419 Scams Reloaded

As the standard 419 scams become common knowledge, idiot fraudsters are looking for more ways in which to dupe the naive societies of the western world.

In their latest attempt, scammers operating from Amsterdamn and Rotterdamn have cloned well known courier websites, such as DHL and Lufthansa Cargo, in a bid to defraud the common citizen.

The new scam works like this; Potential fraudsters advertise used motor vehicles on popular sites, such as autotrader and car.com, for next to nothing. Would be buyers then discover that the item is housed abroad, often in Spain or another European country. At this point the fraudsters inform the buyer that transport costs need to be paid in advance, and recommend couriers such as “DHL Shippers” and “Lufthansa Worldwide Cargo”, and polished escrow services.

Of course the items dont exist. The advance fee is taken and nothing more is heard from the seller. The transport company websites use branding from the websites they mock in an effort to appear legit. The obvious advice to anyone looking at buying a used car or bike is that if it looks too good to be true, then it probably is. Refrain from buying items that require shipping from abroad and never pay upfront to unknown sellers.

(Please note that DHL Shippers and Lufthansa Worldwide Cargo are fictional companies used by scam scum.)