I’m a French student in San Francisco. I’ve been here for one month now. I went to an AT&T store in order to buy and iPhone. But they told me that I can’t have this phone since I won’t stay one-year here because there is a contract with it.
But the person who explained me that also whispered in my ear that I can find iPhones on Craiglist. Like I said, I’m French so I didn’t know about that website.
Indeed I found a good offer, here was the title on Craiglist : BRAND NEW 16GB WHITE Apple IPHONE 3G AT&T NO CONTRACT!! - $380
So I replied to this add saying that I was really interested and that I can pay cash for a personal delivery. But then the vendor told me that he is not in California for the moment but proposed me a very safe way to get this iPhone :
On 28/10/08 08:12, "Brian Tynan" <tynanb112@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi
The item is brand new in box with 1 year warranty and legally unlocked by apple.It works on any gsm carrier .
I am now outside USA so i can only ship the item to you.The shipping is free and i will also ship with insurance
So we can be both protected i want to use an escrow company if you want to continue with the deal.In this way the transaction is safe.I ship the item ,the shipping company will inform you that the shipping was made and will instruct you how to make the payment.All the details about payment will be sent to the shipping company not to me and will be release to me only after you will get the item and inspect it.You have 3 days to inspect it and only after if you decide to keep my item you will give your approve so i can get the money from the shipping company
I think this is the best way
I have 5 available.I can offer a disccount if you buy more
If you agree let me know as soon as possible
Have a nice day
So for me it was a safe way to obtain my phone. So I told him I was ok and then a company called Trucking World Freight contacted me and gave me information about how it works and how to pay and of course a tracking number.
We are glad to announce you that you have a package in custody at http://www.trucking-world-freight.com
TRANSACTION DETAILS:
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Description of item: Apple Iphone 16GB 3G New
Currency: US$
Purchasing Price: 380,00
Who pays http://www.trucking-world-freight.com service: Seller
Inspection Period: 3 days
Payment type: Wire Transfer
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SHIPPING DETAILS
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Service: http://www.trucking-world-freight.com
Package Contents: Apple Iphone 16GB 3G New
Declared Value:US$ 380,00
Additional Services: Third Party Service
Status of Inspection: Good
Shipped to: My address
Tracking Number: XXXXXXXXXX
NOTE: The seller paid for the delivery.
This package was sent on 2008-05-11
Name and address of sender:
Sender Name: Andre Downer
Address: 32 Russell Square
City: London
Zip Code: WC1 5DN
Country: United Kingdom
So I checked the name of the company on Google and found nothing about fraud. But I noticed that the company was not on Google even if I wrote the exact name. So I tried to enter a different tracking number to see if it was a real website and I got this message : Package not found.
So I decided to watch the source code and I saw that the website was made by : //By Maximus (maximus@nsimail.com) w/ mods by DynamicDrive
//For full source code, visit http://www.dynamicdrive.com
That’s when I told myself that I was not a trick. So on the 11/05/2008 I went to a Western Union Agency and send to the “third part agent” $380. In fact I paid $414 fees included.
- Receiver's full name and address CAMPBELL David
- Exact amount sent $ 380
-10-digits money transfer control number (MTCN) xxxxxxxxxxx
And since then I have no news from the company or from the seller. So I typed the postal address of the company (Civic Centre Building, 157 Station Road Harrow, HA1 2XF, London UK) in Google to find where they are located in London so I can call a friend and ask him to check this out. But I found out that I’m not the first one who has been tricked by that guy. This address was abused for a whole string of fake escrow scams, which they call the "157 Station Road Harrow" series !!
I just do not understand how someone that tricked so many people is able to keep on going with those fake escrow services. Those websites should be closed and I’m sure we can catch that man by sending him some money to have another iPhone (because there are still adds of him on Craiglist) and then catch him at a British Western Union Company when he comes to pick up the money !
So to resume, here are the main information :
Vendor : Andre Downer, 32 Russell Square, London, WC1 5DN
Vendor e-mail address : Brian Tynan tynanb112@gmail.com
Fake escrow services : http://www.trucking-world-freight.com
Third Part Agent : David Campbell, 236 Holloway Road, London, N7 69SW
Besides of you, I sent an e-mail to Western Union to warn them that I’ve been tricked by someone called David Campbell. And I also sent an e-mail to Dynamic Drive to ask them if they have any information about the guy who asked them to make that website.
BEWARE
EDIT : The seller is still scamming people on craigslist using a new email address : bomrosebom@gmail.com
