I am being SCAMMED in Domaining

[Haydon]

Hey all...

So to quickly update you : I purchased a domain, and about 2 days later I got a reply... It almost seems to good to be true. I offered to sell for 350 pounds, and then this guy comes in saying he is offering 16,000-18,000 USD..
Surely that seems a bit much..?
I have attached the message below...

Is this scam? - Look how he sends me to a forum which he probably just posted in with diff accounts.. let me know ASAP..

and how do I reply to a message like this to let him know that i know he is scamming me.. Is there anyway we can reverse this, and eventually me scam him...

I'm thinking about  16,000 - 18,000 USD for your domain. What do you think
about this price range? I have 400,000 budget for 30-40 names.

But I need a professional valuation (domain appraisal) from you first.
Without a professional appraisal we both cannot be 100% sure in the final
sale price. It will minimize my investing risks. [COLOR="Yellow"]<-- what does this mean[/COLOR]

Of course, we must engage a valuation company with a REAL manual service. I
don't trust automated services from companies I've never heard about.

I also need an appraisal service which verifies a possible trademark
infringement. It's important for me to know that you domain has no problems
with trademarks. You should not worry about it. You don't need to pay a fee
for this trademark verification service. Some good appraisers include this
option (trademark infringement verification) as a free bonus to the
appraisal service. [COLOR="yellow"]<--- Is he trying to make me get a pay a company to get the name 'checked' but the company is actually his?. Look how later on he subtely mentions the company[/COLOR]

To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal services
with the trademark verification option. Please check this blog with
suggestions from other sellers and buyers:
http://www.forum-windows-club.com/Archive/794586031.htm

If, for example, the valuation comes higher you can adjust your asking price
accordingly.  It will be fair.

After you send me the professional valuation via email (usually it takes
1-2days to obtain it) we'll continue our negotiations.

What is your preferred payment method:  Escrow.com, International wire
transfer, PayPal.com or something else?

Hope we can come to an agreement fast.

Looking forward to your reply.

HELP.. WHat do I do?...

 

[Haydon]

Is there anyway someone can come up with a Fake appraise form from another company.
I was thinking if i 'went' to someother top company that offers the same kind of service. And if he sees that it is alright ( which he was not expecting ) Then he will pay my amount. And i would have scammed him..

muahaha!

BHW HELP needed.?
Can anyone make up some templats and a fake report?

 

[jass11]

This explains it all

http://www.webmasterworld.com/domain_names/4145814.htm

Dont fall for this

 

[acotut]

Don't do it,he's going to scam you...unless you have a REALLY good domain name...

 

[Haydon]

Is there anyway to reverse the scam?
Like what i mentioned above?

How can I find out if my domain is a really good name?...
Surely if he wants to scam me - then it means that i sort of have a good enough name for him to bother with it.?

acotut i have PM'd u

 

[helpnub]

Clever marketing anyway, the end game is not the domain but the couple of hundred dollars on an appraisal that's controlled by the original person - could turn this into whitehat me thinks ...

 

[xoskillet]

Of course it's a scam. The hook is the big money offered. The scam is to end up getting you to pay for the 'appraisal' from the company of his choice (which he owns or is an affiliate of).

Then, when you get the appraisal and the domain has no significant value, he will decline to 'buy' saying they he is only looking for high-end domain names.

He walks away with cash... you end up feeling like an idiot once you figure it out.

Now, having said all of that, I am not a guy who likes the whole 'scam' world.... but i have to hand it to this guy, his setup is sweet! anyone who doesnt mind being a real life criminal.... this is the setup you have been looking for!

 

[xoskillet]

Is there anyway to reverse the scam?
Like what i mentioned above?

How can I find out if my domain is a really good name?...
Surely if he wants to scam me - then it means that i sort of have a good enough name for him to bother with it.?

acotut i have PM'd u

Man, he likely sends out those contact messages in bulk, just seeing who will let their greed overcome them and reply.... it's a finess game.... the more he can get you to trust him, the faster he can take your money and 'leave on good terms"... seriously good setup he has.

 

[Haydon]

Ah man..
I was feeling quite excited at first.. Damn him hahaha...
Do you think that there could be anyway for me to turn this around?...
As in end up scamming him...?

 

[Haydon]

Thanks to Jas11..
Just read this link http://www.webmasterworld.com/domain_names/4145814.htm

At least I am pretty chuffed with myself.. managed to pick up a scam...
Am going to see how i can reverse this

 

[steelballs]

This is a big fat guy from Africa chomping on a cigar with a stretch limo reg plate - 401 SCAM - he will reem your ass then ask his driver - 'Hey dude throw that white honky trash to the dogs'

 

[MarkWW]

Well you're paying him when you're paying for the appraisal website, he probably owns it. So you will pay for the appraisal and when you get back to him he will come up with an excuse not to buy it.

 

[Amsterdammer]

Like the other comments say, this is not about your domain but how much it will cost you to sell it to him.

To have some fun, but it really is just wasting both of your time, you could keep him busy by not understanding how things work. You paid for the appraisal, even have screenshots of payment, how come he didn't receive anything?
Also, encrypting a file to then change its extension seems to be time consuming to figure out. Are you sure you can't open that file because it works fine for me, you are not playing me are you?...

If he is serious, Escrow is the way to go I think. If he is serious too, he will do his own research before buying. That part really isn't your problem.

Just my 2 cents.

Edit: To turn this around, you tried his appraisal service and they are obviously scammers. You found your own trustworthy appraisal website. But, since you already paid for an appraisal, now it is his turn. If this works out ok, you can sell hem weekly ranked sites for a reduced fee. Make him drool. He will be smart enough to either see huge profits if he would just spend a bit, or he will see no profits and run. Scammers are greedy though. If they were smart they would have a legit business model.
So, if he drools enough, he just fell in his own scam tactic.

Not sure if this would work but perhaps you can twist it?

 

[xoskillet]

Ah man..
I was feeling quite excited at first.. Damn him hahaha...
Do you think that there could be anyway for me to turn this around?...
As in end up scamming him...?

I don't see a way to reverse the sting on him without some complicated setup.... But you asked, so I'll put it out there for you.

The perfect counter sting....

Setup a really great looking fake appraisal site - set the fake affiliate program to pay out 70% - Set the appraisal pricing higher than the place he sends you to - reject his place and give him the domain to your fake one and tell him these are the only people you trust and to check them out - tell him he has to agree to pay $25 of the fee that you will be paying for the apraisal - now, if he is running an affiliate scam he will see the sweet deal, sign up as an affiliate, and agree to use the new fake place. - send the appraisal for the high value he claims to be looking for - sit back and laugh because you know he gets nothing out of it as an affiliate, he paid you $25, and his scam got reversed on him

 

[Haydon]

I have just sent him a message saying that i think domain apprasial's are a waste of time. and if he wants my domain then he should know how to capitialise.. or something like that...

Do you think that if i made up a fake report that he would buy it? and send me the cash

 

[steelballs]

With respect my advice would be to back off and move on!

He has you in his cross hairs and he wants money and these people are very smart in the ways and methods to get money - if you f**k with him he is sure to fire back!

My 2 cents worth

 

[nothingnothing]

A turn around on him can be:

Tell him you are just fed up of all these people who offer such prices for domain names but in reality their pockets are zilch so to avoid this you want him to send his credit report from one of your trusted sites and then send him ur CPA link for free credit report.

 

[xoskillet]

With respect my advice would be to back off and move on!

He has you in his cross hairs and he wants money and these people are very smart in the ways and methods to get money - if you f**k with him he is sure to fire back!

My 2 cents worth

LOLOLOL!!!

Member with the name SteelBalls says: run away, run away! Ha! Not trying to harsh you there marshmellow balls... it's just that your advise doesnt fit with your name and it was funny to me... no hard feelings.

 

[dirtbag]

This is an age old scam. This was going on way back when I got in the game like 8 years ago, and it was going on for years already back then. Won't be the last time you see it if you stick around for a while. You were right to trust your instinct in believing something sounded to good to be true. Stay on your toes, because these things will come at you constantly as a webmaster, domainer, or internet marketer. Even being very skeptical odds are you will get screwed at some point in your career, probably more thanonce. Just try to keep it to a minimum

 

[steelballs]

LOLOLOL!!!

Member with the name SteelBalls says: run away, run away! Ha! Not trying to harsh you there marshmellow balls... it's just that your advise doesnt fit with your name and it was funny to me... no hard feelings.

ROFL

I said that because in my world and I am sure in your world too - TIME IS MONEY - and he is not worth jerking off over

But hey back to your sense humor it rocks = rep +