Sending Money Via Western Union Type Service: A Scam Every Time
Post 1 of 213
There are so many scammers on this site, it can be downright hard work trying to find the legitimate ones. So let me give you the best advice I possibly can: I do not care what someone tells you, how many pictures of their "alleged" products they have, as soon as they mention the word "Western Union" or any other type of money wiring, IT IS A SCAM.
These types of services are for
1. People that do not have bank accounts
2. Money as a gift
3. To pay a bill (i.e. car payment).
If you send someone money this way, plan on never getting it back. Legitimate companies will NEVER EVER ask you to pay this way.(Ask yourself, when have you ever bought something from a store, and you "Moneygrammed" your payment for it?) If you need more proof, just browse through this forum of hundreds of people that are trying to find ways to get their money back.
This is my recent experience: I was dealing with a company I thought was legit. I checked them out on the internet, and it was an actual electronics company in Hong Kong. However, this guy had a free yahoo address(Why not have an email address from the company?) And when I checked out the IP address from the emails, they were traced to Nigeria. Then when he sent an email stating that method of Payment was Western Union, I knew he was a scammer. Also, the name he said to wire the money to was completely different, a 'Aletor Itua'; When I searched this name, I found endless articles of people being scammed from this same person. For fun, I emailed the scammer, telling him that I won't do Western Union, and recommended Escrow.com. This is the email I received back:
"this is my HONG KONG NATIONAL ID CARD,i have never done this before not even to the most trusted customer i will not send my ID card to that person the reason is that here in HONG KONG anyone could be easily located and arrested wherever you are so everyone here in HONG KONG do not give out there ID CARD but i have decided do this because of what you said in the content of your first mail and you wanted someone who could work with you to achieve success . The person that taught you and gave you all those informations are very correct but i want to inform you that if there are bad people in business there are also good people , 10 bad fruits on a tree does not make the whole fruits on the tree bad i want to assure you of a good deal you just wait and see also i want you to know that western union is not established for bad transaction western union is a legal means , but bad people just want to make it bad also do you know that there have been recent reports of cheat via paypal, escrow mr peter with this email bp20002003@yahoo.co.uk was cheated of about 13,000 dolars via paypal escrow but when he met me today he his happy as he bought goods worth 1800 dollars and he his happy in conclusion it is not method of payment that really matters what matters is the person that you wants to buy from , i have conscience oaky and i have promised myself to be good always and not cheat anyone i want to assure you that you are ina a safe hand just go ahead and send the money right now and give me the MTCN today and i will get back to your email with the FEDEX shipment tracking numkber today take me for my word i am expecting to hear from you N.B . please please please my national id card i send to you is my life please , i will send your item and also to the second address immediatelly i get the MTCN after you have your items i will require you to inform me . THANKS. Stephen Lai "
REMEMBER THEY ARE GOOD.....THEY MAKE A LIVING THIS WAY!
We are all keeping the scammers thriving by falling for their tricks. Please, please please do your research, and keep your money safe by only dealing with legitimate companies with legitimate payment methods, like www.escrow.com. I posted an ad for wanting to buy Nintendo Wii's, and I received over 40 responses- all fake. Be Careful and be Wise. I HAVE STARTED A WEBSITE FOR ALL OF US HONEST PEOPLE TO TELL OUR STORIES, GET HELP, AND STOP THESE SCAMMERS. Email me for more information at helpIwasscammed@yahoo.com, and visit my fraud website at http://www.helpiwasscammed.com![[em14]](http://img.alibaba.com/images/eng/style/icon/emoticons_embrace.gif)
NOTE: I have no idea why, but if you send me an email from a gmail account, I will not be able to respond to you. I apologize for the inconvenience.
These types of services are for
1. People that do not have bank accounts
2. Money as a gift
3. To pay a bill (i.e. car payment).
If you send someone money this way, plan on never getting it back. Legitimate companies will NEVER EVER ask you to pay this way.(Ask yourself, when have you ever bought something from a store, and you "Moneygrammed" your payment for it?) If you need more proof, just browse through this forum of hundreds of people that are trying to find ways to get their money back.
This is my recent experience: I was dealing with a company I thought was legit. I checked them out on the internet, and it was an actual electronics company in Hong Kong. However, this guy had a free yahoo address(Why not have an email address from the company?) And when I checked out the IP address from the emails, they were traced to Nigeria. Then when he sent an email stating that method of Payment was Western Union, I knew he was a scammer. Also, the name he said to wire the money to was completely different, a 'Aletor Itua'; When I searched this name, I found endless articles of people being scammed from this same person. For fun, I emailed the scammer, telling him that I won't do Western Union, and recommended Escrow.com. This is the email I received back:
"this is my HONG KONG NATIONAL ID CARD,i have never done this before not even to the most trusted customer i will not send my ID card to that person the reason is that here in HONG KONG anyone could be easily located and arrested wherever you are so everyone here in HONG KONG do not give out there ID CARD but i have decided do this because of what you said in the content of your first mail and you wanted someone who could work with you to achieve success . The person that taught you and gave you all those informations are very correct but i want to inform you that if there are bad people in business there are also good people , 10 bad fruits on a tree does not make the whole fruits on the tree bad i want to assure you of a good deal you just wait and see also i want you to know that western union is not established for bad transaction western union is a legal means , but bad people just want to make it bad also do you know that there have been recent reports of cheat via paypal, escrow mr peter with this email bp20002003@yahoo.co.uk was cheated of about 13,000 dolars via paypal escrow but when he met me today he his happy as he bought goods worth 1800 dollars and he his happy in conclusion it is not method of payment that really matters what matters is the person that you wants to buy from , i have conscience oaky and i have promised myself to be good always and not cheat anyone i want to assure you that you are ina a safe hand just go ahead and send the money right now and give me the MTCN today and i will get back to your email with the FEDEX shipment tracking numkber today take me for my word i am expecting to hear from you N.B . please please please my national id card i send to you is my life please , i will send your item and also to the second address immediatelly i get the MTCN after you have your items i will require you to inform me . THANKS. Stephen Lai "
REMEMBER THEY ARE GOOD.....THEY MAKE A LIVING THIS WAY!
We are all keeping the scammers thriving by falling for their tricks. Please, please please do your research, and keep your money safe by only dealing with legitimate companies with legitimate payment methods, like www.escrow.com. I posted an ad for wanting to buy Nintendo Wii's, and I received over 40 responses- all fake. Be Careful and be Wise. I HAVE STARTED A WEBSITE FOR ALL OF US HONEST PEOPLE TO TELL OUR STORIES, GET HELP, AND STOP THESE SCAMMERS. Email me for more information at helpIwasscammed@yahoo.com, and visit my fraud website at http://www.helpiwasscammed.com
NOTE: I have no idea why, but if you send me an email from a gmail account, I will not be able to respond to you. I apologize for the inconvenience. Hot Topic Recommend
27 Mar 2007 21:53
Post 2 of 213
Replying to [inwilddreams]:
there are so many scammers nowadays and this has made us afraid of doing business
we should try our best to change the situation![[em1]](http://img.alibaba.com/images/eng/style/icon/emoticons_smile.gif)
there are so many scammers nowadays and this has made us afraid of doing business
we should try our best to change the situation
21 Jul 2007 03:13
Post 3 of 213
Replying to [inwilddreams]:
I paid my 4 chinese suppliers using western union evrytime and none gave me a problem. My advise is that since you know they are nigers then you can expect them to be scammers. But dont expect all payment by western union will turned out to be a scam.
Aussie
I paid my 4 chinese suppliers using western union evrytime and none gave me a problem. My advise is that since you know they are nigers then you can expect them to be scammers. But dont expect all payment by western union will turned out to be a scam.
Aussie
21 Jul 2007 19:59
Post 4 of 213
Replying to [inwilddreams]:
too truth. Once Tried, once got scammed, I think it's one of the most un reliable ways to pay.
too truth. Once Tried, once got scammed, I think it's one of the most un reliable ways to pay.
22 Jul 2007 02:53
Post 5 of 213
Replying to [alimartin888]:
My friend I agree with you, I had a good expierance of Buying with western Union, and one of the chinese scams is on alibaba.com as cn2008nike he had fraud me. So never buy with western union and from cn2008nike
Martin Felice
My friend I agree with you, I had a good expierance of Buying with western Union, and one of the chinese scams is on alibaba.com as cn2008nike he had fraud me. So never buy with western union and from cn2008nike
Martin Felice
30 Jul 2007 11:25
Post 6 of 213
Replying to [inwilddreams]:
Please do add in this website as SCAM:http://www.ttyihetrade.com
Name:Zhan Yue Yang.
Stupid Idiot cheating money around in Alibaba!
Wonder why Alibaba did not take action on them and grant them GOLD SUPPLIERS.Making us placing reliance on the grant!
![[em6]](http://img.alibaba.com/images/eng/style/icon/emoticons_rage.gif)
Please do add in this website as SCAM:http://www.ttyihetrade.com
Name:Zhan Yue Yang.
Stupid Idiot cheating money around in Alibaba!
Wonder why Alibaba did not take action on them and grant them GOLD SUPPLIERS.Making us placing reliance on the grant!
01 Aug 2007 07:48
Post 7 of 213
Replying to [MsAngela]:
Be aware also from Quest Trade China. Thier site is ec07.com. They took my money then sent me very damaged mesrible laptops to make me more furious. Big Warning.
Be aware also from Quest Trade China. Thier site is ec07.com. They took my money then sent me very damaged mesrible laptops to make me more furious. Big Warning.
03 Aug 2007 12:18
Post 8 of 213
Replying to [withron]: withron, how did you get on ordering from 2--8-nike .com
04 Aug 2007 17:14
Post 10 of 213
Replying to [ssman AU]:
Consider yourself VERY lucky that you paid W/U and were not scammed. That is great news for you. However, I can send you THOUSANDS of emails from people that have been scammed by paying this way. So trying to 'convince' me that sending money through a wire transfer service way is smart, is never going to happen. Please do not mislead others by trying to justify it. It makes us wonder if you are a scammer.
Consider yourself VERY lucky that you paid W/U and were not scammed. That is great news for you. However, I can send you THOUSANDS of emails from people that have been scammed by paying this way. So trying to 'convince' me that sending money through a wire transfer service way is smart, is never going to happen. Please do not mislead others by trying to justify it. It makes us wonder if you are a scammer.
06 Aug 2007 19:18
Post 11 of 213
Replying to [inwilddreams]:
I have spent the past hour or so reading the posts on Western Union payments due to a concern I have on a sample purchase I am thinking about. Before I get into the details of the deal, I want to share my thoughts on Western Union.
I believe that doing business this way is always a risk - at least initially. I am in the process of starting out and I always limit my sample purchases to a couple of hundred maximum. But before I choose a supplier, I get tons of quotes and compare... Then I filter the quotes to a few potential suppliers and request additional info. Those that respond in a timely manner I generally trust. Until now, I have never had a bad dealing.
I prefer western union for sample purchases becuase of the speed and low fee. T/Ts for me doesn't make sense when I am sending only 100-200 USD. Now as I stated before, it is all a risk. So I am never prepared to spend more than I am willing to lose. I believe everyone wanting to buy from here should keep that in mind. As a free member, I know that my inquiries are not always taken seriously - but that is the price you pay when starting out. Even though, as one poster said - due diligence is necessary.
I always speak with my potential suppliers as well. Not that it is a gaurantee, but you can tell a lot from the person/supplier when you talk with them. All in all, I am of the opinion that it is the supplier who you have to trust. Escrow.com, etc could be thought of as a scam in the opposite direction. What gaurantee is there that the buyer will not make a false claim and demand replacements for something that is totally fine? Business is a partnership - whether short term or long term. The key to that partnership is trust. If you dont trust the supplier - then in my mind the payment method doesn't matter.
Now onto the deal I am thinking about (feedback is welcome).
Company details are as follows:
Name: fiu chong
Country: Hong Kong
Job Title: Director/CEO/General Manager
Company Name: Fiu Chong Electronic Company Limited
Business Type: Trading Company
Products/Services:
Address: 2, 6 Lui Waston House, Kowloon, HK, Hong Kong
Telephone: 852 2315 1824
Mobile Phone:
Fax: 852 2315 1824
My request was for some touchscreen remotes. I got a price breakdown.Name brands - average of 40-50% cheaper than retail.
That, for me is the first flag.
Second flag was correspondence was through trade manager. I kept on insisting on email and finally got a response from a yahoo account. Second Flag.
Third flag was in one of the emails... it was mentioned that the units are "in very good condition". I asked if they were new - no response. Only that they come with an 18 month gaurantee. I havent checked but I do not believe the manufacturers themselves give an 18month gaurantee.
My gut is this is a scam. The posting is removed from AliBaba. I am not one to jump to conclusions until I have all the facts, so I will call them to see who picks up. However, if anyone has dealt with this company before and has some feedback, it would be appreciated.
To summarize - research not only the supplier, but the product, price and overall logic of the transaction. That is what I do. I will keep everyone posted on the developments and any other techniques I find useful in weeding out potential scammers.
Regards,
Nader Masoud
I have spent the past hour or so reading the posts on Western Union payments due to a concern I have on a sample purchase I am thinking about. Before I get into the details of the deal, I want to share my thoughts on Western Union.
I believe that doing business this way is always a risk - at least initially. I am in the process of starting out and I always limit my sample purchases to a couple of hundred maximum. But before I choose a supplier, I get tons of quotes and compare... Then I filter the quotes to a few potential suppliers and request additional info. Those that respond in a timely manner I generally trust. Until now, I have never had a bad dealing.
I prefer western union for sample purchases becuase of the speed and low fee. T/Ts for me doesn't make sense when I am sending only 100-200 USD. Now as I stated before, it is all a risk. So I am never prepared to spend more than I am willing to lose. I believe everyone wanting to buy from here should keep that in mind. As a free member, I know that my inquiries are not always taken seriously - but that is the price you pay when starting out. Even though, as one poster said - due diligence is necessary.
I always speak with my potential suppliers as well. Not that it is a gaurantee, but you can tell a lot from the person/supplier when you talk with them. All in all, I am of the opinion that it is the supplier who you have to trust. Escrow.com, etc could be thought of as a scam in the opposite direction. What gaurantee is there that the buyer will not make a false claim and demand replacements for something that is totally fine? Business is a partnership - whether short term or long term. The key to that partnership is trust. If you dont trust the supplier - then in my mind the payment method doesn't matter.
Now onto the deal I am thinking about (feedback is welcome).
Company details are as follows:
Name: fiu chong
Country: Hong Kong
Job Title: Director/CEO/General Manager
Company Name: Fiu Chong Electronic Company Limited
Business Type: Trading Company
Products/Services:
Address: 2, 6 Lui Waston House, Kowloon, HK, Hong Kong
Telephone: 852 2315 1824
Mobile Phone:
Fax: 852 2315 1824
My request was for some touchscreen remotes. I got a price breakdown.Name brands - average of 40-50% cheaper than retail.
That, for me is the first flag.
Second flag was correspondence was through trade manager. I kept on insisting on email and finally got a response from a yahoo account. Second Flag.
Third flag was in one of the emails... it was mentioned that the units are "in very good condition". I asked if they were new - no response. Only that they come with an 18 month gaurantee. I havent checked but I do not believe the manufacturers themselves give an 18month gaurantee.
My gut is this is a scam. The posting is removed from AliBaba. I am not one to jump to conclusions until I have all the facts, so I will call them to see who picks up. However, if anyone has dealt with this company before and has some feedback, it would be appreciated.
To summarize - research not only the supplier, but the product, price and overall logic of the transaction. That is what I do. I will keep everyone posted on the developments and any other techniques I find useful in weeding out potential scammers.
Regards,
Nader Masoud
09 Aug 2007 06:11