Newest kind of scam? What do you think?
By mentalward
@mentalward (14690)
United States
June 5, 2009 12:44am CST
I received an email from someone I don't know. The name of this person is supposedly Taryn Lytle. He claims to be able to sell electronic equipment cheaper than anywhere else. Also, the name of the email he sent this from is "trixi123@hotmail.com" but, as you will see below, responding to him is another email entirely. Here's the body of the email:
Hello,
we are a international electronic company who sincerely supply cheapest price,excellent merchandise and safest payments.
please set your mind at rest among shopping,in order to share with substantial commodities and security ordering,please browse website:kakueby.com
our company will be responsible for delivering them to your directly no matter how many products are and how big.
maybe it cant ends the hateful and horrible economic crisis,cooperating with us,however,you would save partial expense.
dont hesitate,let'go shopping with happiness!
Touch method:
MSN: kakueby@hotmail.com
EMAIL: service@kakueby.com
PHONE: 86-10-86336893
I believe the scammers have learned a new tactic. I know he selected me at random because I don't ever buy electronic equipment online so there's no way he could have come across my email address by "buying" a mailing list.
I believe this is just a "reverse" of an old scam; instead of them wanting to buy something you're selling and asking you to put their check in the bank, which is always for much more than your asking price to cover their "shipping method") and sending them back the balance in order to use their so-called shipper which is the scam. There's no shipper and their check is a fraud.
I believe this guy is trying to scam people by accepting their money, then vanishing into thin air. So, I'm just warning others, in case you get an email like this one. Build a better mousetrap (scam-alert) and they'll build better mice (scammers). Unbelieveable how they just keep on coming, and coming, and coming...
Oh, my email provider "blocked" certain content for my safety so that was another red flag for me.
Have you received an email like this one? Who would you alert if you did? I'm thinking of alerting Hotmail about this fraud but wouldn't have a clue as to who else to notify.
6 people like this
22 responses
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
5 Jun 09
Mmm...did a little research about this...there DOES seem to be a real website as what is mentioned there, so who knows maybe legit..BUT I was more interested in finding out the phone number. Did you know that "86" is the country code number for....drumroll........China??????
Like HUH??
The fact that the email addy is hotmail and I happen to know you have an addy there does make me wonder if somehow scammers CAN get email addresses...let me check something out as I also have a hotmail account...though rarely use...want to see if I got the same email...back in a second....
Like HUH??
The fact that the email addy is hotmail and I happen to know you have an addy there does make me wonder if somehow scammers CAN get email addresses...let me check something out as I also have a hotmail account...though rarely use...want to see if I got the same email...back in a second....2 people like this
@pyewacket (43903)
• United States
5 Jun 09
Nope didn't see anything in my email like that...gee guess you're lucky...LOL
1 person likes this
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
5 Jun 09
Yeah, lucky me. 
I find it amazing that the old "Nigerian scam" is still going around. I LOVE writing back to them, advising them that I've notified the "authorities" and that they should be expecting a knock on their door very soon. I've been doing this for awhile and must say that the number of these emails that I've been receiving over the years has dwindled down to almost nothing, although one or two still still manage to keep trying. I always start off my answer to them with "Are you THAT friggin stupid?" It might have no impact but it makes me feel like I've at least tried to scare them into halting their scam for awhile.
This email was just so "original" that I had to bring attention to it. I tried to sell our ATV through Craig's List and received a few responses from scammers telling me that they were willing to pay more than I was asking, just so I'd put their huge "check" into my bank and write them a check from my account so they could pay their own "shipper", who doesn't exist, of course. I saw that for what it was right away, too. Uh, excuse me, dude, but I set the rules here, not you!
But, whoever sent this email didn't even bother waiting until I want to sell something. I didn't go to their website because I don't want to push my luck. We have a pretty good security system for our internet server because of my husband's business and his level of paranoia but I still don't like tempting fate! However, this email came to my inbox, not my junk folder, which I found interesting. I definitey want Hotmail to know about it!
I find it amazing that the old "Nigerian scam" is still going around. I LOVE writing back to them, advising them that I've notified the "authorities" and that they should be expecting a knock on their door very soon. I've been doing this for awhile and must say that the number of these emails that I've been receiving over the years has dwindled down to almost nothing, although one or two still still manage to keep trying. I always start off my answer to them with "Are you THAT friggin stupid?" It might have no impact but it makes me feel like I've at least tried to scare them into halting their scam for awhile.
This email was just so "original" that I had to bring attention to it. I tried to sell our ATV through Craig's List and received a few responses from scammers telling me that they were willing to pay more than I was asking, just so I'd put their huge "check" into my bank and write them a check from my account so they could pay their own "shipper", who doesn't exist, of course. I saw that for what it was right away, too. Uh, excuse me, dude, but I set the rules here, not you!
But, whoever sent this email didn't even bother waiting until I want to sell something. I didn't go to their website because I don't want to push my luck. We have a pretty good security system for our internet server because of my husband's business and his level of paranoia but I still don't like tempting fate! However, this email came to my inbox, not my junk folder, which I found interesting. I definitey want Hotmail to know about it!
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
5 Jun 09
The problem with that is these people have a host of email addresses. When you mark one as scam they just send from another address. Actually I think they probably only use each address once per mailing then go on to the nest one. I finally got so tired of all their offerings of viagra and hot dates that I blocked the whole domain. Hotmail is just a place fo all the scammers and cheats to hang out.
@ShirleyBillingsley (1544)
• United States
6 Jun 09
That is a scam letter. I received several of those in the past couple of years. I took one down to the police station. They told me they were a scam. The same people will eventually try to get you to "accept Payments" in the mail for them. That is a rip off. The payments will be fake money orders. The other scam will try to get you to send them money.
@ShirleyBillingsley (1544)
• United States
6 Jun 09
They would just turn around and use it on someone else. Those people are just plain greedy, and don't care who they take advantage of.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
6 Jun 09
You know what I'd love to do one of these days? Send THEM a fake check or money order! LOL
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
5 Jun 09
I doubt very seriously that reporting them to hotmail would do any good. Hotmail seems to be the mecca for all sleazy, underhanded scammers out there. If you block the email address on that email they will just change a small thing in it and it will still get through to you. I have blocked the whole domain and don't have any problems with them anymore.
Sure there are some scammers that use other email addresses but the bulk of them seem to come from hotmail. I guess hotmail isn't particular about who it lets have an email address and these people have learned this. I only know one, count them, one, legitimate person who was using hotmail. When I mentioned to her about how I had blocked the domain and why she realized how many of the same kinds of emails she was getting. I told her about it because I wanted her to be aware that I couldn't receive any emails from her. After our discussion she decided to get another email account too.
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
5 Jun 09
It would be a good thing if they did because all I have seen has been the obscene and scammer side of them. A long time ago I actually had a hotmail account. Because it had a chat feature I talked a good friend of mine into signing up so we could chat in real time. Up to that point I hadn't paid much attention to what kind of unwanted emails I had been getting because I just went through and deleted anything I hadn't asked for without opening them. My friend however, opened one and it was OBSCENE. She was so upset and I was sooo embarrassed. 
@dismalgrin (2604)
• United States
8 Jun 09
Don't trust anything. It looks interesting, but I don't trust anything just because it looks interesting. I only trust that which shows results. So, start showing some results and then I might jump in. But, from the get go... I'd say this is a scam. It's too compericially looking for my tastes. So, I'm going to say I'll pass on this one for now. I hope you have come to the same conclusion.
@faisai (1138)
• Hong Kong
5 Jun 09
It is simply the normal life here that we receive scam emails from time to time. There can be all sorts of it such as you are selected a winner of a particular lucky draw game out of random and they ask you to deposit a certain amount of fee so as to claim your reward... as if I am really that stupid to deposit the money.
Anyway, I always ask myself a simple question: Is it too good to be true?
If there is just that good offer they are offering to you, why not they just take it? There really is no reason to go through all the troubles to let you gain that much if they are not gaining at least something similar.
1 person likes this
@moondancer (7433)
• United States
5 Jun 09
He is trying waaaaay tooo haaard to convince the reader that they or he is a reliable company that does reliable trade. I would not trust this person as far as I can throw my house....there is no way that I can even pick up my house. So he is not trustworthy at all. I would report him as spam.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
6 Jun 09
I did report him, and I let him know that I did. I always respond to these types of emails. First, by asking them how they can be so stupid. Then, I tell them that I've forwarded their email to the proper authorities for investgation and prosecution.
I don't know if it helps any but I can say that the number of emails like this that I receive has dropped sharply.
You're right about him trying too hard. He also made the same mistake that most of these frauds make: they make so many grammer, spelling and punctuation errors! Legitimate businesspeople know that, in order for people to take them seriously as legitimate, they must be letter-perfect. Luckily, these criminals haven't seemed to have grasped onto that concept. Idiots!
@dragon54u (31634)
• United States
5 Jun 09
I haven't received this email but my warning bells would've been clanging in the first sentence! It's obviously written by someone who doesn't know how to speak good English. That's usually a tip-off right there.
Unfortunately, people will fall for that one like they fall for all the others. I'm glad you know what to look for and avoid.
I don't buy anything from unsolicited emails, no matter how good the prices.
@clorissa123 (4926)
• United States
6 Jun 09
Thanks for your warning, and we all keep in mind of it. There were millions of scammers out there, in planning of scam people's money. I just hate those scammers, if they never leave you alone. What is their integrity in life. They just simply scam people money like that? Don't they afraid of karma one day?
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
6 Jun 09
I don't think they even know what karma is... or they just don't care.
These are indespicable creatures who don't bat an eye over robbing innocent and trusting people of their money. They have no integrity. I'm sure they have no friends, either.
@Sandra1952 (6047)
• Spain
5 Jun 09
The biggest giveaway here is the poor grammar in the email. Proper companies want to impress, and they pay people to write their sales emails and website copy. You're never going to stop these people, but at least you smell a really big rat and you're warning other people about it. The internet is a great place, but it is also a Cheat's Paradise. All we can do is be vigilant and warn others to do the same.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
5 Jun 09
That's about it, Sandra. I usually write back to them, advising them that I've contacted the "authorities" and they can be expecting a knock on their door very soon. It may do absolutely nothing to stop them but I hope it at least slows them down a bit. I have received less of these types of scam emails, though, so it might be doing a little bit of good.
You're very correct about the grammar and punctuation giving these guys away. Any legitimate company ensures that everything is perfect before sending it out. A typo or any other kind of English error can make the difference between selling or not selling. That's one of the things I learned about internet marketing, although it applies to marketing in any media. Any error shows a lack of professionalism.
@onlinerep01 (490)
• United States
5 Jun 09
Hello
I know what uyou mean, it is a shame. I have received these same emails is all of my email account and I have threee of them in total, and every now and then I will get this kind of email, now after reading the email you have received the names seems to be differnt, and that tells me that their are many of these kind of scammers out there. You are also correct about the check being a fraud, they expect you to take this check to your bank, and cash it so you can be hit with a over draft fee and other bank fees, and with some banks they will even close your account out because they will think that you had, somthing to do with this fraud, so I encourage people to be very cafeful about these kinds of emails, and find legit ways to earn money on the internet.
Happy My Lotting!
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
6 Jun 09
Yes, you would think that these people, since they're smart enough to be able to bounce these emails all over the world before they reach you, in order to hide where they're really coming from, they'd be able to put that knowledge to better (and LEGAL) use!
But, a criminal is a criminal. They only think one way: to get money illegally. I know that times are hard but that's no excuse for stealing money from innocent people!
@happy6162 (3001)
• United States
5 Jun 09
I have had a few email that offer me a job to sell a product. If the customer needs it right away the email said I am to pay postage for the product they are going to ship after the customer pay them. I could not understand why that was so I did not accept the job. Really they are shipping the product why do I have to pay the postage. It did not make since.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
6 Jun 09
It seems like they'll try anything to get your money.
It's such a shame, too. The invention of the internet has certainly helped people everywhere, but that also includes helping criminals to try to steal your money. I can only hope that, one day, the authorities will be able to track these thieves down in a matter of seconds and go after them, no matter where they're hiding.
@akuler (3531)
• Malaysia
6 Jun 09
Hi mentalward,
I believe that is a scam. Only the manufacturer can offer you such low price and they will never do that. If you can check this said to be company origin, it is better. I don't know how but some IT expert can trace the address of the e-mail. Most of the international scam come from somewhere in Africa (I don't want to mention).
People get clever everyday. So do the cheaters. They will try a new tactic as the old one did not working anymore.
Don't waste your money on someone your did not know.
@mentalward (14690)
• United States
6 Jun 09
You're talking about the "Nigerian Scam". I'm well aware of that one. I think that everyone who has been using the internet for any length of time knows about that one... except for those who send them! They must be complete morons because there are warnings about them all over the internet.
I never opened the link to this person's website but have been told a few times here just how cheaply this guy is trying to "sell" them. You are correct about the prices being so low and that they could only come from the manufacturer, but they could also come from criminals who have stolen them in the first place.
However, I don't believe this guy has anything to sell except a lot of lies. I hope that everyone he's sent this email to also realizes that and won't send him a penny.
@rdadey (484)
• Canada
8 Jun 09
Scammers get your addresses and try to make it look like they're your best friend and will make you rich. Don't even bother to open and read these emails. I get them every day and I trash them right away. If you make contact with them just once they will never let you go.
@Debs_place (10520)
• United States
6 Jun 09
Actually it is not that new..I have received them in the past. It always amazes me how many of these scams I find in my junk mail and how many of them still get through the mail filters.
If I don't find a website and know it is legit...I don't use it.
@maidangela7349 (1191)
•
6 Jun 09
Thank you for the warning but I don't think this is a new type of scam. Offering to sell goods then taking the money and not delivering the goods is as old as the hills. In fact we have a saying for it which indicates how old it is and that is "Buying a pig in a poke."
If I buy on line it is usually from well known and reputable sellers or through a safe intermediary such as Pay Pal. Although occasionally I have bought from a privated seller but never for a big price and lets face it you have to trust someone sometime
@commanderxo (1494)
• Canada
6 Jun 09
Don't feel too bad my dear, for one thing this e-mail "scam-spam" is nothing new.
I can only "suppose" how these web hackers get peoples' e-mail addresses???...but one thing I DO know, is that these "people" DO OWN and operate, their own servers. In essence, they ARE their own ISP (Internet Service Provider). This is why you'll see the weird and wacky sender addresses arrive in your inbox, like the one above. These addresses cannot be traced, nor can they be replied to, because they are PERSONAL servers. The only thing you can do, is block the addresses from your senders list. True it's a pain in the *ss, but it's about the only way you can stop them. Yes too, you "can" report them to your ISP if you wish, but little will come of it, due to the reasons I've previously stated.
Some ISP's do keep a spam record of unrecognizable sender addresses (as does mine) and will e-mail you a quarantined list of these "spam" messages. The user has the option of reviewing each one, and can have any or all of them delivered to their inbox, should the user recognize any sender. Also, you may have one of those ISP's that keep a copy of spam messages, and list them on their spammed messages web page. Here you can add in sender's addresses that you wish to block. However, NOT all ISP's provide this unique service. You may have to do a little shopping around to find one who does; and those that do, usually provide it for free.
I cannot tell you how annoying these messages are. I and my girlfriend have experienced the same thing as you have. But since we switched servers with this added spam filter feature, we've not had any problem thus far.
I wish I could be of better assistance. Cheers;
cdrxo
@AltheGreat2430 (2716)
• Philippines
6 Jun 09
Well it sounds like a scam. I have receive a very similar email too a few days ago. I just deleted it right away. I didn't even finish reading it. It's a scam.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
6 Jun 09
There are always these people who are trying to use the internet to scam people out of money. I'm always getting emails..send bank info because you have inherited money kinda emails...They go straight to my junk mail. I really don't know who all you would report it too. You know..there should be somewhere we could forward these nasty scammers and have them investigated. Take care.
@scififan43 (2434)
• United States
7 Jun 09
Hi mentalward, this sounds like it could be a scam to me. Like you have said there are differnt kinds of scams going on out on the inernet as of now, scamers change there tatics and see how guible we are. I do not think I have recivied an e-mail like this but i may have but not payeded any attntion. I would contcat the sytems admin for MSN hotmail if you want to report it. I am not sure how to do that but I do belive that this is a link to report pshing scams in hotmial.
