Package Forwarding: From Dubious Enterprise to Instant Void

We've been watching these ads for awhile. The dubious enterprise is this: The scammer advertises for someone to forward packages. They direct the victim to a website -- very professional.

The victim agrees to forward packages to the scammer. The scammer than buys ebay items, using the victim's address for shipping. The scammer pays for these items with bad checks or stolen credit cards.

The victim, promised a fee, forwards the hot goods to the scammer. Of course the victim pays the (nasty) shipping charges and gets paid (if at all) with another bad check.

It's a dubious enterprise at best, but now that we've gotten ads paid with stolen id credit cards, these ads are on the instant void list.

Used-Car Scam Proliferates

They just mutate.

More and more come-ons: Extending now to Acura SUVs and BMW 5 series.

There's really no way to keep up with these other than to note that deals too good to be true probably are, and that phone numbers (if any) won't work, and that they will always include an email address that will work.

I'm happy to get examples of suspicious too-good-to-be-true used car ads.

Check Cashing Scams Get Even Sleazier

One of our midwest papers reports a variation on the check cashing scam: Ads for Customer Service reps. The poor victim is told s/he will test customer service at Wal-Mart by purchasing a Wal-Mart money order. The money order gets sent to the scammer, who promises the victim's money will be refunded, plus a nice commission. Except...

IT Logistics, IP Logistics etc.

The latest rash of scam ads being paid with stolen credit cards are the "IT Logistics" ads. We started getting the freaked out phone calls from credit card fraud victims yesterday.

Here's a typical ad:

IT Logistics
Accountant Assistant needed for large financial company. Must be hard-working and reliable individual. High commissions paid. Check this offer! Info: http://www.itlogistics.org or itlogistics_team@yahoo.com

This particular ad is a real find, because it (mistakenly) uses the itlogistics.ORG domain, which shows the origins of the scam: Rumania.

Mostly these ads lead to itlogisitcs.BIZ -- which you should visit. It is complete scam site, but it has been organized better than many commercial site. It looks VERY real.

See the website's Vacancies tab to get a sense of the scam: Just send us all your personal information, and we'll let you know if you are hired...

There are many scammers pumping dubious enterprises based on re-shipping goods (similar to the wire-transfer scam in a previous post).

Again as far as AD2AD is concerned: we shake our heads sadly as we see the attempts to dupe the public with these dubious enterprises. Once we discover that these scams are being paid with stolen credit cards, we void them immediately.

These scammers have been working this approach for at least two years. They've had other names for their websites. Last May it was IPlogistics. Last year, ipdel.org (now resolves to a Romanian hosting service), in 2005 it was labeangroup.com. Basically the scammers ran the same ads, but in AD2AD's case, no fraud charges were reported, so we were not voiding them.

Hallmark/American Greetings Scam

This one flew in under the radar. Apparently Hallmark is making some noise that its name is being used for a scam, targeting newspapers who print the scam ads. The first instance showed up in our system in June, and there have been a sudden spate recently.

HALLMARK/AMERICAN GREETING. Be your own boss. Earn $50K - $250K/yr. Call now 888-871-7891, 24/7

This is the original form, from June:

American Greeting Cards/Hallmark. Be part of an 8 billion dollar industry. Call 24/7 888-238-1635.

Car Ad Scams

Mike VanStry of the Coastal View News got suspicious about this ad, submitted by email.

• 1965 CHEVROLET CORVETTE 396/425HP, $4000, good cond, low mi, ext:blue, int:white, clear title, 2 doors,
  4-SPEED manual transmission.(225)9106308 or julysdesires@aol.com 225-910-6308

AD2AD now traps ads like this. But the scammers keep at it -- Just got a call from a blind man in Kansas who discovered he'd been charged for the following ad in an AD2AD paper:

• 1996 Acura Nsx, $4000, good cond, low mi, clear title, ext:red, int:black, Removable TARGA top, 5-speed manual transmission.(225)9106308 or marysbuyers@hotmail.com

His credit card statement showed bills from 5 other (non-AD2AD) papers. Most of the ads were for that 1965 corvette. When we checked AD2AD databases, we found 5 additional instances of the Acura ad. Now we're trapping for that one too.

Latest Variation of Check Cashing Scam Ad

Thanks to the sharp eyes of one of my classified managers for this one. Using the name of a supposedly 'real' company (Grady Arts) gives this ad an undeserved sense of legitimacy.

Note the tells:

• "Opportunity" misspelled. Bad grammar, spelling and punctuation in the order email
• Ad shows much better grammar/punctuation than accompanying order
  
• Yahoo addresses only. Customer address doesn't match response address
• 19 years old.
  

EXAMPLE

From: Tim <kingdavidz@yahoo.com>
Date: Aug 1, 2007 12:27 AM
Subject: Employment Advertisement
To: xxx@xxx.com

Willing to place a JOB OPPOTUNITY AD. classified ad Below are my AD informations.

=================================================
Header: WORK AT HOME AND EARN BIG!!
=================================================
AD Text:
================================================
Part time Job Offer From Grady Gallery. Are you seeking an extra income? would you like to set your own work schedule? work the hours you choose. We have the answer ,the job is suitable from 19 years above if you are interested contact us via Email Address at: timgradyarts@yahoo.com
=================================================

I will need the costs of the order and your next press shedule. Let me know if you accept credit card for ad payment.
Tim

Check Cashing Scams

To see how a good description of this scam see this article.

Nigerian Scamsters often approach publications directly via email. They pose as legitimate companies seeking work-at-home agents.

IDENTIFYING CHECK CASHING SCAM ADS

First the basics regarding Nigerian Scam Ads apply (see these here). CHECK CASHING SCAM ADS, however, USUALLY SHOW BETTER SPELLING, GRAMMAR, etc.

In addition:

The biggest giveaway is the email-only, hotmail type response method.

Typically the ad is relatively well-written.

Other oddities:
Expansion program. The scamsters really like this phrase.

Age requirement: 19. Many of these ads demand respondents be at least 19 (nineteen) years old. Nineteen?? Also, the age requirement is written as 19yrs of age. Note no space; yrs not years, year of age not "19 years old."

Takes only a little of your time. The scamsters really like this phrase.

Should be a computer literate.

EXAMPLE CHECK CASHING SCAM AD

As part of our expansion program a small company is looking for part time work from home account managers and sales representatives, it pays $3000 a month plus benefits and takes only little of your time. Please contact us for more details. Requirements - should be a computer literate. 2-3 hours access to the internet weekly. Must be over 19yrs of age. Must be efficient and dedicated. If you are interested and need more information, contact ralph david, email: ralphdavid113@yahoo.com

Typical Puppy Scam Ads

To see how vast this scam has become Google "puppy scam"
Click here to see.

Nigerian Puppy Scamsters now often approach publications directly via email.

The main breed being advertised in these sorts of scams

IDENTIFYING SCAM ADS
Not every puppy ad is a scam, of course. There are several 'tells'.

First the basics regarding Nigerian Scam Ads apply (see these here).

In addition:

The puppy is typically referred to as she.

AKC Registration is often claimed.

Customer is 'Mr.', 'Doctor', 'Pastor' or 'Reverend' (unlike most US customers who sign their emails 'Joe Blow', the email comes from 'Mr. Joe Blow')

Low price. Typical prices for AKC puppies are in the THOUSANDS, not hundreds of dollars. Even legitimate friendly local sellers will typically show prices in the high hundreds, not the rock-bottom price of the scam ad.

The most common breed being advertised is Yorkshire (or Yorkie), followed by English Bulldog, Maltese and Shih Tzu.

EXAMPLE EMAIL:

PUPPY SCAM AD REQUEST VIA EMAIL:
================================
From: Dan Philips
[mailto:dan_chase8weeks@unionplus.net] <<UNIONPLUS is an ENGLISH email service like hotmail
Sent: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 11:53 PM
To: classified@xxxx.com
Subject: Advert Placement !!!

Attn:

My Name is Mr Dan Philips, I just want to let you know that i want to place an ad for 30 days, So let me read back from you with the total cost of the 30 days.

Here is my contact information below:

Address: 274 5th Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94118 USA
Phone #: 870-455-4180 << 870 area code is in ARKANSAS, not San Francisco
Email: dan_chase8weeks@yahoo.com << Different from sending email (@unionplus,net)
Ad Informations:
Pet Name : Chase
AKC English Bulldog pup for sale
Breed: Bulldog Puppies
Price: $300
Age: 8 weeks
Description: Chase is a Female English Bulldog, She is 8 weeks old, Brown&white Color. Puppy Has Excellent Character And It Happy!!! In A Loving Environment.

Attached is the picture i want you to place on my ad. I will be waiting to read back from you as soon as possible.

Thanks,
Cheers !!!

Recognizing Nigerian Scam Ads

The vast majority of scam ads come from Nigeria, and the vast majority of these, if paid, will be paid by stolen credit cards.

I'll get into the specifics of certain types of Nigerian Scam ads, but they have a lot of features in common. So as new types arrive, there are earmarks to look for.

First: They now typically ordered via email. The email will come from a free email provider, usually yahoo.com, but also hotmail, gmail, and other similar services.

If you are geeky, you check the email header information for the originating IP address (the internet address used to create the email). MaxMind provides the country lookup service now used by AD2AD; you can use their free demo by clicking here. Mostly the scammers use IPs located in Nigeria, but they also use "A2" proxies, and IPs located in other African and Arab countries.

For a very low cost, your webmaster can probably block forms or emails coming from Nigerian IP addesses.

Another give away of these sorts of ads is Bad Grammar, Bad Spelling and Bad Punctuation. I don't know how to ID this exactly, but there's just something odd about the email text. Look for strange use of commas, unusual sentence construction, etc. Usually the ad text will be a little off, but the accompanying email for the ad will be written with a very different style, usually much less literate.

No phone number, only a yahoo type email address for response.

Or if a phone number, one from a very different area code. If you have doubts, call the number. 99 times out of 100 it will be fax line.

Typically the person sending the email will use a different email address than that shown in the ad.

When and if you get payment info, the name of the submitted credit card will be totally different than any name on previous correspondence. (If you want to have real fun, say the credit card didn't go through. The scammers will cheerfully submit card after card, each with a completely different name and address from the previous. For extra amusement, ask them to explain why.)

To recap:

• IP in Nigeria or similar
• Yahoo, hotmail, gmail or similar
• Bad grammar, bad spelling, bad punctuation
  
• Ad has email response only, no phone
  
• Or phone number doesn't work or is fax line
• Email address in ad differs from email address of customer
• Credit card data doesn't match information in ad or email
  

Doubtful Offerings vs Scam and Fraud Ads

I want to distinguish between Doubtful Offerings, Scam and Fraud.

I don't think that a newspaper has the responsibility of verifying the validity of an advertiser's offering. This is practically impossible.

Things get a little dicey with the classic "stuff envelopes at home" ad -- what's being offered is basically worthless (instructions that tell you to do what the advertiser did, send mail to persons answering a classified offering to tell them how they can make money stuffing envelopes at home). In this case, the advertiser is trying to inflate the value of what he is offering. It's a fine line, but there's really little practical difference between this and inflating the value of a car or house for sale. There will be an exchange of goods.

Contrast this with Puppy Scam and similar ads.

Here the advertiser offers a valuable puppy at a very reduced price. The person responds to discover that there is a problem requiring a small advance payment...then another, and another. These problems and payments continue until the respondent gives up. Of course there was never a puppy to begin with.

If there is no intent to deliver an exchange of goods, that's a scam.

Similarly the Check Cashing scam. In this scam, the advertiser is a foreigner who offers to make the respondent an agent who will earn a commission by cashing checks drawn against a US bank. Of course the checks are worthless, and the agent stands to lose his shirt. This ad is an invitation to a fleecing, not to an exchange of (inflated) goods. It's a scam.

When these ads are paid for by stolen credit cards, that's a fraud.

I'll leave publishers to sort out the ethical dilemmas of doubtful offerings. I exhort publishers to avoid scams and frauds in classifieds.

Scam Ads

When I first worked out the business model for AD2AD, I was often asked about fraud. (With AD2AD, customers place their own ads online.)

What about stolen credit cards? I'd be asked
Who would steal a credit card to place classified ad???? I answered.

Well, now I know. In late 2006, AD2AD publications were peppered with ads placed by customers using stolen credit cards. We had about 15 customers call, in various states of shock.

While AD2AD had only a few of these scam-frauds, some of the customers we spoke to had horror stories. One man from Florida had opened his credit card statement to discover more than 250 ads placed in various newspapers -- total charges of more than $40 THOUSAND! (Thankfully, his AD2AD problem was a single ad for about $100.)

This is when I became aware of Nigerian Puppy Scams -- and other Scams.

I'd like to use this blog to identify existing and potential classified ad scams.

Classified Advertising in Newspapers

My company, AD2AD, provides a web-based classified advertising management system. It's used by nearly 200 newspapers -- mostly community newspapers and college newspapers. With its large centralized database, I'm able to note changes and trends in the business.

I hope to share some of my thoughts here, and to get comments and feedback from others in the business.