Congratulations! Your dog is rich! Oh wait, no. It’s a scam. Meet Bruce Gadansky of the Louisville BBB. He got an email from some internet scammers and decided to reply — as his dog. The email was from a “company” looking for help cashing a check.
From WLKY:
Gadansky replied, using the name “Clancy The Dog LLC.”
“I told them I was in the fertilizer business, which Clancy does a lot of, fertilizing the back yard,” Gadansky said. “That smacks of the truth. Then I waited. I didn’t expect to even get a response.”
On Tuesday, a very authentic-looking check from a real Canadian company came in the mail.
“I’m supposed to deposit the check,” Gadansky said. “I get to keep 5 percent and then wire back the remainder of that money. So I keep $7,500 and wire them back over $140,000. You’re wiring them back real money, but that check is a phony, and your bank will figure that out in a few days. It’s an old scam for which people are still falling.”
Clancy is a crimefighter. Yes he is. Awww.
Golden Retriever Gets $150,000 Check In The Mail [WLKY]
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Is Clancy’s last name ‘Wiggum’?
@DoNotStalk:
Nope–it’s Wagg’em! Get it!?!?
Sorry, I’m really lame.
@damageisle: it’s OK, i was going to make the same joke
@DoNotStalk: Does he have a pup named Ralph?
@valarmorghulis: No, but Ralph’s only friend is a dog named Wiggle Pup. Oh, the adventures those two have.
@Git Em SteveDave loves this guy–>: Does Wiggle Pup sleep in the drawer too?
@Git Em SteveDave loves this guy–>: Does Wiggle Pup tell him to burn things?
@theblackdog:
Nope, just the leprechauns
@theblackdog:
nay, but he eats stuff that tastes like burning
How to scam the scammers – give them a fake name and address to send the check, of course you have no intention of cashing it. In this way, the scammers will go broke mailing fake checks to fake addresses!
@ILoveVermont: So, at $0.45 cents to mail a letter, maybe $0.03-$0.05 to create the FAKE check…. You need alot of fake addy’s to cause them to go broke.
@Darascon: Eh, just give them your local Sheriff’s name and business address.
@ViperBorg: Me likey
@ILoveVermont: I have thought about this. Not to make them go under (that would take forever) but just to see how many checks I can collect. Plus it would probably make them mad to keep sending out lots of checks with no results.
@ILoveVermont:
I might try this one one sometime:
George Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
@lostsynapse: Better hurry up! You’ve only got a couple months left to try it out! WOO HOO!
He should mail them one of Clancy’s ‘deposits’
@Franklin Comes Alive!: Clancy needs to go make a deposit at the bank, if you know what I mean.
Put meat juice on the check and have him eat it….or poop on it.
In fact he should go poop on the PEOPLE sending the e-mails. That would be a good deterrent.
“Stop sending these e-mails or my dog will poop on you.”
One problem with this scheme is Mr. Gadansky committed fraud.
How, you may ask?
Did he file a DBA declaring a business with the county he resides in? Does he have a LLC form filed with the same county, sealed and witnessed?
By The Book, this fellow’s in hot water. But, he cooked a scammer in the process, so I think that they’ll let it slide.
@Nighthawke: Yeah… all he did was send an email that called his dog a name that had the word “LLC” in it. I really doubt he would get in any real trouble for that.
@Zeniq: Agreed
@BoomerFive: Please don’t post just ‘me too’ comments; add something to contribute to the thread.
@Consumerist-Moderator-Roz: then can we add something on the side like those thumbs up thingies? sometimes i still want to be heard, but I just want to say, “right on”
@Zeniq: yeah, since it was all email you can’t even call it mail fraud.
@kerry: You can call it wire fraud if it were actually fraud.
@kerry: I think some overzealous prosecutor would still call it wire fraud.
@Nighthawke:
Partypooper
@Nighthawke: The local DAs office wouldn’t prosecute because no jury would convict. The only other legal consequence is a lawsuit. But the original jackasses who sent the fake check would be dismissed based on unclean hands.
@Nighthawke: I named my dog “Harvey Spudmaster, Attorney at Law”. You’ve probably seen his commercials on late-night TV.
Hilarious!
A few years ago, I got an official looking mailed notice addressed to my dog that he had won $1,000,000 in an unnamed sweepstakes… but he needed to call the referenced 1-900 number. Unfortunately, he’s not so hot with the phone keypad and doesn’t like talking on the phone, so I don’t think he ever called…
Still have it posted on my fridge for laughs.
@ZukeZuke: LOL! I had the same thing happen to me…it was addressed to my cat. I’ve kept it as well.
My dog is smart, but I don’t think he’s smart enough to incorporate an LLC. He’s a sole pup-rietor.
@tom2133: Groan!
@tom2133: You win. Well done.
@tom2133: i laughed
@tom2133: Post of the month!
Heh, when I was 12 I got one of those letters.
I had “won” $1 million and needed to cash the check and mail them a money order for $250k.
I will never understand how someone is able to fall these scams. Even if someone I knew, even a sibling, told me he/she was sending me a check for $500 and wanted me to cash it and then wire them back $450 of it, I’d tell them to shove off. It makes absolutely no sense.
@Petra: Greed>common sense.
True story, last month my cat got a letter in the mail addressed to her. More interestingly, it was a sample packet of cat treats! I wonder what she’s been up to…
@Petra: I once went into my cat’s room, and found my wallet on the ground open int he middle of the floor. I think they were either going to steal a credit card to order something, or were trying to see what a NJ Drivers License looked like so they could make a fake ID.
@Git Em SteveDave loves this guy–>: my cats go through my bag all the time! One day, I caught Priya with my work pass/staff ID card, and a black pen. She was obviously trying to infiltrate my company.
@Petra: Sometimes these sorts of things originate from your veterinarian.
I send out for kitty samples all the time by my self, though. I wish someone would get wind of that and just mail them to me automatically. It’d save me a little time.
Didn’t this happen in the Simpsons?
Santos L. Halper.
@Rhayader: Pep Pills!
I think some of this might have to due with people like me.
Any restaurant that offers a $10 off coupon on a birthday meal or something of the sort, I sign my dog up for it. My dogs’ AKC registered and certified name includes my last name.
My cat won the first Islamic Lottery back in 2006.
We’re still waiting for the check, however.
@howie_in_az: Dude, I’ve won lotteries all over Africa and I’ve never even been! How lucky is that?
@courtarro:
That’s a good one Howie. Imagine if you would have been in Africa, lol.
Now, about Courtarro’s cat winning and islamic lottery, that is really messed up. islam prohibits gambling, lol.
That dog is going to need a lawyer. I think the OP is safe from prosecution however.
“I ate the check before I could cash it. Please send another.”
Who’s a rich boy?? Who’s a rich boy? You are! Yes you are. You are the richest, furriest little boy in the world, ohyesyouare!
I’m sorry, I just can’t help myself . . . .
Your dog wants steak.
With $7,500, lots of it, too.
OK, so to make this post relevant, I’ll congratulate the OP on a job well done. I love it when the scammers get their comeuppance.
@OmicroN: That must be a kobe beef steak.
Clancy should hold out for 10%
There are hoards of folks who get a lot of entertainment out of messing with scammers… check this site:
http://www.419eater.com/
419 is the Nigerian penal code section covering most of these scams.
Important note… Read and fully understand the warnings included in the above website if you intend to participate in these shenanigans. Some of those little scammer clowns can be very dangerous.
Bob
maybe i’m asking a stupid question, but how does this “scam the scammer”?
unless he actually follows through with the deposit and subsequent wire back to them, there’s no scam on the alleged scammers part.
I agree it is indeed the setup for a scam, but until clancy follows through, what’s this doing to give the scammer a taste of his own medicine?
@EdnaLegume: Return payment with your own fraudulent check? Probably not a good idea since that’s just as illegal.
How about mail them counterfeit currency printed on a dot-matrix printer from the 80′s? In B+W.
How about a big box of doggie doo via FedEx?
@EdnaLegume: it scams the scammer by making them take time running down this lead versus taking time on a real victim…
And boy won’t you and your dog feel silly when you find out this was a legit deal!
I did the same last week. Got a check for $173,000 and I asked the person if the check was real, he said yes so I cashed it and sent him his money.
You see, some people are nice and you all sound bitter and… gotta go, the bank is calling. I bet they want to upgrade my checking account!
See ya suckers!
“Scruff McGruff, Chicago, IL 60652…and help take a bite of crime”
If you can get 2 scammers to send you a check, maybe you can send them each the other one’s.
CLANCY, TAKES A BITE OUT OF CRIME!
yes, i did have to…
My mother tried something like this out on me once (no lie), I never did figure out what she was up to.
Se called me one afternoon and said she was trying to buy a house but needed me to deposit a check from someone I didn’t know into my account made out for 10k. She then wanted me to take out 10k of my own money to give to her (or maybe she wanted me to write her a check, I can’t recall. Either way, sketchy. And she’s not even from Nigeria.
At one point I thought I had what she was doing figured out but something was always a bit off. Any ideas?
My mother fell for that scam and thankfully, the bank teller recognized the numbers on the money order from a notice sent around the bank offices.
Shouldn’t shock me. After all, she still clicks on “YOU ARE THE #1,000,000th VIEWER – CLICK HERE FOR YOUR PRIZE” popups. I’ve had to wipe her harddrive clean so many times…
Bad tom2123. Bad. [swat on the nose with a rolled up newspaper]
How about asking them to wire you some good faith money upfront to cover the gas and wear and tear expenses on your car for going to the bank to cash the check. Something reasonable, say about $5000. Think these clowns would bite?
thats a cute dog
That was a wonderful check…FOR ME TO POOP ON!!!
sir i am not a scam
Golden Retrievers, FTW!
Not that I’d ever reply to a scam spam, but if I did, I’ll reply with:
George W. Bush
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington DC 20500-0001
If they’re stupid they’ll send that fake money order to Dubya.