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harrellharrell

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Does anybody here know Frank Benson? He answered my ad for the cinnamon baby and has said that he wants him, will be paying with as classified cashiers check, will arrange for pickup since he is out of the country, and has asked no questions about the snake. I mean, I priced that cinny high at $4,000 and he just said that he is currently making arrangements. I would at least want to talk to someone about it before I went and got a $4,000 cashiers check and sent someone out to pick up a snake. I don't think this guy is local either. What can you guys tell me?
:IThankYou
 
That's the MO of most of the scammers. Try to find one of the scammer threads and I'll bet the e-mails are very similar. Run away from this one. :bolt01:
 
I bet the check will be for $6000.00 not 4000 and he'll ask you to give the courier $2000 for shipping, paperwork etc. The cashier's check will be fake which you won't find out for about 2 weeks. Bye-bye snake and money.

kevin
 
I told him that the snake would be given to him only when the cashier's check was cleared by the bank and the money was in my hands. The location of the snake is literally across the street from the bank where my partner's account is. The check will be cashed on the spot. I made him aware of this and he still wants to go through with it. I will only accept a check for the amount of the snake and his courrier can go to... :dgrin: well, you get the picture!
 
I understand you're being careful but I just wanted to point out that the cashiers check will be cleared by your bank and the funds will be deposited into your account. It just will not be honored by the originating bank. They will then take the money back from you. You may have already known this I just didn't want to take the chance.
Good luck.
Kevin
 
Hi Frank. I didn't know if I made it clear or not, but the snake will only be picked up after the cashier's check for $4,000 clears your bank. This is for our protection and is in no way negotiable. I'm sure that you can understand if you've ever done business over the net before. We can also do credit card payments if you need the animal quicker than it would take for the cashier's check to clear.

Thanks,

This is the E-mail That I sent him. Is there anything that I didn ot make clear to him?
 
busy boy frank

anthony,its best to delete all replys like that.frank has been a very busy boy.hit all of my ads last night. :rolleyes:
 
I find it interesting that these scammers demand that the money sent to them must be done through Western Union, but they will not do the same when they send money, instead they send fake checks and people are so willing to accept them as real.
 
Anthony, why waste your time? This whole deal has a 99.9% chance of being a scam (the clues are having an outside shipper, "agent" or "courier", and paying by cashier's check). I recieve countless e-mails identical to your situation every day, even regarding stupid crap I have up for sale on Craigslist. The same scammers target ads on Fauna and Kingsnake. If I were you, I'd keep the cinny up for sale and forget talking to this guy. You won't be getting anything but trouble.

Here's a few more clues...did he have awkward English? As in not the way typical Americans would speak or e-mail? Did he refer to the animal as an actual cinnamon ball python/snake or did he use vague words like "pet" or "animal"? Did he ask for all of your contact information (full name, address, phone number)? Did he spell "check" as "cheque"?
 
Yes to all of the above. That's kinda why I put his name up here. I pretty much knew he was a scammer, but I figured that I would give him a heads up that I knew what he was up to. And chances are, if he is reading the classifieds, he might be watching the forums too. I in no uncertain terms let him know that If he wanted to do legitimate business, that I would, but if he was a scammer, he was wasting his time and mine. I know that it would probably be better to ignore it, but I take a certain psycological satisfaction in screwing with these people's heads. And I'm not really busy at work, so I have nothing better to do than flood his e-mail box with no less than 10 messages per day whining about when the money is going to get here by mail. I live to irritate people that are trying to take advantage of me!

(by the way, this is Melissa, Anthony's wife. The second Harrell in the screen name!)
 
I'm currently waiting for 2 scammers to send me some fake checks. I figure I'll frame them and start a collection.

I was contacted by 2 of them last week over an ad for beadred dragons I had up. I wrote both scammers back and told them that the "Ball Pythons" were still available. Lol They both jumped on the email and are saying that the checks are in the mail. Overnighted no less at my non negotiable terms.

If they have to spend a little bit of money to send me a check for my collection, so be it. I'd rather they be wasting their time and money on me than someone who doesn't know it's a scam.
 
JenHarrison said:
This whole deal has a 99.9% chance of being a scam (the clues are having an outside shipper, "agent" or "courier", and paying by cashier's check).
Click to expand...
My money's on it being 100% scam, no doubt about it. not even 0.1%, not even .000001% chance that it's legit. :dgrin:
 
Hello this is Mr Benson.....i just need to keep you informed that i have made the necessory arrangement for your payment....you should get it anytime next week on or before wednesday.
I'll really take a very good care of the animal and i can assure you it is coming to a very good home...thank you for your time and Godbless.
Regards


This is the e-mail that I got from him. I almost missed it because it went to my SPAM folder!!
Melissa
 
I sent Mr Benson this one this morning!
Mr Benson:I want to say how pleased I am to be doing honest business with you. There are so many scammers out there that would not agree to the terms that I have set forth about the snake not being picked up until the cheque clears the bank. I appreciate your patience in the matter. I know how hard it is to wait for a newly purchased ball python. But it is necessary to flush out the dishonest creeps, ya know?
Melissa
 
Ok guys check this out. I just got an e-mail from frank again. He has now requested more pics and a vet certification (which I have) He says that his wife is a breeder and she wants to see pics. Does this sound like a graceful way to back out without looking like a scammer to anyone else?!
 
Does it ever stop? No of course it doesn't.

Just figured I'd get this guy's name out there to watch out for too. He's the 4th one I've had.

Hi there,
I am John Hawky and am highly interested
in your Snake advert placed on Kingsnake and i would be glad
to know more about the snake including it recent pictures.

Firstly i would like to know the rightowner of the Snake so i
can know the Snake mode of feeding and it exact price of it.

Secondly Concerning the Carrier moreover i have my own regular Carrier for the pick up you dont need to worry for the shippment anymore.I would be paying you via (Cashier check Or Money Order.)

Thirdly the Carrier agent fees will be included to your money. wht
you only need to do when you get the payment just get the ready for
pick up and also get back to the shipping agent with theer shipping
fees so they can be on there way from the pick up .

If you are willing to sell the Snake to me get back to
us with your Full Name, Address and your phone nbr for
the payment. Hope to hear from you now.
Thanks
Regards
John
 
I sent this one out to Mr. Benson. I am having alot of fun with this. Every time I send him an e-mail, he comes back with a clipped reply that is polite enogh, but has a edge to it!

Hi Frank.
I was wanting to tell you that after the cheque clears that I will e-mail you so that you can give your courrier instructions for pick up. I just got an e-mail from another guy about the sibling of the snake that you are purchasing wanting me accept a money order from a courrier, and then give the courrier money in return! How stupid does he think I am? I told him in no uncertain terms that I expected a money order through the US mail, and that if he didn't want to do that, I was sorry and would have to go with another buyer. Thank you again for being patient for the pick up of the snake. People like that other guy just bring it home, when compared to a cooperative buyer like yourself!
Looking forward to doing business.
Regards,

Melissa
 
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