New Scam For All Of You To Be Aware Of

Numina

I'm not really that good at explaining, but I'll try anyway (even though I'm not sure where to start)

Basically the scam is that a person (family, whatever) will use a fake name and order items from a company that works on credit. The items are sent out to your home and delivered to your house, you're then approached by the person who ordered the stuff however many days later, the person asks for the packages that arrived to your house saying "oh they must have been delivered to the wrong house" and then you'll hand the packages over to the person, just thinking it was an honest mistake by the postman or something. Then the bill (it's on credit, remember) arrives to your house. Obviously you're not going to pay it. but what will then happen is that you'll approach the person, and they'll claim to know nothing about why you're getting a bill for the packages that were delivered to your house. you can't prove to the company that you did or didn't receive the packages, and you can't prove that the person you gave the packages to has them. so now you're left with a bill to pay without any proof that they weren't yours, because the bill thats arrives has your address on it.

hope that made sense.

Whats happened to us is that a few packages were sent to us from Littlewoods.com around 3 weeks ago and the packages were addressed to "Mr. Fijay" and to our address, i think around this week, My mam was approached by a black woman who she hasn't seen around here (this is where it's going to get complicated for me to explain this, because I don't know all the details) she approaches my mam, and is aware that packages have been delivered to our house and says it's a mistake and can she have them. My mam, having seen this scam reported years ago on BBC when the Nigerian population of England was rising greatly, simply said "No, they're going back to where to the post office". (it should probably be noted that there is a Nigerian family living across the road in a rented house, and another family living up the road possibly also in a rented house, and they do know each other.)

Now. My mam went to the post office to bring the packages back and explain what she thought was going on, the worker at the post office knew what was going on also, explaining to my mam that there are tons of Littlewoods packages that have been brought back, and that it's also happening across the country, in Cork and other places. Shes now gone to the Gardí to report it, because this is classed as fraud.

and thats all I can really write about it. Anybody else know about this? Hope it all made sense for all of you.

Another one?

There's a new scam every week. Can we just have a sticky where people can report scams? or just a seperate forum

aidan_walsh

Deleted User wrote: »

Another one?

There's a new scam every week. Can we just have a sticky where people can report scams? or just a seperate forum

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=419

humbert

I'm amazed there are places that will send you out goods without first being paid for them.

aidan_walsh

aidan_walsh wrote: »

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=419

Ooo.. controversial.

'Ol Jack Chance

that reminds me...the crown prince of nigeria never got back to me after i wired him the money

The most controversial thing about the SSF is that it's forum number 419.....is that a piss take or what?

Binomate

I might try this one out. Seems like it could work. Anyone know any worth while companies who work on credit like the OP described?

Senna

If an item like that was posted, would it not be registered and so, you would have to sign for it?
Would you sign for something that didn't have yours or your family name on it. I wouldn't.

If it doesn't have to be signed for, keep it and say it was never delivered.
Everyone wins, bar Littlewoods and Mr. Fijay, but who gives a fcuk about them.

Lands Leaving

What scum. You should have replaced her package with a bomb.

Zillah

lol, thats very clever. Should try this.

Wreck

'Ol wrote:

that reminds me...the crown prince of nigeria never got back to me after i wired him the money

Really? Pm me your bank details and i'll check it out for you. Will probably need your passport as well.

Goldenquick

Numina, thank you for the warning. I've never heard of that happening in this area yet, but at least now I'm forewarned.

I'm glad your mother had heard about it and knew what action to take.

'Ol Jack Chance

Wreck wrote: »

Really? Pm me your bank details and i'll check it out for you. Will probably need your passport as well.

no problem anything for my buddy the prince. he needs to take a lesson in spelling though!

Hagar

I hate it when people forward bogus warnings...but this one is real, and it's important. So please send this warning to everyone on your e-mail list:

If someone comes to your front door saying they are government nipple inspectors and ask you to take your bra off, DO NOT DO IT!! IT IS A SCAM; they only want to see your títs.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday.

I feel so stupid now.

copacetic

Hagar wrote: »

I hate it when people forward bogus warnings...but this one is real, and it's important. So please send this warning to everyone on your e-mail list:

If someone comes to your front door saying they are government nipple inspectors and ask you to take your bra off, DO NOT DO IT!! IT IS A SCAM; they only want to see your títs.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday.

I feel so stupid now.

the worst thing was when you let them trim yours because the were over regulation length. damn cold weather..

marcsignal

Numina wrote: »

the packages were addressed to "Mr. Fijay"

Well come on ?? that was your First sign it was something Dodgy right there, staring you right in the face

connundrum

Binomate wrote: »

I might try this one out. Seems like it could work. Anyone know any worth while companies who work on credit like the OP described?

Littlewoods?

biko

Hagar wrote: »

I hate it when people forward bogus warnings...but this one is real, and it's important. So please send this warning to everyone on your e-mail list:

If someone comes to your front door saying they are government nipple inspectors and ask you to take your bra off, DO NOT DO IT!! IT IS A SCAM; they only want to see your títs.

I wish I'd gotten this yesterday.

I feel so stupid now.

If only you would have posted this last week. I feel so stupid now I have really small tits...

Outer Bongolia

Hey! ...... That's not the wallet inspector.....

layke

I would have thought that to buy something on credit you need identification (passport and household bill), proof that you have been living here for more then one year.

Timothy Bryce

marcsignal wrote: »

Well come on ?? that was your First sign it was something Dodgy right there, staring you right in the face

Oooh Racist.

humanji

layke wrote: »

I would have thought that to buy something on credit you need identification (passport and household bill), proof that you have been living here for more then one year.

Yeah, you can't just tell people to forward you the bill.

gurramok

Beware of this new scam, very dangerous.

---

Scam Warning to customers at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre

A "heads up" for you and any of your friends who may be regular customers
at Liffey Valley Shopping Centre. Over the last month I became the victim of
a clever scam whilst out shopping. Simply going out to get some bits and
pieces has turned out to be quite traumatic. Don't be naive enough to think
it couldn't happen to you.

Here's how the scam works: Two seriously good looking 18 or 19 year old
girls come over to your car as you are loading your stuff into the boot.
They both start wiping your windshield with a rag and Windolene with their
cleavage almost falling out of their skimpy T-shirts. It is impossible not
to look. When you thank them and offer them a tip, they say "No" and
instead ask you for a lift into Town.

You agree and they get in the back seat. On the way, they start having sex
with each other. Then one of them climbs over into the front seat and
performs oral sex on you, while the other one steals your wallet.

I had my wallet stolen on October 4th, 9th, 10th, twice on the 15th, 17th,
20th, three times just yesterday, and very likely again this upcoming
weekend as soon as I can buy some more wallets.

---

lisbon_lions

Hey, thanks for the heads up, oh and thanks for telling us the colour of the Woman (Black it was you said?)

We shall be extra vigilant then so.

chipclub

humanji wrote: »

Yeah, you can't just tell people to forward you the bill.

That is how these mail order catalogues work. They are relatively new in the Republic but when when I was growing up in Belfast there were any number of mail order places offering credit. Kayes and Littlewoods are probably the most well known but there are many more.

Basically you order whatever you want from their huge catalogue and they let you pay it off over a number of weeks - up to a year if I remember rightly. When I was 16 (1990) I bought a Amiga computer and paid it back at something like 8 quid a week. It arrived when I was at school and the postman just dumped the box round the back of the house. They may have tightened up the process now but that was how it worked then.

Toto Wolfcastle

layke wrote: »

I would have thought that to buy something on credit you need identification (passport and household bill), proof that you have been living here for more then one year.

Nope, with Littlewoods you just apply online, get an e-mail a few minutes later saying you've been accepted, and off you go.

I signed up and I'd been living at my current address for less than a month.

DonJose

lisbon_lions wrote: »

Hey, thanks for the heads up, oh and thanks for telling us the colour of the Woman (Black it was you said?)

We shall be extra vigilant then so.

The OP never mentioned colour, only that they were Nigerians, it could easily be white Nigerians doing this fraud

Toto Wolfcastle

Numina wrote: »

My mam was approached by a black woman

DonJose wrote: »

The OP never mentioned colour, only that they were Nigerians, it could easily be white Nigerians doing this fraud

Oopsies!

humanji

Christ, these muppets deserve to be ripped off if they're throwing their items away. If it ever happens to me, I'm jsut going to sign for it as Mr. Fijay. Then when they try to collect, I'll tell them that nobody by that name lives here and then berate them for having such a stupid system. I'll then order more stuff to be sent to me and continue on and on...

ScumLord

They'd never have heard of that one around here, some house have to make a choice between BBC and TV3 and there's still a hard line anti British element out here, I shall target them. Cheers OP!

TerrorFirmer

'Ol wrote:

that reminds me...the crown prince of nigeria never got back to me after i wired him the money

I think he was assassinated on the Ivory Coast a few weeks ago.

faceman

Just on the topic of scams while the silly season is almost upon us and people are blowing loads of cash on the credit card for pressies. Bare in mind that you credit card/laser card can be skimmed in stores as well as ATM's so cover your hand when entering your pin no matter where you are.

My laser card was done in a popular retail unit earlier this year. I cant mention the place unfortunately but it was obviously an inside job. I paid by laser at the cash register.

Mossy Monk

lisbon_lions wrote: »

Hey, thanks for the heads up, oh and thanks for telling us the colour of the Woman (Black it was you said?)

We shall be extra vigilant then so.

You can't say someone is black now? You and your PC brigade really piss me off.

Toto Wolfcastle

Mossy Monk wrote: »

You can't say someone is black now? You and your PC brigade really piss me off.

Course you can say someone is black, but would the OP have said that a white woman called to the house if she was white?

humbert

janeybabe26 wrote: »

Course you can say someone is black, but would the OP have said that a white woman called to the house if she was white?

Yeah, I'd say it's very likely if the woman had been an ordinary looking middle class white woman the OP would have mentioned it, and nobody would have protested it was a symptom of prejudice against middle class white women!

Ponster

Deleted User wrote: »

Another one?

There's a new scam every week. Can we just have a sticky where people can report scams? or just a seperate forum

Scam threads usually go here to Consumer Issues :

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=580

Krieg

This is not that old

Go on to you-tube and search "Chris hansen scam" (Im currently in college and cant access you-tube to get a link), he did an hour long episode on dateline a while back describing exactly what you have, its called "To catch a scammer" or something like that.
The Nigerians (yes, im going to be a bit racist here). Use stolen credit cards, buy items from stores that are a bit lax on security, use someone elses address (in case the **** hits the fan?), then collect the items from that address. Items are usually shipped back to Nigeria where they sell them off again.

Anyway, one of the victims in the show was really an idiot. The scammer sent this guy pics of a women (so obviously taken from a porn site) and claimed to love him and such and if he could help "her" ship items. The guy spent over 50K sending the stuff over and genuinly believed the whole thing :rolleyes:

odyssey06

humbert wrote: »

Yeah, I'd say it's very likely if the woman had been an ordinary looking middle class white woman the OP would have mentioned it, and nobody would have protested it was a symptom of prejudice against middle class white women!

Are you more likely to be scammed by
(a) A white, irish woman
(b) A romanian teenager of either sex.
(c) A black, nigerian woman

And if this leads people to be more wary, does it still class as prejudice? Discuss.

DonJose

janeybabe26 wrote: »

Oopsies!

Oops, damn coffee hasnt kicked in yet

OP you need to contact the local Garda station and report this. The fraud squad could would be interested in this and its wasily to get records of internet activity, I'm sure Littlewoods keep logs of IP addresses and such, this would be an open and shut case.

marcsignal

Timothy Bryce wrote: »

Oooh Racist.

Yeah right :rolleyes:

The OP said : "the packages were addressed to 'Mr. Fijay' "

Now Hey, call it what you will, but that would have aroused my curiosity straight away. It's not exactly "Mrs. O Sullivan" down the road, is it ? and lets face it the Nigerians are pretty notorious at this kind of thing.

http://www.419eater.com/

Incidentally, if you find a "Mrs. O Sullivan" in the Hall of Shame on that 419 site let me know.

Hobbes

Numina wrote: »

Basically the scam is that a person (family, whatever) will use a fake name and order items from a company that works on credit. The items are sent out to your home and delivered to your house,

How would that work exactly? If the place is working on credit they would have the billing address vs delivery address. If there was a serious mismatch it would flag in the credit card companies. I know this because I had such an instance when I tried to buy something to be delivered to a friend. CC company delayed it and rang me up. Doesn't take that much work to see that person "Mr Fijay" doesn't live at that address.

Even so, if it was on credit it would mean that it is most likely have to be signed for. So if it isn't addressed to anyone in the house I wouldn't sign for it. An-Post won't deliver to a different address.

Then you have the case of handing over packages to people who you have never seen before. I certainly wouldn't do it. Unless the package is set exactly to you, you are not legally required to pay it. The person who put in the credit card would be billed.

So it is a stupid scam, if it exists at all.

having seen this scam reported years ago on BBC when the Nigerian population of England was rising greatly,

Seriously, wtf has that got to do with it?

Hobbes

HavoK wrote: »

I think he was assassinated on the Ivory Coast a few weeks ago.

His wife is still alive and needs to move 24 million in US$ out of the country asap.

marcsignal

janeybabe26 wrote: »

Course you can say someone is black, but would the OP have said that a white woman called to the house if she was white?

And if this all happened in Lagos, for example, and the person calling to the door was White, do you think nobody there would bother mentioning it ??

Mossy Monk wrote: »

You can't say someone is black now? You and your PC brigade really piss me off.

You're reading my diary Mossy Monk, woe betide anyone dreaming of a 'White Christmas' this year.

Hobbes

marcsignal wrote: »

And if this all happened in Lagos, for example, and the person calling to the door was White, do you think nobody there would bother mentioning it ??

Two racists don't make a right.

Mossy Monk

janeybabe26 wrote: »

Course you can say someone is black, but would the OP have said that a white woman called to the house if she was white?

How would I know? Ask the OP.

humbert

Hobbes wrote: »

Two racists don't make a right.

Do you consider mentioning that the person was black to be racist?

marcsignal

Hobbes wrote: »

Two racists don't make a right.

So you're admitting Racism is a 'Two Way Street' ?

well thats a start anyway

Toto Wolfcastle

Hobbes wrote: »

How would that work exactly? If the place is working on credit they would have the billing address vs delivery address. If there was a serious mismatch it would flag in the credit card companies. I know this because I had such an instance when I tried to buy something to be delivered to a friend. CC company delayed it and rang me up. Doesn't take that much work to see that person "Mr Fijay" doesn't live at that address.

The company in question, Littlewoods, don't require you to have a credit card. You pay in different ways.

Hobbes

humbert wrote: »

Do you consider mentioning that the person was black to be racist?

No. But comment like "having seen this scam reported years ago on BBC when the Nigerian population of England was rising greatly" I would.

Which would imply that because the person saw a TV program on Nigerians that this black person is (a) Nigerian and (b) a scammer.

So you're admitting Racism is a 'Two Way Street' ?

I have never denied it as such. You get racists from all walks of life.

Hobbes

janeybabe26 wrote: »

The company in question, Littlewoods, don't require you to have a credit card. You pay in different ways.

Here is the details on how you pay..
http://www.littlewoods.com/rf/static.do?page=help4

I don't see anything on that page which proves that littlewoods send out goods without it first being paid for, or some level of proof of who you are. Nothing on that page claims that the receiver of the goods would have to pay, especially if it wasn't their name on the package.

Please feel free to show me otherwise though.