Indonesian Credit Card Buyer---Guys & Girls I need help...

[Enderet]

There is a man that wants to buy my laptop which is currently worth about 1,000 dollars.

The following is the email.

Dear Sir,
Thank you. Ok, I'll pay your Alienware Laptop US$1,500 + shipping cost thru My Credit Card. Can you accept credit card diretly? I'll accept all fee for charge My Credit Card. For your information I'm man from Brunei Darusalam. Now I'm working in Indonesia at Offshore for 8-9mounth. Thats why I can't pay you by Money order or wire transfer. If you agree I'll send My Credit Card#, exp. date, shipping address (full info) to you. After you response me. I'll call my Bank for authorize My Credit Card for it. I hope you can understand with my situation. I prefer you shipping the Laptop use FedEx International Priority, cause in here FedEx is the best. I'll pay shipping cost. My phone# xxxxxxxxxxxxx Thanks again. Let me know ASAP.

Then he gave me his name which I wont post here, just as I did not post his phone number.


I have looked around ebay and many sellers have neglected to sell to people in Indonesia. They say something about stolen credit cards. What should I do? Is there any way to verify that this is in fact a legitimate buyer???

Any advice would be appreciated.

[dh]

Is it possible for you to set up a PayPal account and have him pay you through that?
Jason should be able to help because he did the same thing for the subscription payments. It's easier than setting up to take credit cards which would be a pain.
In any case, he should be able to wire you the money from his bank wherever he is.
(Maybe it's our buddy Maximus?)

[Enderet]

Yeah I was just writing him an email asking for him to set up a Paypal account. The thing is though... how do i verify he is not using a stolen credit card? :?

[dh]

Yeah I was just writing him an email asking for him to set up a Paypal account. The thing is though... how do i verify he is not using a stolen credit card? :?

If he is paying into your PayPal account, isn't there some means that PayPay confirms everything is OK before you have to ship the PC.

I believe there is a (very) short period of time, where the money from your customer is sitting in PayPal's account before they pass the payment onto you.

I'm sure using PayPal makes the transaction pretty secure for both parties.

[maximus]

Is it possible for you to set up a PayPal account and have him pay you through that?
Jason should be able to help because he did the same thing for the subscription payments. It's easier than setting up to take credit cards which would be a pain.
In any case, he should be able to wire you the money from his bank wherever he is.

Indonesia is not covered by paypal.
Yes, wire transfer is the best option. You should ship the laptop once you see the money is in your account, never ship the merchandize before the money is in.
I dont know, but Indonesia has been on my 'untrustful' list for quite sometimes now. They have no laws on internet/credit card fraud, which makes it a haven for thugs.

(Maybe it's our buddy Maximus?)

I think this guy is a friend of my recently fired real-estate agent. :devilboy:

[maximus]

If he is paying into your PayPal account, isn't there some means that PayPay confirms everything is OK before you have to ship the PC.


Well, if he is an indonesian who has a paypal account, something is not right there.
He must have used a credit card from other countries that is covered by paypal, big chance that it is a fraudulent card. His home country, Brunei, is not covered by paypal either.

The fact that he is willing to accept any charge on his credit card, and he is demanding fedex priority (so that the merchandize arrives before the actual transaction posting on the credit card) are very fishy to me.

Enderet: My suggestion stays the same. Ask him to wire the money, send the laptop once you confirm the transfer.

[Jason Dunn]

As much as I hate to say this, there have been too many scams coming out of that part of the world to blindly trust this guy, and they all involve credit cards. I kid you not: I get several email requests a month for me to ship Pocket PCs and other hardware to Indonesia, all with a credit card. They don't even notice/care that I don't actually sell anything directly myself. Ask for a wire transfer or an international money order.

[karen]

As much as I hate to say this, there have been too many scams coming out of that part of the world to blindly trust this guy, and they all involve credit cards. I kid you not: I get several email requests a month for me to ship Pocket PCs and other hardware to Indonesia, all with a credit card. They don't even notice/care that I don't actually sell anything directly myself. Ask for a wire transfer or an international money order.

From what I remember about my fraud tracking on ebay, even international money orders are a problem....as are other instruments that appear to be guaranteed.

See also:
http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/scams/carsale.asp

[maximus]

even international money orders are a problem

Very true. Some local bank in indonesia issues international money order based on checks. So you can purchase a money order with a check, no cash necessary. Hence if the check is not funded, the issuing bank has the right to cancel the money order.

[Jason Dunn]

Very true. Some local bank in indonesia issues international money order based on checks. So you can purchase a money order with a check, no cash necessary. Hence if the check is not funded, the issuing bank has the right to cancel the money order.

That's crazy! Money orders without proof of the funds? Talk about a crazy bank...money orders were designed to be 100% as good as cash, so those banks aren't doing things the right way. :|

[Kati Compton]

What about a postal money order? Is the postal system more reliable than the banks in Indonesia?

[maximus]

Uh, never tried that. I sent several mails and packages using the postal service, and some of them never reach the destiantion. With that in mind, I do not want to try their postal money order.

I once made a mistake of mailing a one hundred thousand rupiah bill (1$=8500 rupiahs) to a friend living on the other side of the city, and the mail never arrives. Talk about service.

[maximus]

That's crazy! Money orders without proof of the funds? Talk about a crazy bank...money orders were designed to be 100% as good as cash, so those banks aren't doing things the right way. :|

Well, that is because you are living in a highly civilized country. Down here, laws and regulations are pretty weak. A person can open a saving/checking account with fake ID/name/address, apply credit cards and link it to that saving account, start playing with the credit card.

The same goes also to checks. In the U.S. or canada, one will be in trouble if one issued unfunded checks. In indonesia, you can issue as many unfunded checks as you like, abandon the account, and open another account with another fake ID.

That is why the FATF has put Indonesia on the 'non-cooperative list' for quite sometimes already.

[Steven Cedrone]

There is a man that wants to buy my laptop which is currently worth about 1,000 dollars.

Hmmm...

I think the "bottom line" is: walk away. Find someone else to buy the laptop...

Steve

[dwildone]

There is a man that wants to buy my laptop which is currently worth about 1,000 dollars.

Hmmm...

I think the "bottom line" is: walk away. Find someone else to buy the laptop...

Steve

Good call. :roll:

[maximus]

There is a man that wants to buy my laptop which is currently worth about 1,000 dollars.

Hmmm...

I think the "bottom line" is: walk away. Find someone else to buy the laptop...

Steve

Yeah, all types of laptop are already available here. Some types/models cost less than $1000. Furthermore, why is he willing to spend $1500 (and $100 shipping fee) on a used $1000 laptop ?

[ChristopherTD]

Indonesia is blacklisted at my firm - we get fraudulent orders all the time from there. Any order from there requires extra checking, and chasing or we end up being stung.

I would add my voice to the others who say "Avoid - Don't do it".

[PoweriPaq]

Do not send that guy that laptop. It has been going on, it's a stolen credit card. Do Not Do It. It's been on the blacklist and all the indonesian community knows about it. They stole indonesian credit card.

One incident is, they give you an extra 500 and say, oops, I sent too much, could you give me 500 cashier's check? So you send him the laptop and 500 bucks and it's all free for him. This happens in the off-roading community, they buy a winch and other sorts and send them to indonesia. The credit card company know this, do not send anything to indonesia with credit card.

And also, they give you their cell number, pre-paid, which will be dead in about a month. So you can't contact them anymore after finding out the results.

[maximus]

Now I know why there are so many credit card fraud from this country.

Down here, it is soo easy to get a credit card. I am here for less than a month, and already got a credit card in my hand. I did not even initiate the application. A lady called my office number, asked if I want to have a credit card, we discussed the credit limit, she sent me an application form, and voila, 3 days later (this morning), the card is delivered to my office address. And I do not have a home address yet !!

Singapore was the contrary. Stayed there on and off for for 2+ years, opened saving/checking accounts, mortgage a house, paid taxes, but no credit card.

[Crazie.Eddie]

I know this is a late reply. But one thing to note is most of these countries have to pay for a tax for items such as these. Therefore for them, it would be cheaper to buy a new laptop locally than buying a used one overseas.

So I'm sure this is fraudelant.

[DrtyBlvd]

No one has mentioned an alternative way to receive money - bank transfer?

Presumably that is pretty bullet proof? :?:

[maximus]

Yeah. I think it is pretty safe. As long as the fund is in our account, it should be save to deliver the merchandize.

[Dave Potter]

My advise? Look for another buyer.

[JustinGTP]

Endernet, what have you decided to do?