CAUTION when using online escrow agent

[newfietom]

I was scammed.... It's rather embarrassing to admit, but for the benefit of others, I'm willing to share my story.

I've shopped online, used eBay and have always had VERY good experiences with those transactions. This was the exception. As I tell this story, reemember the whole thing was a scam. I tell the story the way it happened BEFORE I found out I was the victim of fraud.

I found a motorcycle on Craigslist for sale. It was a nice used bike with low miles -- exactly what I was looking for. I replied to the seller through the craigslist email system and he (FISHER GIBSON with an email address of fishergibson@hotmail.com) replied quickly. He explained that he was living in UK for his job and had left his bike here in DE and wanted to sell it. He also explained that he was using MoneyBookers as escrow agent. They would collect the funds, deliver the motorcycle and then I could decide not to keep it if I found anything I didn't like. MoneyBookers would come collect the bike and refund my money in that case.

I did some online research on MoneyBookers and they seemed legitimate. I even registered on their site so I could conduct the transaction. Then I was instructed to WIRE the money by Western Union to:
MoneyBookers Agent Details:
You have to send the payment to:
First Name: Richard
Last Name: Deron
Street: 31 New Bond St
City: London
Zip code: W1S 2RL
Country: United Kingdom

I completed the wire transfer. That was my mistake.

I waited for two days and heard nothing. I sent a couple e-mails back to them at support@transactions-moneybookers.com which looks very suspicious now, but I didn't pay attention to it at the time. They finally sent me a sent me a reply requesting another $999 for "title transfer fee" which (they said) was refundable upon completion of the sale. I refused and told them I wouldn't send any more money (at least I cut my losses at $3125 rather than adding a thousand-dollar insult to the injury.

I also sent another couple e-mails to FISHER GIBSON with no replies.

I've contacted Western Union requesting a copy of the ID they got when the money was picked up and for a security tape of the person who picked up the money. They REFUSE to assist in this way without a warrant or subpoena. They are just supporting fraud by refusing this information to victims of crime of this nature. I've also filed a report with http://ic3.gov which, frankly, is a very difficult system to use and, in my opinion, very unlikely to result in any kind of satisfaction for me.

BEWARE!!! Don't wire funds EVER!!! If there is no other way to pay the seller, then they really don't want to sell their goods. There are lots of legitimate, secure easy ways to move funds through the internet. Use one of them with your credit card to get double protection.

An unwitting victim without a motorcycle.

Tom

[JaxHot]

Tom,
Welcome to the internet.
Thats the place where scammers can create fake domains using stolen credit cards and Western Union makes tons of money from people like you.

[peg]

I wish I could say I was surprised about Western Unions lack of co-operation, but I am not. I have heard countless tails of similar problems with WU.

I think WU feels that they are free from any reprisals because of their disclaimers. For example, they do say not to use them to send money to people you don't know AND that they don't afford any protection from internet auctions (and similar things). That being said, however, I am sure they are WELL aware of those locations that seem to be higher in levels of fraud. I feel that WU should be a bit more proactive in informing customers when they are sending money to these locations to make them aware of the level of fraud.

Anyway, here is a snapshot (blown up a bit) of WU's FAQs on the question of Protection for auctions.

Clicking on the image will open the page in a new window

[newfietom]

I keep calling them and they keep telling me different things that all mean the same thing: WE WON'T HELP YOU!

This time, it was a refusal to provide ANY proof of WHO picked up my money. They even admitted that the transfer instructions included a company name and that I requested the person provide company ID. They "don't know" if a company ID was presented, they just handed over the money to whomever came to pick it up.

And as far as any responsibility on their part for getting ID - they've dismissed their responsibility altogether for that.