Fraud Alert! We Almost Got Hit By A Con Job.
Business By bakerboi Updated 18 Dec 2008 , 4:36pm by jenbakescakes
Howdy All,
Didn't think to post this here until just now. We were almost the victims of fraud. Hopefully, this will help someone else to recognize and avoid being taken.
We received an unsolicited request for a wedding cake to be shipped to Toronto, Ontario by one MIKE WILLIAMS. He said he had seen and tasted our cake at a local event and that it was our cake or no cake for his wedding (itty bitty niggling at the back of brain begins). He asked that we include a good sized tip ($100) and $700 for shipping and that he was engaging a shipper who would pack and transport the individual satellite cakes (niggling getting a bit more insistent).
He gave us two credit card numbers. The numbers were identical except for the last two digits (okay, this is getting a bit strange, but...). Credit card charges go through...
Next day, he calls (id set to 'PRIVATE')/e-mails and begins to insist we send cash via Western Union to someone (forget her name but can find it again), senior accountant of shipping company in Canada. Refuses to give me information/phone number of shipper so that I may contact directly (this is starting to stink like day old fish...). Phone calls and e-mails become more insistent that this cash transfer must be performed that day to ensure that the shipper is engaged for the shipping date (this now smells like a several weeks dead bovid fetus in utero...and, yes, I have been...blessed...with that experience ).
Contacted the FBI...they said it's a scam, don't send the money, and file a report online. I also refunded the cards.
Got a call today from one of the other victims of this fraud thanking us for returning the money to her account. She's a single mother who could ill afford the loss and freaked when her checks started bouncing. Fortunately, it looks like she only got hit by the one fraudulent charge and the bank is helping her get everything back in order and protected again.
Just wanted to pass all this on so that we can all learn for our experience.
Here's wishing everyone a happy, healthy, and fraud-free Holiday Season.
Ron and Khris
Cakes by Khris
Damn they just don't stop! This sounds like something someone else posted they just needed the cake shipped to elsewhere. Glad everything worked out
Considering we are all pretty much on top of this...how do these guys still manage to pull it off? I guess there are still so many out there who dont know; why dont people go out and get a job and a life?! !arghhhhhhh!!!!!!
That is so frustrating that people like that continue to do what they do. They are able to incite panic with the "it's got to be done today" line, leaving you little time to think through what's happening. Good for you for catching this and reporting it!
,,,,,,he calls ... e-mails ...and begins to insist we send cash via Western Union to someone (forget her name ... senior accountant of shipping company in Canada. Refuses to give me information/phone number of shipper so that I may contact directly .......
Stop right there! Never send any monies to a 3rd party. That is a dead give away that this is a total scam!!
Yeah, this happened to me, too. The guy sent 2 CC numbers over 2 days, both w/ different names and addresses. Started thinking SCAM, and he keeps contacting me. Finally tell him to please move on, I know this is a scam, and he started telling me "I'm gonna get you! You are a scammer!" Whatever. These people are nuts.
Scary! Glad you stopped it before you went too far with it! I'm sure that mom was overjoyed that her money got returned...and right here at Christmas!
Just a heads up seems to be another Christmas scam taking place similar to the wedding cake scam.
I received this email this evening....
The email it comes from is [email protected]
HELLO
I AM REV RICKEY LYNN OF RICKEYVENTURES, I WILL LIKE TO KNOW IF YOU CANDIES.IF YOU DO I WILL LIKE TO BUY SOME CHOCOLATE CANDIES FOR AN ORPHANAGE HOME AS A CHRISTMAS PRESENT TO THEM AND I WILL LIKE YOU TO CHOOSE THE BEST ONE THAT WILL SUIT THE OCCASION FOR ME AND GIVE ME THE PRICE ON IT. I WILL LIKE TO KNOW THE METHOD OF PAYMENT THAT YOU ACCEPT. I WILL ALSO LIKE YOU TO PLEASE ADD YOUR CONTACT NUMBER WHEN REPLYING TO MY MAIL.HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
MAY THE PEACE OF THE LORD BE WITH YOU.
REV RICKEY LYNN
Pass along the heads up, Happy Holidays Everyone!
I also had the mike williams scam. I just told him, sorry, I don't ship my cakes. I will help you find a local decorator. Never heard from him again.
They had a big special about scams similar to this on Oprah. And they discussed what to look for to spot a scam. looks like you did a good job catching this one! Thanks for sharing this.
I use Paypal processing so no swipe...have to enter billing address, exact name on card, 3 digit CVC on back, billing phone and an email addy, I also won't take a card unless it is in the person who is ordering's name. So different name, won't accept it, also I won't ship a wedding cake, only a little bitty sheet cake, so it would have been a total no go for me before the card(s) were ever charged.
The minute someone asks you to front money for them, or have you pay a 3rd party on their behalf, say NO THANK YOU, then hang up the phone!
I had something similiar happen last year. I got an email form a guy saying that he was a minister coming from Africa on a confrence trip and wanted to know if I could come cook for him for the 2 weeks he was here. Sounded legit until he asked me to send half the money he sent in a check via western union back to pay for the shipping of food he wanted.
OMG! I got that phone call about 3 weeks ago, he even sent me a picture of 5 cakes to describe what he wanted...I told him I dont ship my cakes and that if he wanted for such short notice for 300 guest cakes it was going to be pricy, BUT it was all to fishy for me and my bestfriend told me to give him a price and that he had to send a cashiers check via next day, I never heard from him by phone or email again.
I'm so sorry you got scammed by this morone and NOW I wish I would posted about him weeks ago, and it would've probably saved you this stress!
Take care.
Happy Marriage Life!
They must think we're stupid.
Well, actually, 90% of the population IS, so I guess they're right.
I use to work at the Sprint Relay Service for the deaf and hard of hearing...and every single day without fail we'd get those scam calls from people in Africa. They'd have us on the phone for hours calling different businesses requesting that they ship 10,000 laptops or cellphones to Africa..using stolen credit cards. It was so bad because we couldn't do a darn thing about it because it was our "job". I got so fed up and so when i realized that they didn't monitor those calls I started doing things my way. Whenever the scammer would give me the credit card number..i'd purposely give the seller the wrong credit card number or the wrong expiration date or wrong cvc code. So when the person would try to use another credit card the seller would catch on and hang up. I knew that I could potentially lose my job over that but I couldn't do that anymore...it was wrong. We'd tell the supervisors but all they would say is that they cannot put a stop to those calls because those calls kept them in business. So i finally quit and found a better job.
I'm glad you had the sense enough to listen to the little voice in your head...because not everyone pays attention to these scams.
was this the "happy marriage life" bandits?
Yes, it was.
So he's been doing this for a while, I take it. Must be conning enough people to keep it going.
Did everyone report these calls to the FBI internet crimes division? Maybe if we all do it every time he calls/e-mails, they'll be able to get this criminal off the streets.
It's easy to do, just file the report electronically at IC3.gov and keep copies of any documentation.
When I was in private practice as a veterinarian, we had folks running meth labs coming by trying to get the chemicals they needed. Got to where we were able to spot them and reported them to the NARCs.
Gotta git...have a good 'un y'all.
This scam has been going on for a while. It's a good thing you were paying attention to the red flags. Not everyone does.
Did everyone report these calls to the FBI internet crimes division? Maybe if we all do it every time he calls/e-mails, they'll be able to get this criminal off the streets.
It's easy to do, just file the report electronically at IC3.gov and keep copies of any documentation.
I think its easy to file a report but harder to try and get them off the streets...because most of these people are in Africa. I know this because my brother in law's dad is Nigerian and he runs those types of scams all the time. He tried to get my husband and my brother in law to do it and my husband told him to go to hell. These guys have been doing this for years.
I have a story and its a bit long.....
My husbands mom was married to his step father (his brothers dad) and he is Nigerian. He basically married her so that if something was to happen she could not testify against him. She said that she didn't know the type of things he was into I think she knew but maybe didn't really want to know. This guy bought houses, brand new cars and didn't have not one single job. One day when my husband was about 8 or 9 years old he almost got them killed. The guy was suppose to deliver some drug money to another guy and he told one of his friends that he was going to say that someone robbed him. So he took my husband who was about 9 at the time along with him and the other guy. So he was telling the drug guy that someone robbed him and my husband being a typical kid blurted out "you're lying, remember you told him that you were going to say someone robbed you"... That day could've went terribly wrong had that guy killed them over money. He beat my husband so badly that day and his mom wanted to know why was this guy abusing her son. Good thing my husband was smart enough to tell his mom what happened that day and she divorced him. And its a good thing too because about 2 days after the divorce was finalized he was arrested and they raided her house. Good thing they didn't find anything but they had so much paper on him that he spent 12 years in prison and was deported back to Nigeria.
So i guess if these people are in the states then it may be possible to get them off the streets but if they are out of the country it might be a little harder. But there is still the people who are working for them in Africa that can keep this going. Just something to think about!
Maybe one of these scam threads should become a sticky thread in this forum for all the people who look at the business forum.
JMO
Judi
I just had an email the other day about shipping a cake, but didn't even get into details with him because A) I don't ship cakes and B) I'm already booked solid for the date he was asking about. I wrote him back to say that I could try to help him find another baker to help him but never heard back, suprise surprise!
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