask if they want to give you a money order or certified cheque and if they go that far double check with the bank. They'd have to be pretty ballsy to go that far.

[Negative]

I gave him my PayPal info... can't wait for his reply (if any)...

[jm459]

Good spelling is obviously not a requirement of a "Continetal Maketting Associate"

[Negative]

His reply to my PayPal request

Hello *******
thanks for the mail ,well i would have love to make the payment thru paypal but have been scammed of $10.000 .am sorry that it can,t be possible if you really want to sell this product to me kindly get back to me asap with aggrement with my mode of payment .thanks

Doh... Funny how he mentions being scammed

[MrLinus]

Ask them to send the credit card info... then get the card checked by Visa to see if it's legit.

[Negative]

Sent the e-mail... How do I have the card verified? Just call Visa and ask them?

[MrLinus]

PayPal would be the best:

Premier Accounts include all the benefits of a Personal account PLUS the following premium features:

* Accept credit card payments
* Accept payments on your own website or personal homepage
* Set up your own PayPal Shopping Cart
* Exclusive customer service hotline 7 days a week
* Identify yourself as a Premier Account in your reputation pop-up box, visible to anyone paying you
* Be featured in PayPal Shops, where over 56 million PayPal customers will be able to make instant online purchases from your website!

Otherwise, I would find out the number for the security division of Visa, explain that you think someone is scamming you with a potentially stolen CC# and could they verify that the # is valid.

[edit]

You know, I wouldn't be surprised if they say that they want to pay by cheque, offer you a cheque for more than the value of the drives and ask you to send back the "difference".

[Und3ertak3r]

We get people asking for funny qty's of items on a regular basis.
Most don't reply when we send them our standard "Mail Order CreditCard debit Form" it asks for information including Drivers licence number, a personal contact number, and a residential address (couriers require a senders and recievers Phone number), oh and Business registration number (in Aus they also need a ABN -Australian Business Number- this is required by Tax law in all transactions)..

You could just refer the scammers to FBI or similar.. ???

cheers

edit/ what stops the remaining scammers: our delivery requirement: the person taking delivery MUST provide proof of Idenity, ie drivers licence.
0 fraudulent purchases in 2.5 years, thousands of succesful deliveries..