Montreal back in it!

OPTICS DEALERS:

Do not ship high-end binoculars to Montreal! 100% Guaranteed Fraud!

Fingolfin

Max Merr Scam Continues

Max Merr continues to rope eBay trading assistants into stealing for him. At some point, Max Merr will probably change his alias, but in order to help identify the scam, here's the bank account he's asking eBay sellers to wire money to:

Bank Name: AS SEB Unibanka
Bank Address: Kekavas pagasts, LV-1076, Riga LV
SWIFT code: UNLALV2X
Account Name: Sotnikovs Vjaceslavs
Account Number: LV04UNLA0050010427988
Address: Metru iela 1-3 Ventspils, LV-3601

eBay sellers: if this banking information comes your way under another name, it's a credit card triangulation scam.

Fingolfin

braun865@yahoo.com

Receive an email from braun865@yahoo.com? Prepare to be scammed.

Also, check out this post from an eBay Trading Assistant thread:

"Well I got the email from max merr.... Well stupid me went along with it after two packages showed up to my house with other peoples Credit card information on it, I got really suspicious. Well I called the company's he sent the packages from and they told me he was using my name and someone else's credit card to order the products.. I did sell one on ebay before I found out what was going on, luckily I have sent him no money. And the second package that arrived today is being sent back...I am so pissed they someone would do this to me... I mean I could get into some serious trouble for this. I should have known it was too good to be true. I have contacted both company's the packages have come from and explained to them what was going on. All I can do is sit here and wait and hope nothing happens.... Its a terrible feeling I can tell you that. "

eBay - A Haven for Crooks

You have to admire eBay's "Community Values" policies on their message forums. Earlier this morning I posted a response to an eBay seller to beware of the Max Merr scam and eBay moderator promptly deleted my warning:

"In order for the community forums, which are based on the eBay Community Values, to be a place where all members can feel comfortable interacting with each other, there are certain types of posts that we have to remove if reported to us. The guidelines for posting in the forums are defined in the Board Usage Policy."

Lovely. I guess those values extend to their habit of protecting of crooks and thieves. Criminals feel comfortable and right at home on eBay.

Meanwhile, a new triangulation scam has hit another optics dealer. This one is even more elaborate than superstore8407 and it may involve Max Merr. I hope to have more on this in the near future. Also, I would be very leery of buying binoculars from eBay seller "im_eilis." You know what? You just can't legitimately obtain these binoculars for what these eBay stores are selling them at.

As of late February, Max Merr is still soliciting eBay traders to participate in his criminal activity:

wecansellwhatever (103 ) View Listings Report Feb-20-08

Anyone ever hear of a Max Merr out of CA? I received the following email today...

"I am looking for a trading assistant to sell about dozen items per month. I work at the warehouse in CA and can buy some of high demand electronics at very reasonable price. Just want to ask if you could take care of the sales. If you are interested email me back how much do you charge for your service and any other necessary information."

Is this a scam??

Yeah. You can bet your ass it's a scam.

Fingolfin

Song Nguyen

Despite being warned multiple times, Song Nguyen of Brandon Florida, eBay seller superstore8407, continues to auction high-end binoculars, telescopes and spotting scopes for Max Merr. Song has been made aware of the scam and how the products he auctions are being purchased using stolen credit cards.

Song Nguyen is a crook.

Song Nguyen
4503 River Close Blvd
Valrico (Brandon) FL 33594

If you buy optics from Song Nguyen, you'll receive stolen merchandise.

Max Merr is merr@easy.com

Diagram of a Scam

1. Max Merr tells eBay seller which products to advertise (below MAP dealer pricing).
2. eBay buyer sees advertised product and purchases "great deal" via credit card or PayPal.
3. eBay seller informs Max of order.
4. Max steals third-party credit card.
5. Max changes billing address at third-party's bank to eBay buyer's so it AVS matches.
   
6. Max places order at authorized optics dealer to ship to eBay customer. Max uses free email services like juno.com, yahoo.com, etc.
   
7. Authorized optics dealer emails order confirmation email with UPS Tracking number (to Max).
8. Max emails orders confirmation information and UPS Tracking number to eBay seller.
9. eBay seller emails confirmation information and UPS Tracking number to eBay buyer.
10. Authorized optics dealer charges third-party's credit card.
11. Authorized optics dealer ships product to eBay buyer.
12. Third-party sees charge on credit card statement and contacts bank.
13. Third-party's bank issues chargeback against authorized optics dealer.

Max Merr

Higher up the echelon of this ring of binocular thieves is a crook operating under the pseudonym "Max Merr." Max contacts various eBay sellers (trading assistants) or others who own (or are willing to setup) e-commerce websites and offers them a 15% commission to act as an intermediary.

Apparently, Max is the individual who setup smalldealerusa.com (now defunct) and used Nobert Szabo as a middleman for stealing binoculars. It's Max who actually places on-line orders at various authorized dealer websites, obtains the tracking information and then forwards it to the eBay seller or website owner so that it can be provided to the customer.

If you are an eBay seller, beware. If you're contacted by Max Merr or anyone offering a similar business proposition as detailed below, it's a scam. It's a ring of credit card thieves, most likely operating from overseas and they want to use you as a middleman.

Here is one such solicitation to an eBay trading assistant (from ScamFraudAlert.com):

* * *

Following is a very fishy e-mail exchange I had a while back with someone who had found me through the eBay Trading Assistant portal. He disappeared when I insisted that I'd only be able to work with him if he signed my standard contract agreement and provided verifiable ID. I'm not quite sure what exactly he was up to ... but something! Any eBay TA's here who've encountered anything like this? What exactly is the scam?

First e-mail:

Dear ,

Hello, I am looking for a trading assistant and I've found your ad. I work at the warehouse and can buy some of electronics at manufacturer's price. Just want to ask if you can sell on ebay instead of me. Please email me how much do you charge for your service and any other necessary information. Thanks Max Merr

Thank you,
Max Merr

Second e-mail (after I responded):

Hello,

Thanks for your reply. I work at the warehouse in CA and can buy some of the electronics at manufacturer's price. However I am very short of time to sell something on ebay by myself. I need a person who can list the items, answer buye questions and receive payments. We have our own shipment department so I can ship the items directly to the buyer to save our time and money.

This is how I see our business relationship:

1. I will email you the list of the products I have for sale. You list the auctions and receive payments for the items. All products are brand new and you can use stock photos. After that you email me buyer's shipping information including phone number (for shipping company).

2. I will ship via UPS Ground within 4-5 business days and will email you all the tracking info.

3. Once the product received and inspected by the buyer you will forward payment to me. Of course less your commission and ebay fees.

I accept e-gold (www.e-gold.com) as a payment method. This is absolutely the same as paypal but cheaper and more convenient for me.

I am ready to pay 15% commission since I will ship myself and all items are brand new so you won't need to write description and can use stock photos.

I welcome any offers and comments regarding above terms!

Thanks
Max

* * *

It's all coming together...

Fingolfin