OT: Final Four Scam, and my sad story
So, I was on here bragging about great seats that I got for a good price the other day.
Found out yesterday I was scammed.
Long story short, it was a phishing scam started on CraigsList. They claimed to be a travel agency in Canada with tickets to the Saturday games that were part of a larger travel package, but the couple who bought the package could not do the trip, and they were looking to get rid of the tickets and were taking offers. I jumped on it and offered money, and they responded. They had me set up accounts with Flash Seats and a shipping company called Parcels Please. I asked twice about PayPal, but they said they did not trust PayPal, as they had bad experience before and they knew someone that worked for a company (Parcels Please) that can do the same thing, and we could use that. I was to send money via Western Union to Parcels Please and they would hold on to the cash until I received the tickets through Flash Seats. Once I received the tickets through Flash Seats, I was supposed to log into Parcels Please and okay the money transfer to the seller.
Well, I found out yesterday that they had actually CLONED the Parcels Please website and had my "login" information for the site. So I sent money to the site, and they took it, leaving no traces.
Parcels Please got wind of this yesterday and posted a note saying their site was being used by a scam based out of Canada dealing with sports tickets. They said they are not liable since their site was cloned, and no money was every actually delivered to their site.
My bank says its my fault since its a debit transaction. Western Union gave me the heave-ho. The police basically scoffed at filing a police report.
My only hope is that my friend who investigates wire fraud can come up with something based on the information I was able to provide him. But I am pretty sure I will never see that 500 bucks again, and these assholes will get off scott free.
Can't tell if I am more mad about losing the money, more sad about not being able to go see the games live, or more embarrassed that I did not connect the dots and Final Four Fever overcame me and was duped.
That's my "cool/shitty story, bro" for the day.
Go Blue....and beware.
Craigslist is fine.....if you meet face to face and swap tickets for cash. I personally would never trust anyone if I wasn't physically swapping money and tickets. (Even though I have had some very good experiences selling tickets and people sending money, which is somewhat surprising)
I've even found housing on Craigslist. But you should ALWAYS:
- Meet face to face.
- Ensure that the seller (landlord) is legitimate.
- Make sure there isn't a real estate sign in the front yard.
I totally saw someone take pictures from the realtor's website and put them in a phony Craigslist Ad. But this failed the simple test: If it seems too good to be true...it probably is. (The house was a 4BR 2500 sq. ft. house with a manicured lawn in a swanky neighborhood being rented for $600/month).
View Source, modify a few things.
Phishing sites aren't effective if you type in the known url yourself and check for signature in the url bar. Completely replacing a fully functioning site with a phishing site at the same URL is a different animal entirely.
NEVER EVER respond to anything that involves Western Union!!! That is like Internet Safety 101. I am sorry that you had to learn that the hard way, but seriously, Western Union + Debit is a combination that no one should be using. Youn also need to upgrade you browser as most browsers today warn you about clone sites.
Red flags in general...
1. Western Union
2. Any form of wire transfers
3. Can't accept normal payments/use normal sites (PayPal, StubHub, etc.)
4. Sends you check for wrong amount and has a plan for you to fix it. Normal people tear up a first check when they make an error -- not send it on with a set of instructions
5. Ask for a refund before their original check clears. Make sure to check with your bank as it may actually take a long time for a check to clear (way longer than you'd think)
6. Doing business with people with whom you are unfamiliar, will never see or hear from again, or have no way of reporting to the authorities
It sounds somewhat narrow-minded, but there is something to be said for only dealing with companies you trust and that have excellent customer service.
The other red flag was the "too good to be true" nature of the offer. Scammers, both internet and traditional con men (who have burned me in the past), appeal to either the prospective victim's greed or altruism. THe really good ones appeal to both, eg,victim is providing some sort of help to someone in need (person stranded without money), but will come out ahead and benefit personally in the end.
Right at that point I knew I was being scammed so I severed contact with the guy. Basically now I never use Craigslist unless I know I will meet face-to-face with the guy. A good rule of thumb is to only communicate with people on Craigslist who are willing to meet face-to-face and pay in cash. Any mention of Western Union or money wires, and stop immediately.
Sorry about your situation, though. You're fortunately not the only one who got scammed out of trying to go to the games.
Wow. That sucks and I'm sorry about that. It's pathetic how some people stoop to such appalling levels to make an unearned dime off of someone.
That being said, really? Craigslist, Western Union, Canada, and their unwillingness to compromise on any step in this transaction? No one is ever deserving of having something remotelylike this happening to them, but this transaction had scam written all over it From the get go.
I hope those guys get nabbed and get what they deserve, and I hope this serves as a warning for people to be smart in any situation like this they may find themselves in.
Sorry to hear about this man, really awful story. Best of luck trying to find the scumbags that did this
Anyone looking for payment by Western Union rather than paypal it is best to run as far and as fast as you can from it.
but thank you for sharing and thanks to everyone else for sharing their insight into the problem. I found this post very educational and will be on the look out and I am not naive in any way whatsoever.
I've almost got pulled into 2 scams, myself. Someone mails you a postcard talking about something to sell you and then they start asking for personal information and wanting you to pay with a credit card over the phone. I had already given a ton of information without even thinking and then as I started to read off my credit card #, I got this weird feeling in my gut. I then simply said, "On 2nd thought, I don't want your book. Never contact me again and delete my information from your server." The person on the other side didn't even try to talk me out of it. I got a simple, "OK" and then they hung up. They knew I had wised up at the last second. The thought that went through my head was, "Wait! I'm going to give my credit card # to this complete stranger that contacted me." Beware of deals where they contact you. If you go out and seek something, it's one thing, but if they contact you with a deal...watch out
The 2nd one was when this company left an empty vial on my mailbox offerring a free water testing. I knew my water wasn't that great, so thought, "hey what a wonderful oppurtunity." I filled up the vial and put it back on the side of my mailbox just like the card said to do. A couple of days later, I got a call telling me how horrible my water was and that hey wanted to send a guy out. I said, "OK" and this guy comes out and tests my water again and wants to sell me this filtration system. As soon as he asked me for my credit card information, i started having this weird feeling. People need to trust this weird feeling. It is your brain telling you that something is wrong.
I picked up his card and walked over to my desktop and typed his company into Google. The entire first page was filled with entries of scams related to this company. I calmly picked up my phone, took a pic of the guy, and told him to get out. When I took the pic of him, he had this look of horror on his face. Then he packed up his stuff and left. I never contacted the authorities about it
The first one with the book, i put in google, too and it came back with scam entries. Thing about a lot of scams, they have already got some other people and they've talked about it on the internet and it will show up on google. Before making some purchase like that, it's good to google it.
Don't eat anythign bigger than your head
If it seems to good to be true, probably is. Or, put another way, Kate Upton's not really into you.
They are probably blocking your email (or abandoned that address) but I'd probably send one more than said my uncle is an FBI agent and even though it isn't normally in the agency's purview, he is one pissed off guy. Tell them that he has personally pledged to use his considerable resources and connections to track them down and make sure they face criminal charges. So, like, you scumbags better watch your backs.
Who cares if you don't have an uncle, maybe you can disturb their sleep a little.