• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

Possibly more scamming >>>

W

Wyatt

New member
Joined
Feb 5, 2002
Messages
111
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Age
48
Location
Tx
We are in the middle of selling a few of our snakes and I received a weird phone call this morning on my cell from an hearing impaired person who was using a teletype operator. Well he e-mailed me wanting my Retics and this is the message that was sent and the message that I replied with. The e-mail address is [email protected], so be carefull !!!


Dear Wyatt,
Thanks for the conversation,
I am very happy to hear from you. I will make you an offer of $3500 has for now, I’m not in the state, i'm on exihibition right here in London, but i will instruct my client in the State that owes me $8,900 and he has agreed to issue a Certified Cashier's check of $8,900 in your name and mail it to your contact address ASAP, So I will want you to help me by wiring the remaining ($5,400) of the money through (Via Western Union ) to my shipping agent that will come for the pick-up........

If this is ok with you and if I can trust on you, reply me with your full address and cell phone # so that i can forward it to my client in order to mail the cheque to you ASAP.
Looking forward to your quick response.

If you wish to talk to me via phone here is my Cell Number: +44 07092038323 and i will be happy to speak with you.

Best Regards,
Mr. Werner Meer


( my reply )

Mr. Meer,
I will only accept a cashier check from the united states post office in the amount of $3500. No other amount will be accepted and will not be dispersed. No animals will be sent out until all of the funds have been checked by the US postmaster for verification and the money will then set in a safety deposit account for 30 days for verification of full use for the funds. Sorry but you can never trust anything nowadays.

thanks,
wyatt

TW Intl Inc.
DB Reptiles Inc

Any similar experiences ?
 
WHile I am certain this is just another variation on the now familiar Nigerian scamfest, there is one bit of information that may or may not be helpful to you. "44" is the country code for England, but, unless I am mistaken, that number given to you has one to many digits in it to be accurate.

Hope that helps you somehow . . .
 
It amazes me that these people actually attempt this scam, but apparently there are those who are trusting or gullible enough to do it or else I would think they'd have changed tactics by now.
For these type offers to be genuine, there would have to be quite a few very trusting or else foolish individuals to just trust someone they don't know from Adam with 4-5000 dollars in cash.
Let's assume for a second that this guy is for real. He has a client in this country that owes him $8900. He also has a shipping agent in this country that will come for pickup of the snakes. Apparently he is suggesting he has a buisness relationship of some sort with these people already, so why bother trusting you to send him the $4500 balance. The client could send the full amount to the shipping agent, who he already knows, and the agent could just bring you $3500 in cash when he comes for the snakes then send the other 4500 directly to England.
My first instinct is that these people are supremely stupid to think anyone would not see the numerous flaws in their plan, but then I think about the few that have most likely agreed to the offer and got taken for several thousand dollars.
The kicker up until now is that the offers came from Nigeria, where the scammers had a degree of protection from a government that just doesn't care. If this guy is indeed in England, then he's much braver, because I'm fairly certain that British law enforcement would be more than willing to help the FBI bust an international con man.

I'd suggest you have nothing to do with this fellow at all.
 
The benefit for the scammer is when he starts asking you to put money up front to pay for fees and transactions and other things, when problems 'suddenly arise' regarding the smooth, original plan..lol

With the most gullible, naive persons, or the nice guys, the scammer can keep this up for up to a year or more, having the persons continue to send money for this and that and the other thing...
This has happened several times.. TOO many times, and that's why they continue to do it.

THIS IS THE NIGERIAN SCAM AND IS THE #2 BIGGEST SCAM IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW!!!

Since it would take much work, research and time on your part to try and bust these people, the most efficient thing you can do , in my opinion, is block their email to avoid further communication.
There is no winning with them.

Thanks and take care - Joe
 
The original check for the $8900 is no good. IF Wyatt went for this, (NOT implying you would Wyatt, just using you as the example as your the one the offer was made too) he would deposit the $8900 in his Bank account. Then send the balance (was it $4500?) through Western Union back to the crook. Wyatt's check would be legit.

Withing 1-30 days Wyatt would be notified by his bank that the $8900 was a fake check. Bank takes that amount back out of Wyatts account. Wyatt at that point would have already sent the $4500 legitimately through Western Union to the crook...............too late to get it back.

End result?

Wyatt is out $4500 and the animals (IF anyone actually picks them up) and possibly a lot of bank fees for all the checks that would bounce when the $8900 is suddenly yanked from his account

The crook would have a legit check from Wyatt for $4500, (Which was sent Western Union, so Wyatt can not get it back, it's like sending cash) and possibly Wyatts animals as well.

THAT is how the scam works.
 
Oh, I just assumed that anyone would wait for a check(cashier's or not) to clear before shipping anything, including money. Thanks for clearing that up.
 
I originally thought Cheryl posted her thoughts without having seen mine, but she raises an obvious point which I had overlooked!
I actually heard of it occurring as I mentioned above several times, that's why I posted - but the other is obviously correct too!

Yes, a normal person would or should wait for it to clear in the bank BUT ..
it is reeeaaaallly funny what this much money can do to a person....
in a way, it kind of raises your adrenaline/bloodpressure, for lack of a better description... it kind of makes you feel a bit drunk in a way.. it's funny how money makes people totally lose their train of thought, their morals, their values, beliefs, inhibitions, and to a point, their common sense!

it's like, you feel so happy about having this much money, you kind of forgot about everything else! such as the fact that you are being robbed for about twice that amount at the end of the day!! (not you or me, an average, maybe naive, person in this situation)

There was another thread about this recently, and someone admitted to leading these guys on in the past, and said he has a wall 'full', covered with these bogus checks and money orders he has received over the past couple of years!

Joe Rollo
 
This happens more often than you think. I have run across this before in my line of work. Your bank will not know if it is good or not. They will cash it for you and then it will be sent to the issuing bank for them to pay your bank. Even then it is sometimes not caught.

Reason: These scammers have individuals working in the mail rooms of large corporations. These inside people then steal out bound checks. The scammers then make copies of them, using the correct info, acct#, check number, amount, but make it payable to whomever they are trying to scam. The corporations won't catch it because the check number and amount matched. It won't be caught until the company the check was supposed to go to calls asking about their money. This can take a month or two. The corporation then disputes the payment with their bank which then disputes it with your bank who in turn takes the money out of your account.

Advance fees and over payments requesting the balance to be wired is always a red flag and should be avoided.

Do not trust your bank to verify whether a check is counterfeit or not. All they do is verify the account is good and money is there to cover it. Only the issuing bank for cashiers checks or the actual business can tell you if the check is counterfeit or not. And do not use the phone number listed on the check. Call information for the number. The scammers alot of times will list a cell phone number on the check and pose as the bank or business to dupe you into thinking the check is good.
 
In this instance, as well as a few others I have seen, the buyer is promising a certified cashier's check. Under normal circumstances, it is not normally necessary to wait on these to clear. They are certified by the fact the issuing bank has reserved those funds in the account for the purpose of fulfilling that check, meaning it won't bounce.
In this case however, it is assured that the check would be a forgery. The plan is that the person cashing the check has full faith in the fact it is a certified check, and has no reason not to forward the excess money immediately.
I remember one incident where the certified check that was received was drawn on an insurance agency, it was a settlement check. More specifically it was a forged settlement check. The scammer had a genuine copy of an actual check from that company and altered it. The insurance agency verified that they never issued a claim to that person, and the check number was actually issued to a different individual for a different amount.

I have also heard reports of forged money orders, another form of guaranteed payment.
 
Take everything everyone has set forth about how difficult it is to spot a forged check here in the States, then compound that with the knowledge that every country in the world has its own numbering system, and that nearly none of them are compatible with any others. There is simply no way on earth for any individual (especially not your entry level bank teller!) to know whether that cashier's check is real or not when it comes from abroad.

I don't mean to be hard-hearted toward those who have lost money, but really . . . if it sounds too good to be true . . . it always is! Most of these people are small-time breeders like myself. Do you really think anyone in Uganda, Great Britain, or Timbuktu has EVER heard about us or our animals????

C'mon, folks! It's time to wisen up a bit!
 
same scammer??

Here is one I just had sent to me. Gee sounds awful familiar don't it? LOL Who are these people trying to fool?

Jody Pieper
*Jungle Shadows*

See below for email recieved from Mr. Alban:

"I am interested in buying your (Anacondas) 4 males at advertised rate of
$700.00. Goods to be
shipped to London. Cost and modalities of shipping to be born by
me.

Payment for the purchase is by check through a friend that owe me in In
Baltimore Maryland. The
debtor owes me higher than my purchase. He will therefore be
sending you a check for $4,500 to cover the cost of my order, as
well as the Shipping costs.

On receipt of the check, you will cash and deduct the cost of our
order .The balance you will send as we would instruct you to the
Agency that will ship the Goods to us. If this arrangement suites
you fine, please send me your address where to send the check, as
well as the name to be on it. Also send me your phone number for
easy communication.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thank you.

Best Regards

MR. James Alban."
 
FYI

The secret service would be intrested in obtaining any checks from these people. I myself was contacted some time ago and played along with them sending there emails and finaly a check to the secret service before showing them the other thread here. It is funny how quick they will disapear once they realise you know. Although these crimes are dificult to prosocute it is a nice fealing to provide the government with as much ammo as possible. Shaun DeBord
 
What puzzles me though is that it seems to be some sort of an automated computer response (either that or they are reeeealy very slow). Check at their reply to my latest e-mail. Someone with a minimum savy of internet business transactions would understand why I was not interested in their proposal. But they still have to ask "why are you so angry"????

Their reply

Hi Alvaro Daniel Garcia,
Have told you the fault comes from the previous shipper so why are you so angry.
Kindly
David

My e-mail:


David,

Sorry, but I have lost interest in this transaction. The reasons are that first I get an e-mail from your shipper (supposedly in Italy) and he uses your username and e-mail account (and you are in New Zealand, right?). Then you provide me with a contact and a zip code for Mantova, Italy (41600), but you then send another contact person with a completely different zip code. There is too much money involved and a lot of inconsistencies in the information provided.

Thanks anyways.

Dan
 
Mr. Meer,
I will only accept a cashier check from the united states post office in the amount of $3500. No other amount will be accepted and will not be dispersed. No animals will be sent out until all of the funds have been checked by the US postmaster for verification and the money will then set in a safety deposit account for 30 days for verification of full use for the funds. Sorry but you can never trust anything nowadays.
Click to expand...

Well SAID!!

Has anybody found out if we're better of saying okay then turning the check over? I didn't know if the checks are easy as pie to make or if that would be a pain in their butts.
 
right about that... at least, if we lead them on, they do have to spend a certain amount of time, effort and money to do this!

Just like all that junk mail you get and credit card offers...

just take the 'postage paid' return envelope they send you, stuff a bunch of cr@p in there like other junk mail and credit card offers, and send it back to them!

They have to open it and feel like they make us feel.
Not only that, but if we ALL did this, not only will it eventually cost them a ton of money in postage/envelopes, but it will cost them a ton of money in the time lost by the reps opening these and not making sales!
you gotta have fun with these people... atleast it helps alleviate their intentions of having fun with you!

take care - Joe Rollo
 
Back
Top