Web scammers target Down East Baileyville police chief says if a deal sounds too good, run the other way

BAILEYVILLE – Nigerian scammers have struck again.

But this time instead of asking the victim to cash a check, they are asking that merchandise purchased from stores in the States be forwarded to Africa.

Jean Jones, not her real name, said she was playing cribbage on her computer a few weeks ago when a man appeared on her online messenger service. He said his name was Calvin Smith and he was from California.

After chatting for a few days he asked her about her favorite flower. “He said, ‘Well I’ll send you some,'” she said. She said she gave him her post office number, but he asked for her home address so the flowers could be delivered.

Flowers never arrived, but a large box of fruit and a box of chocolates did. “There were two boxes. One was a great big box full of fruit and another box full of … chocolates,” she said. She called the companies and learned the scammer had paid for the items.

“A few days later [the scammer] said, ‘Listen, Dear,’ he always called me dear, he said, ‘I have a couple more packages that I’d like to have sent to your address. They’ll all be paid for, and you just have to mail them on to me,'” he said.

Jones asked him why he didn’t have the packages delivered to his address in California. That was when she learned he was in Nigeria on business. Although skeptical, Jones agreed to help.

Within days a digital home theater system arrived. After that a watch and two computer games were sent. The total value of the merchandise? $500.

Jones contacted the retail store that sent the items. She was told she had ordered the digital theater system on her credit card. The problem: Jones does not have a credit card.

She called the credit card company and was told she did not have an account with them. Jones said she questioned the Nigerian about her name being on a credit card. He told her his staff person, James Lawrence, had made a mistake.

Jones had had enough and told the scammer to leave her alone. He persisted and asked her to cash some checks from people he claimed owed him money. She was to put the checks in her personal account and then send the money to him. She told him to forget about it.

The money scam idea is not new.

Last year a Dexter man fell prey to a similar scheme. He received what appeared to be a certified check drawn on an Auburn bank. He was told to cash the check, keep $500 for his service and send the rest by Western Union. The Dexter man had to reimburse his bank $3,400 after the check bounced.

Jones said a second man, who told her his name was Chris Smith, contacted her. He said he was a Nigerian living in Florida and could not cash postal money orders in his country. “He said, ‘What I need you to do is I would like to send you a post office money order and you cash it and mail me the money,” she said. He told her the check was for $3,000 and she could keep a percentage for herself.

Jones told him to skedaddle.

Baileyville Police Chief Phil Harriman said Tuesday if it sounds like a good deal, run the other way. Harriman said scammers continue to prey on unsuspecting people Down East. “I know of at least two people in town that have been hit by these. Somehow if it’s through chatting on the Internet or spam mail they contact these people and offer them a deal that is too good to refuse,” Harriman said. “The material is being purchased with stolen credit cards or stolen credit card numbers.”

The chief said he handled a case last year that cost a Baileyville man around $1,000.

Harriman also warned people not to give out personal information. “You start opening the door a little bit, they kick it wide open,” he said.

Calais Police Chief Michael Milburn recommended to Calais residents that if something sounds suspicious, avoid getting involved. “You have to consider money is the issue,” he said. “If people think they can make money in a simple way, they are going to try it.”

Although such scams are federal crimes, Harriman said, the feds cannot keep up with the volume of cases.

Harriman said local police can’t do anything about it. He said he referred victims to the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center’s Internet Fraud Complaint Center. The e-mail address is: www.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp.