Mary, thanks for participating here. I don't remember seeing this posted here before and if you don't mind, would like to provide a link for those interested.

http://dovercanyon.typepad.com/dover_canyon/2007/12/part-i.html

I found that to be an interesting read, and the follow-up as well. Thanks for providing the link.

You know, of course, that a lot of people-- myself included-- will open this thread because they won't read past "Wine Scam" in the subject line, and will be expecting an entirely different scam to be the topic. That's why my Grade 10 history teacher always told us to read the entire article before we began answering the questions.

Thanks, tanglenet, I am glad you enjoyed the 5-part series. It was a blast to research and write, and as I point out it was inspired by the case of an older local couple who were subjected to a $40,000 fraudulent wine order. My anonymous police officer is a friend from the eBob board, and I was quite startled at the end to learn of the questioning and FBI involvement of the target participant(s). I also continue to get emails and phone calls from people who were saved from the scammers because they read the series.

good to point out, some people actually believe that they can make some money from this. Of course wine is only one items these scammers are peddling..

Thanks for reposting that. I read it some time ago. It was very enlightening; I hadn't realised how the scam worked. What's very interesting is that since then my wife has received a number of emails offering a "business opportunity".

IIRC the premise is that you're supposed to be testing the customer service. You'll be sent a cheque and your job is to cash it and send a money order to a new address. You get to keep a percentage in return for filling out a survey on the customer service at the money order branch.

The great thing about it is that at first sight it all makes sense. The obvious gotcha is that the incoming cheques are fake, but you're supposed to wait until the cheques clear. The "company" claims it's looking for local people to test local branches without arousing suspicion.

Without understanding or being aware of the rest of the scam it's entirely possible that "Jeanette Springer" initially thought she was working for a legitimate business.

Tanglenet, thanks for posting this.

Mary, really interesting read. It's great to keep this type of thing in front of people. It's amazing how easy it is to be scammed if you don't know what to look out for.

Fascinating. Thank you.

I get these emails quite often and while I knew they were scams, I wondered how the scammer was supposed to make money on the deal.

I read an interest news article this past weekend. A Nigerian official stated the victims should be prosecuted since they were to fault due to their own greed. The greedy foreigners were giving Nigeria a bad name. Unbelievable!

Tnaglenet, thanks for posting this.

Mary, I always wondered what happened if you actually went through with these scams. Very interesting!

Mary - this was very interesting following the trail of the scam. I receive emails like this several times a week and I recall I did receive one from "John Nelson" in the past.

KarenT
www.jeanedwardscellars.com