Shipping a Package to Nigeria

[T.J.]

Unbelievably I have to ship something there that I am selling on Craigs List. I will check with Fedex and DHL on Monday but does anyone have any ideas on how to ship a small box with about $100 of value. I know I will have Aduana involved and I know doing business in Nigeria is crazy. Should I take a personal check on a Nigerian bank? Jajajaja - That it a joke.

I am just looking for a shipper and hoping someone may have a great suggestion.

Thanks

[Steve]

Seriously TJ, no one from Nigeria buys stuff off Craigslist unless they are setting up some kind of scam. There are some pretty ingenious ways of scamming these days.

Just google it "Nigerian Craigslist Scam"

[maddbomber]

Originally Posted by Steve

Seriously TJ, no one from Nigeria buys stuff off Craigslist unless they are setting up some kind of scam. There are some pretty ingenious ways of scamming these days.

Just google it "Nigerian Craigslist Scam"

yep..

[4NSPY]

DHL will be the best. I'll more than likely cost way more than the $100 value.

Just make sure the funds cleared your account fully before sending. I'm sure you're onto that though.

Ps. Why haven't you responded to my letter from last month. I still have the $100,000,000 an am awaiting your details. LOL

[T.J.]

Steve and Bomber,

I try not to be foolish but this guy got my attention. I know not to part with goods or funds without being very careful, and get lots of "please help me" Nigerian emails, offering great sums for doing nothing.

I read the Nigerian Craigslist Scam things I had Googled (Thanks Steve) and this thread is the best one on this subject. Big Craigslist scam called the Nigerian scam! BEWARE! (Post, West: for sale, movers) - City-Data Forum

In my case I was selling an item for about $100 US and Nicolas Linda emailed in that regard. He asked a couple of questions and the only relevant one was "is the item still available?" The others were answered in the Craigslist ad I had placed.

He then wrote telling me that he wanted to buy it, but wanted it shipped to his sister, who "went for seminal in West Africa". He would pay $100 extra for the cost and aggravation of shipping it there and asked for my "full bank info" OR MY PAYPAL EMAIL ACCOUNT. The Paypal option would be my only option.

I asked where he lived in Mexico and he gave an answer of the state and city, both easily obtainable with a map. I had asked for his phone number and his reply to that was that his work requires a lot of travel and he was presently in London. He did offer to give me his number. At this point I told him I wanted to see what I needed to do regarding shipping to Nigeria. Gosh, are these guys now stooping low enough to try to whack people $100 or so at a clip?

Do you think I would be at risk simply by giving up my Paypal email address? Or do you think he would use the "tracking number scam" and just try to scam me into thinking the money had been put in my Paypal account?

I think I am going to write and ask him for his physical address in Mexicali, Baja California and see what happens. Then I will aks him to send me a copy of the picture page of his passport, stamped showing him to actually be in London.

Eventually I am sure someone else will buy this thing and I will get tired of messing with this guy. But I must admit that the Paypal payment got my attention, at least until I read that they provide a false Paypal payment notice. But that could and would be verified by me going to check my Paypal account to see if the funds were there.

I will waste enough time on this until I get bored or determine how and what this guy is up to. I don't see a lot of Nigerians around here but had a guy from there at our English speaking church a couple of weeks ago. He is doing something here and had been attending Spanish services.

Stay tuned.

[T.J.]

4N - Years ago I ran one of these to the limit, obviously with no intention of giving up bank info or sending a deposit, etc. I actually got a check for $97,800. I called the bank in Tennessee and the funds were available. Then I got company info on the maker and called them, asking to speak to the CFO. This lady took my call and said, "oh no, not again." She asked if the check # was in the 1000's and it was. They were up to the 8,000's or something. The check was a perfect counterfeit, even with watermarks and the facsimilie signature was the exact one the real company was using.

During this time I got an email from a guy telling me this was a scam and please not to send them anything. He was on a mission not to let others get scammed as had happened to an elderly neighbor. When asked how he got MY email, he said he had placed a worm, spyware or something in the bad guys' computer and he could see every keystroke. It was then simple to know who they were communicating with and to warn them. I kept the check for a couple of years as a souvenir before destroying it. I did go to my bank and asked if it would help catch the thieves and the mgr told me it was not their problem unless I deposited the check, and it would then be MY problem if I knowingly deposited a bad check. WTF, I was just trying to help catch bad guys.

[maddbomber]

this is an obvious scam....he lives in mexico but is currently in london but wants the item shipped to west africa....cmon

at the very least he is washing money or fishing for info that he can use to rip you off

[T.J.]

Ok. I give up. Thanks guys.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by T.J.

Do you think I would be at risk simply by giving up my Paypal email address? Or do you think he would use the "tracking number scam" and just try to scam me into thinking the money had been put in my Paypal account?

You wouldnt be at risk if you supplied him your paypal account email. But as you mentioned he's going to send a spoof email just like a funds received paypal notification. He'll then hope that that alone will be sufficient proof for you to ship the goods, without you actually checking your account. Him offering more than the value of the item (or offering to pay significant shipping costs) is a big red flag, as (sadly) is the fact alone that he wants it shipped to Nigeria. A religious reference is often made because it strikes a chord with other religious people (hence his sister "went for seminal" whatever that means). His Mexican/UK/Nigerian presence is the usual story, I bet if you check the email headers of his email for the senders IP address and then do an IP search on that you'll find the mail originates from Nigeria.

In addition, Paypal do not allow accounts to be operated from Nigeria. Even if you're visiting there they'll suspend your account at the first sign of activity.

Seems a bit weak that he'd do this to make only $100 but he's probably dealing with 50 similar people per day working 8 hours a day. If he averages a success rate of 1 in 50 then I am sure $100 per day goes a long way over there.

It's always fun to play these things if you've got the time to kill so have at it, but dont ship anything - even if it appears you've been paid.

[T.J.]

Got it Steve. You know I respect your opinion on matters such as these. I really don't feel like killing time when I could be drinking or chasing women. Jajaja

[T.J.]

Well, Steve got me curious. Is this even a small sign that this could be legit?

IP address :209.85.213.45IP number :3512063277Country :United States flagRegion:CaliforniaCity (Estimate) :Mountain ViewLatitude :37.4192Longitude :-122.057Time Zone :America/Los_AngelesGMT Offset :-08:00:00

Thanks guys

[Steve]

Checks out to the US but he could be using a proxy which hides his true IP or if it's a web based email service such as hotmail, yahoo or gmail etc then may well reflect the IP of the mail provider rather than his own PC.


I'd still stay well clear.

[Cokewithlime]

btw T.J. - that IP 209.85.213.45 traces back to a Google mail server in Mountain view CA - the mail user could be from anywhere in the world.

[T.J.]

Got it. Thanks again to everyone for the great advice and heads up.

[gabesz]

Let me guess you are shipping back the millions of dollars that the wife of some prince sent to you in total confidence?

I just cannot help it.

But as for taking the risk, forget this idea. Nigeria is full of diffent scams and one is getting hold of your account of any kind to find a way to use it. Just don't agree to this deal especially its around $100. In the long run this could cost you far more.

[GONZO]

TJ pm me I have a nice bridge for sale in Brooklyn!! jajajaja

Just ribbin ya mi amigo

[gabesz]

Gonzo you are too late. I sold that bridge last week to some prince in confidentiality from Nigeria.

[T.J.]

You guys are crazy.
This is my bridge already.
And the prettiest girl in NYC would be my daughter.

[Gringation]

She is ADORABLE!

[T.J.]

Originally Posted by gringation

she is adorable!

Gracias

And so is her dad ! ! !

[SamCancun]

Welcome to the 419 Eater

Enjoy!

[Gringation]

Originally Posted by SamCancun

Welcome to the 419 Eater

Enjoy!

Best. Site. Ever. I'm guessing I won't be getting much work done at the office today

[SamCancun]

Originally Posted by Gringation

Best. Site. Ever. I'm guessing I won't be getting much work done at the office today

I saw it years ago and this reminded me of it! Some of the photos are brilliant, my favorite was the guy that got lots of animals made out of wood and sent to England because the guy said he'd order like 1,000,000 units! They all deserve what they get!

[Gringation]

This morning read one where a guy did an 8-hour recorded reading of "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" ... twice.

[kathy_caribe]

Originally Posted by SamCancun

Welcome to the 419 Eater

Enjoy!

OMG! HOURS wasted! but not really wasted... now I'm going to have to get up at 4am so I can make up missed work.