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#1
Old 03-26-2009, 05:29 PM
LessonLearned2 LessonLearned2 is offline
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Alibaba Mobile Phone Scam - AM ELECTRONICS
Hi everyone, I'm one of those people that sees an obvious scam email and laughs at how stupid it is. But I just got scammed. My gut feeling told me it was a scam, but the way in which it was done suckered me in. I'm sure no one wants to read my whole story so i'll just summarize what you need to know to know how to spot this scammer or others like him:

1. DO NOT USE ALIBABA:

I thought it was a reputable site (and it is), but it is full of scams and in my opinion it is best to stay away from all-together. The particular merchant I was scammed by went under the Alibaba merchant name AMERTRONICS OY (http://www.alibaba.com/member/fi105333337.html). He sells phones that are not yet released. Why did I believe this? Because he uses the credentials of a LEGITIMATE company called A.M. ELECTRONICS LIMITED, which assesses the quality and operation of electronic devices. Therefore, since this company tests products before they are released, it seemed reasonable. But I was still very skeptical, so the individual (going by the name Mark Denis) said he would send me 3 phones of my choice and I only had to pay for one; when I recieved the package and saw that the products were legitimate, I would then send the payment for the other phones. I figured, even if it was a scam, I had more to gain than to lose, so I sent payment for one phone. The next day I was contacted by the "CEO" 'Ahmed Khan' of the company who "fired" this employee for making this deal, and insisted that I pay in full before he sends the package. In retrospect I realize that this was the same person.

2. DO NOT TRUST ANY COMPANY THAT ONLY ASKS FOR WESTERN UNION OR MONEYGRAM:

These were the only payment methods that were accepted. I rationalized this by thinking that this individual did not want to jeopardize the company he works for by leaving a paper trail for products that should not be sold.

3. JUST BECAUSE THE COMPANY IS REAL, DOES NOT MEAN THIS PERSON IS PART OF THAT COMPANY:

This thief sent me a CERTIFICATE OF INCORPORATION with a registration number. The Company Name on the document said A.M. ELECTRONICS LIMITED with Registered No: SC183411. I cross-referenced this number with a UK business directory, and it checked out. In retrospect, I realize that this means nothing, as the company name and registration number are public information, and the scammer just used it to legitimize his operation.

4. INSIST ON A TRACKING NUMBER:

The tracking slip I received had the tracking number blotted out, and the individual insisted on payment before sending the number. Don't believe this will ever happen.

5. DO NOT ACCEPT SHIPMENTS FROM ANY "PRIVATE" COURIERS.

The scammer said that my package shipped via fedex was held up at customs (even though there was no reason that this would happen), and said he needed to ship it via a special private courier that can clear customs. This will of course cost you. Luckily I did some research and found that the "private courier" which he sent me a tracking number for is a known fake. The site is http://www.parcelcouriers-limited.com/ - THIS IS A FRAUDULENT SITE and this is the website that reported it: http://db.aa419.org/fakebanksview.php?key=34112. This site is hosted on many other domains, so if a private courier has the words "on Demand collection and Direct delivery" in the title, it is a mirror of this site. This courier claimed to be located at 79 KING STREET, LEIGH LANCASHIRE, WN7 4LJ UK. So any courier with this address is most probably a fraud as well.

6. IF YOU ARE SCAMMED, REPORT IT TO THE AUTHORITIES:

You should report the crime to the payment processor (i.e. Western Union), the local police department where the crime occured, and most importantly, the internet crime complaint center: www.ic3.gov

Minor details aside, that is all the important information. If anyone else has had something similar happen to them, please add it to the thread.

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#2
Old 03-26-2009, 09:50 PM
Blert Nirgal Blert Nirgal is offline
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Re: Alibaba Mobile Phone Scam - AM ELECTRONICS
Quote:
Originally Posted by LessonLearned2 View Post
4. INSIST ON A TRACKING NUMBER:

The tracking slip I received had the tracking number blotted out, and the individual insisted on payment before sending the number. Don't believe this will ever happen.
Just to belabor a couple of obvious things:

A shipped package that has been issued a tracking number will arrive eventually, regardless of whether one ever looks at the number or not. Therefore, there is exactly zero reason to withhold such a number as "leverage" against payment: Revealing the (legitimate) number would make the buyer more likely to pay, and withholding it would not exert more control over an already shipped package.

Therefore, the only reason to withhold such a number is because no such package has been shipped.

Quote:
Originally Posted by LessonLearned2 View Post
5. DO NOT ACCEPT SHIPMENTS FROM ANY "PRIVATE" COURIERS.

The scammer said that my package shipped via fedex was held up at customs (even though there was no reason that this would happen), and said he needed to ship it via a special private courier that can clear customs. This will of course cost you.
FedEx clears packages through various country's Customs every day. How would a secondary company gain the authority to intercept a package already in the custody of FedEx - regardless of whether it was idling in a Customs warehouse or not? Customs is not magically going to hand a FedEx package to someone else. They would hand it back to FedEx.

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