How To Become A Scammer’s Best Friend In A Day
OK, I’ve got to share this one with you. I had a very interesting conversation with a scammer who was obviously preparing to catch me off-guard. Fortunately I’ve already been there, done that and got the n00b certificate, so I was prepared - but this time the scam was kinda relevant (a.k.a. not linked to Nigeria), and was quite amusing.
Read the following thread of emails - my responses are in bold:
(Note: I’ve got permission to use these)
Hello,
My company buys lots of websites and blogs that are up and coming. We have been watching your site and have done a strict background research on it.
We valued your site with software and our evaluation team. The quote on a sell point on your site is minimum $85,000, and we would be interested in purchasing it for $100,000. In any case, if you have the slightet interest contact me with that email and tell me more about the site.
Obviously, but this time I had already smelled the scam a mile off. But I just wanted to toy with him in a pretty unfunny manner:
I am interested in the $100,000. Please Paypal funds to me.
Thanks,
Adnan
And he knew it too:
Dear Adnan,
It is obvious you are joking and and aren’t interested. We are sorry for wasting your time.
To which I replied:
Yeah I am joking, only because you are too. Do you mind if I put your first email in my next blog post? It would be quite amusing.
Thanks,
Adnan
Then here comes the weird part:
Dear Adnan,
We are not joking, I’m interested…
Nah, I’m joking. It’s funny, I was a lurker over at young entrepreneur forum and I remember when you started that blog. It started from nothing, and you have done amazing things with it. Congratulations!
If you are actually interested in writing a short 400 word article on how you made your blog successful I would be happy to place it on some of my sites linking back to your site.
Well, how about that. First he tries to either nick my money or steal my site - and then he’s suddenly my best pal offering to advertise my site for free. And it got better as my email convo with him wore on. He offered me a chance to star in his new site about Business Startups.
Just goes to show - a scammer really can turn out to be your best friend!
So how did it turn out then?
Lol well in the end, I went on to ask if he was actually going to scam me, and he said that it was only a “tactic” to get my attention - and it sorta worked ;).
I still havn’t replied to his email offering me to star alongside him in his next venture though.
Personally I wouldn’t stay and chat with him. You have no idea who he is. Block + delete
Lol, well fortunately I don’t have him on IM - so it’s just the emails that I’ve got. It’s quite weird how he’s managed to keep following me from the YoungEntrepreneur Forums. I havn’t been to that place in around a year!
And true, I still dunno who on earth he is!
Strange story, Adnan. It’s hard to say what people are really up to…
So are you going to mention his site on this blog when he does and article about you?
heck, I remember when you were on the forum… asking about how to get a domain and all
Blimey! Thats wiered!
Thanks for the trackback and link Ray!
Tyson - erm I’m not sure, I think I’ll just let him get away with it this time, as I’m sure you guys will stick up for me and bombard him with a load of emails for being such an a**.
@ Dennis - LOL. That was such a long time ago. Thanks for making me feel like a n00b once more
“We are not joking, I’m interested…
Nah, I’m joking. ”
Haha… What the?
I have never though that to stole site it has to be so easy but there are people which make mistakes and my friend is one of them. He lost his site a week ago to s***** who used this technique
Lol Jason.
Virtuves - yeah it really is so easy. I’m not sure how the guy would go about scamming me after though. Would he give me fake money? Or a cheque which bounced?
It would be interesting to see the sites he is referring to. I don’t know of any entrepreneurs or business minded people who would start a relationship with someone like that.
I think some people just have nothing better to do with their time.
Well you can’t say it doesn’t work because it absolutely has. It proves that some of the more outrageous things do attract the most attention