Please help! Fraud victim

[keltorsori]

I recently was the victim of a fairly large fraud ($3000 for me is a lot of money). A man in Chicago bought a brand-new Powerbook 867 with a ton of extras from me Fedex COD (certified funds). Everything seemed OK, I've done this several times before with no problems. I even talked to the guy on the phone before I sent it out (I have his number). Turns out the cashier's check I got back was forged, phony, fraudulent. No such bank even. So now I'm out not only my computer, but also the $3000 and now my finances are in complete disaster area since I had already spent a good deal of the money on christmas shopping.

My question, and plea for help:
I figure this guy had the package sent to a drop, doing a reverse lookup on the address yields three phone numbers. Doing a reverse on the phone number he gave me, it turns out is a Nextel cell-phone, so I can't get a valid address without paying a private investigator. I've already filed police reports in Chicago, IL and New Orleans, LA (where I live). What I need help in is getting this guy's real address from his cell-phone. If there are any PI's out there or anyone with Nextel who can help, please let me know. Chicago PD isn't really going to do anything about this and I've got a trip coming up to Chicago, I thought I might at least try to track the guy down, at least have him arrested.

If you have any assistance or can help me in any way, please let me know. I'm a student and this much money is going to put me under.

[arn]

wow... that sucks...

One thing to remember is that the cellphone may have been created under someone else's identity... so it's possible, even if you do get an address from it, it may be someone else's identity.

Depends how saavy the crook is, I suppose.

arn

[medea]

what is this guys name? if I may ask, that would help. there are also plenty of "spy" services available online that will do what you are looking for. also you didnt tell us the cell number.

oh and try this one http://www.cell-phone-numbers.com/?hop=strange.cellmagic

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by medea
what is this guys name? if I may ask, that would help. there are also plenty of "spy" services available online that will do what you are looking for.
The name signed for was Paul Smith, but the emails were sent by Steve Matthews. When I talked to him on the phone, that's who I asked for. This is why I need a reverse lookup on his cell number, so I can get his real name/address. I know there are the "spy" services, they are expensive (hey, I'm already out $3000), and I'd be more comfortable hiring a PI in that case.

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by arn
wow... that sucks...

One thing to remember is that the cellphone may have been created under someone else's identity... so it's possible, even if you do get an address from it, it may be someone else's identity.

Depends how saavy the crook is, I suppose.

arn
I get the impression that he's not that saavy, it would be stupid for anyone to give out a real cell number to anyone (prepaid would be the way to go). Plus, Nextel does background/credit checks on everyone, it would be difficult to setup fraudulently. But then again, my intuition obviously hasn't been that on recently. But if I have to knock on every door in Chicago to get my computer back, I'll do it. :mad:

[G4scott]

I'd say use that phone search thing. For $85, I think it's going to be the cheapest way to find who this guy is.

Do you still have the serial # for the laptop? And what were the specs and any extras that the computer had? Just a wild idea, but people who do this are usually experienced, and find some way to get rid of it, making cash. One of the fastest ways is probably through e-bay...

[scem0]

Originally posted by arn
wow... that sucks...

One thing to remember is that the cellphone may have been created under someone else's identity... so it's possible, even if you do get an address from it, it may be someone else's identity.

Depends how saavy the crook is, I suppose.

arn \

let's hope the crook is not very saavy. Let's hope he is as idiotic
as that Nigerian Scandal person. Was it Mike?

(some of the time, the other half of the time he couldn't remember :D)

[rainman::|:|]

well i hate to say this, because it sounds really mean, and i *do* feel for you, i really do... but you're screwed. there's no getting your laptop back, probably no tracking the guy down, even if you did it would be dangerous. the cell phone is probably stolen. the laptop has already been sold, i'll bet. Report the laptop to the Stolen Computer Registry if you have the serial number, at least then you'll have a chance of finding out what happens to it in the end.

it goes without saying, use escrow next time...

:(
pnw

[scem0]

I have to echo paul's 'sentiments'. It does sound like a dire cause
but I truly do hope that you catch the guy. Someone like that
deserves to get busted and more. Good luck catching him.:(

$3,000 is a lot for me too :(

[alset]

http://www.fraud.org/

Good luck!

My sympathy goes out to anyone who gets shafted. But over a fine piece of equipment like that... Well, I hope you get the guy.

Dan

[Mr. Anderson]

Ok, how did you get in contact with him? Since this worked on you, I'm thinking he's done it more than once. Maybe you have to set up your own sting - advertise another machine, different specs maybe, get a new cell phone yourself, give the ad a different name to contact, etc. but its still you. If you plan it right he might try and get another one. Its a long shot, but I'm not thinking anything you do at this point is going to give you high percentages of finding him.

Again, its all how you and he contacted each other. Good luck.

D

[Choppaface]

if you have his email addy, see if you can get some info from his ISP (or some logged IP's and then tracing to his ISP if he's using something like yahoo or hotmail) by contacting abuse@domainOfHisEmailAddress and reporting his fraudulent use of the service.

escrow is prolly a good idea next time...

I've heard so many failure stories of trying to get $$ or goods out of registered and active ebay users that I think it's going to be pretty hard getting anything back w/out a PI. and even if you do catch him, he might not have any $$, much less the computer

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by Choppaface
if you have his email addy, see if you can get some info from his ISP (or some logged IP's and then tracing to his ISP if he's using something like yahoo or hotmail) by contacting abuse@domainOfHisEmailAddress and reporting his fraudulent use of the service.

escrow is prolly a good idea next time...

I've heard so many failure stories of trying to get $$ or goods out of registered and active ebay users that I think it's going to be pretty hard getting anything back w/out a PI. and even if you do catch him, he might not have any $$, much less the computer
I've used escrow in the past, its a good idea, just a major pain in the ass (2 months to get a check). But, I guess 2 months is better than no check at all :-(
He used AOL and Yahoo, two email services that are easy to abuse.
On the cell phone issue that someone mentioned earlier, I really don't think its stolen, he's still using it, still answering it. I've used Nextel, they're so incredibly anal about everything, if it were stolen it would have been shut by now. Thanks for the support everyone, if I don't get any leads in the next day or so, I'll probably pay a PI to get his address from the cell number.

thanks for your support,
Eric Smith

[zimv20]

Originally posted by keltorsori

if I don't get any leads in the next day or so, I'll probably pay a PI to get his address from the cell number.


as another poster said, it's too risky to take the law into your own hands.

the chicago cops can be jerks sometims. try them again -- you may get someone else who's sympathetic.

try your local prosecutor, maybe s/he can do something or suggest a course of action.

this guy has broken a number of laws and should be nailed. you could get him on forgery (and probably a number of other things), and he did it across state lines (so call the FBI, too).

let nextel know what he did -- he used their services to commit a crime, maybe they're liable.

at the least, they can be subpeonaed (sp?) for his contact info.

lastly, do you have insurance?

good luck. and don't drop this -- this guy deserves to be in jail.

[BenderBot1138]

Make him another offer he can't refuse... basically try to duplicate the sale, but this time with checks in place. If he's not a one timer, you might be able to appeal to his greed.

Did you have the check looked at for fingerprints? Maybe the package the check came in? You might have to pay to have it analysed, but criminals have usually provided their fingerprints on a previous occassion just for such special occassions as the one you are in.

Yes you checked the bank to see if it was a phony, but did you check the bar codes etc to see if there was some method of matching? Maybe the check is something you can track down with bar code info; A bank may be able to scan the code and have it tell you who the account belongs to (keep in mind there are several major banks you may have to take the check to and explain your problem to until you get a hit). The person who did this may have picked up the check and merely altered the Checks location, leaving vital information like the bar code entact.

If you've got the email still, post the email header here, and lets see what some tracker types can find... if you've still got Mac Access use your network utility to trace down the ISP and get the help of the head tech to zero down your mailer.

May the force be with you, Chicago PD that is...


:cool:

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by zimv20


as another poster said, it's too risky to take the law into your own hands.

the chicago cops can be jerks sometims. try them again -- you may get someone else who's sympathetic.

try your local prosecutor, maybe s/he can do something or suggest a course of action.

this guy has broken a number of laws and should be nailed. you could get him on forgery (and probably a number of other things), and he did it across state lines (so call the FBI, too).

let nextel know what he did -- he used their services to commit a crime, maybe they're liable.

at the least, they can be subpeonaed (sp?) for his contact info.

lastly, do you have insurance?

good luck. and don't drop this -- this guy deserves to be in jail.

I agree, believe me, I'm not going to drop it. I doubt I'll ever recover money or computer, but that doesn't get this guy off the hook.

I was talking to a relative of mine who is a detective in a large metro police force, she just laughed when I mentioned the FBI. $3000 isn't even worth them picking up the phone over. I'm hoping the Chicago cops are good to their word, but again, $3000 may be a lot to me, but in the grand scheme of grand larceny, it ain't much. Actually I was impressed by the cops I talked to, they were very kind and understanding, but we'll see if that pans out. The Nextel records can be subpeoned, but only by law enforcement, again a question of time vs. outcome.

Despite this, I'm still hopeful I can find a resolution. I'm going to keep hounding the SOB, that's for sure. I'm even sending him a christmas card to thank him for making my holidays so happy :mad:

[BenderBot1138]

Might just be me... but don't you have to have an address to send a christmas card to someone? Maybe you can go to that address?

:cool:

[Sun Baked]

Originally posted by BenderBot1138
Might just be me... but don't you have to have an address to send a christmas card to someone? Maybe you can go to that address?

:cool:
Is that a Christmas Card that is delivered by 2 huge men with no necks that basically says "Merry Bloody Christmas" or "Snap, Crackle, Pop"

[Thirteenva]

I'm assuming you gave the cell phone number to the police? Also try to contact AOL the guy obviously has an account.

If you can post his email addresses, there are some people that may be able to ughhh shall we say "help you track them". Or failling that maybe someone knows the guy. I know its a small chance but maybe someone knows him or has dealt with him before and can help you.

Also look into that address more. He had to have someone there to take the drop. Maybe drop in for a house call with some local law enforcement.

[Giaguara]

i hope you can make him be caught for that. it sucks .. :mad:

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by Thirteenva
I'm assuming you gave the cell phone number to the police? Also try to contact AOL the guy obviously has an account.

If you can post his email addresses, there are some people that may be able to ughhh shall we say "help you track them". Or failling that maybe someone knows the guy. I know its a small chance but maybe someone knows him or has dealt with him before and can help you.

Also look into that address more. He had to have someone there to take the drop. Maybe drop in for a house call with some local law enforcement.
I'm a little weary of posting too much info about the guy in public. I don't know why, but I'm sure there is a reason (its too early for me to be thinking too much). I do plan on dropping by the drop address, but at present its about 1000 miles away from me, so I was hoping before I make the trip to have a little more info with which to track him.

Anyway, again, thanks to everyone for your support. After I have some wakeup juice I'll revisit the whole email and phone number and address issue.

[keltorsori]

Any chance any Chicago folk would be willing to at least let me know what kind of place this address is: 7616 S. Phillips, Zip 60649. Whether its a business, residence, or just a crack house? That's where the computer was shipped and signed for.

[MacBandit]

Have you called the FBI? I believe check forgery is a federal crime.

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by keltorsori
Any chance any Chicago folk would be willing to at least let me know what kind of place this address is: 7616 S. Phillips, Zip 60649. Whether its a business, residence, or just a crack house? That's where the computer was shipped and signed for.

From this aerial photo in 1998 it almost looks like an empty lot.

http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/addressimage.aspx?t=1&s=10&Lon=-87.56507902&Lat=41.75685044&Alon=-87.56507902&Alat=41.75685044&w=1&opt=0&ref=A%7c7616+S+Phillips+Ave%2c+Chicago%2c+IL+60649

[Thirteenva]

have you thought about consulting a lawyer?? just to see what your options are. alot of lawyers will give a free consultation. you may want to talk to more than one.

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by MacBandit


From this aerial photo in 1998 it almost looks like an empty lot.

http://terraserver.homeadvisor.msn.com/addressimage.aspx?t=1&s=10&Lon=-87.56507902&Lat=41.75685044&Alon=-87.56507902&Alat=41.75685044&w=1&opt=0&ref=A%7c7616+S+Phillips+Ave%2c+Chicago%2c+IL+60649
Wow, thanks. I don't think it's an empty lot though, I have three names/addresses for it from a reverse address lookup. The aerial photo availability is alternately cool and scary. Thanks

[Taft]

Originally posted by keltorsori
Any chance any Chicago folk would be willing to at least let me know what kind of place this address is: 7616 S. Phillips, Zip 60649. Whether its a business, residence, or just a crack house? That's where the computer was shipped and signed for.

That's in a the South Shore neighborhood. I don't know anyone who is from that area, but I'll ask around. From what I understand, the neighborhood is a little sketchy.

Taft

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by Taft


That's in a the South Shore neighborhood. I don't know anyone who is from that area, but I'll ask around. From what I understand, the neighborhood is a little sketchy.

Taft
Thanks, I doubt that's his real address, but at least I can get some idea.

Eric Smith

[keltorsori]

Well, I'm $85.00 even poorer than I was this morning, but here's what I've got. His cell phone is registered to an address only 2 miles away, a straight shot. And the name on his house (reverse lookup on the address) matches one of his AOL email addresses (his last name and part of the AOL address matchup). So I've found him, I think, but now I've got to wait two weeks (quoted time) for the Chicago Police Department to get back to me.

Any suggestions on what to do in the meantime? Or, do you prefer wooden or aluminium bats?

Oh yeah, Taft, thanks, any chance you might know anyone around 7325 S Rhodes Ave, here's a map link for those interested
http://maps.yahoo.com/py/ddResults.py?Pyt=Tmap&tarname=&tardesc=&osd=&newname=&newdesc=&dsd=&newHash=&newTHash=&newErr=&newTErr=&newFL=Use+Address+Below&newaddr=7325+S+Rhodes+Ave&newcsz=Chicago%2C+IL+60619-1705&newcountry=us&newTFL=Use+Address+Below&newtaddr=7616+S.+Phillips&newtcsz=chicago%2C+il&newtcountry=us&Submit=Get+Directions

And also, for those interested in knowing, the minimum for a fraud and counterfeiting of bank documents cases to be considered federal is $5000 even if it is interstate (and a whopping $50,000 for credit card fraud). FBI told me they won't touch it (although the field agent here did offer to research and see if they could find something else to go after the guy on). So it looks like I'm stuck waiting.

One last tidbit. For those who ever have a computer stolen in the future: It's been suggested on other boards that Apple has a stolen serial database and that in the event the computer is brought in for service that it will come up stolen. This isn't true. I just got off the phone with Al at Apple Security (the guys that handle stolen stuff), he told me they do have a database at Apple Security, but it is really only used in the event law enforcement calls trying to do a merchandise recovery. The service people do not have this database. He told me that in the event the Powerbook comes in for service, as long as the serial comes up as being valid for the warranty, service will go on as normal. The service people do not have a stolen flag for serials. So the best you can hope for is a concerned buyer calling in to inquire about whether it's stolen merchandise. Al told me he hoped that the service people would be tied in soon but that it was something they had been requesting for a long time and has not yet been addressed. Are you listening Apple?

[MacBandit]

There are hidden programs you can imbed in the system that will allow you to locate a stolen computer and especially a laptop if it is ever connected to the internet.

I make no claims on knowing how to do this or even where to get the info but I remember reading about it in the last couple months on an Apple site of some sort.

[sickboy_osX]

dooobie doobie doo this is an edit of a redundant post that was awnsered, please disregard this post. And please forgive me for being an Insensitve Clod.

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by sickboy_osX
ONe thing I would try, is to call apple customer service, report it that it has been stolen, (This works only if you have Apple Care active) tell them what happened, and give them the serial number, and see if anyone calls in it will be red flagged and they will be asked a series of questions regarding the product, and then they will find out where it is and let you track it down

I would try it

Also, I would call the Federal Reserve, and let them know about the fraud on the Money Order, that right there is grounds for federal prison,

[Shon]
I did talk to Apple already, its reported stolen, but there is no flagging system in place. Read my above post about it.

[sickboy_osX]

Originally posted by keltorsori
And also, for those interested in knowing, the minimum for a fraud and counterfeiting of bank documents cases to be considered federal is $5000 even if it is interstate (and a whopping $50,000 for credit card fraud). FBI told me they won't touch it (although the field agent here did offer to research and see if they could find something else to go after the guy on).

Counterfitting of Bank Documents is handled by the Reserve and Secret Service. not the FBI. I would call the reserve or secret service, the minium for Bank Fraud is 3,000.00 if it is an interstate issue, then it is a federal felony. We had a few people busted when I worked for JP Morgan Chase on Wall Street for Counterfit Money Orders for 500.00 and 1000.00

Besides if I was going to counterfit a money order i would do a bank that was actually around.

(And I appoliize for my post about the Powerbook Serial Numbers, I wasnt able to read the posts before mine posted my computer is being weird}

Want to buy my Powerbook?

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by sickboy_osX


Counterfitting of Bank Documents is handled by the Reserve and Secret Service. not the FBI. I would call the reserve or secret service, the minium for Bank Fraud is 3,000.00 if it is an interstate issue, then it is a federal felony. We had a few people busted when I worked for JP Morgan Chase on Wall Street for Counterfit Money Orders for 500.00 and 1000.00

Besides if I was going to counterfit a money order i would do a bank that was actually around.

(And I appoliize for my post about the Powerbook Serial Numbers, I wasnt able to read the posts before mine posted my computer is being weird}

Want to buy my Powerbook?

Thanks for the tip on the spooks, I'll look 'em up and call them tomorrow.

I'd love to buy your powerbook, can you take -2631.52 for it (my bank balance thanks to mr. mofo)? ;-)

[BenderBot1138]

ok, it's definitely across state borders... and your statement that the FBI don't concern themselves with crimes of a certain size is wrong. You express a less than confident or real view of Law Enforcement... why not have a little faith in them and their abilities, they're just as interested and capable as you are, and they are also interested in crime free society.

:cool:

[sickboy_osX]

Federal Reserve Bank Of San Francisco, (415) 974-2000, 101 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105

This is the main office for the Western/Midwestern United States of America.

Main Treasury Office-
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

General Information: (202) 622-2000

Office of the Comptroller of United States Currency, San Fransisco

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Primary Contact:
Laura McAuliffe (202) 874-4540

United States Secret Service (Under the Control of the United States Treasury)

* CHICAGO 312-353-5431
300 S RIVERSIDE PLAZA, SUITE 1200 NORTH, CHICAGO, IL 60606

Check these contacts, if you need any help, email off me list, at sickboy at inconnu dot isu dot edu I will help you more

(I have a Securites and Exchange Commision License, and I have contacts)

-Shon

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by BenderBot1138
ok, it's definitely across state borders... and your statement that the FBI don't concern themselves with crimes of a certain size is wrong. You express a less than confident or real view of Law Enforcement... why not have a little faith in them and their abilities, they're just as interested and capable as you are, and they are also interested in crime free society.

:cool:
I have an adundance of respect and confidence for law enforcement (have family in it). I'm just writing what the agent at the FBI field office here told me, read it to me right out of their handbook. I may be wrong. I'm just really, really frustrated right now. Believe me, I know they are much more capable than I am, I also know that in big city departments, smaller crimes like this tend to get put on the back burner. Our cops tend to be overburdened. Anyway, sorry if it seems I'm unconfident, its just the frustration coming through. I'll look further into the FBI thing, thanks for the tip.

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by sickboy_osX
Federal Reserve Bank Of San Francisco, (415) 974-2000, 101 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94105

This is the main office for the Western/Midwestern United States of America.

Main Treasury Office-
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220

General Information: (202) 622-2000

Office of the Comptroller of United States Currency, San Fransisco

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency Primary Contact:
Laura McAuliffe (202) 874-4540

United States Secret Service (Under the Control of the United States Treasury)

* CHICAGO 312-353-5431
300 S RIVERSIDE PLAZA, SUITE 1200 NORTH, CHICAGO, IL 60606

Check these contacts, if you need any help, email off me list, at sickboy at inconnu dot isu dot edu I will help you more

(I have a Securites and Exchange Commision License, and I have contacts)

-Shon

Wow! Thanks, I'll look into it first thing tomorrow and let everyone know how it goes.

I'd like to once again thank everyone for their helpful comments and suggestions, and in some cases going a little over the line to help out (you know who you are). Thanks again!

[sickboy_osX]

Like I said I am glad to offer assitance, and since i have my SEC licsense I have contacts in different banking institutions, (including wall street) and I have contacts within the federal government

[kevin49093]

Wow.. I'm on the edge of my seat here. I've got some friends in Chi-town. Let me know if you need anything checked out.

Please let us know what's happening!

oh yea... did you ever let us know how you two found each other?

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by kevin49093
Wow.. I'm on the edge of my seat here. I've got some friends in Chi-town. Let me know if you need anything checked out.

Please let us know what's happening!

oh yea... did you ever let us know how you two found each other?
The downlow on how this all went down is like this:
I had an auction for my Powerbook G4 867 512MB/40Gig/Combo with an Airport basestation, airport card, and a bunch of other stuff up on eBay. I had a buy-it-now price of $2900, which was way below the value of everything. Anyway, I just had the buy-it-now as a test, and didn't have a reserve, so the buy-it-now option went away after the first bid. About an hour later, the guy in question emailed me saying he'd just missed the buy-it-now and wanted to purchase it immediately as a birthday present for his son at Northwestern. Sounds plausible to me. Sends me phone number, I call talk to him about it. Everything sounds OK, and I've sold lots of computers on eBay before COD (always certified funds). So off it goes, and back comes my phony check. That's it in a nutshell.

Just to prevent any reposts, I have learned from my fellow rumormongers: ;)
1. Don't ever do COD
2. Don't even accept certified funds or money orders for anything (a sign of shady people and definitely fraudulent)
3. Don't ever do business on eBay
4. In all business, the only safe transaction is to accept cash from close family members and then only when they are present to verify the authenticity of the bills in front of armed Secret Service agents.

Sorry for the joke, but I gotta do something to smile about this or I'll be on the first plane to Chicago with a baseball bat in my luggage (and I ain't planning on trying out for the Cubs)

Anyway, once again, I *sincerely* appreciate everyone's support and help. Knowing that other people are willing to help (complete strangers at that) makes this a lot easier to bear. I still believe that people are generally good, I just got screwed by the bad apple.

The best part about all this is that now I want to do absolutely everything in my power to make sure this guy gets caught just to give you all a good ending. Here's to hope.

[sickboy_osX]

What??? Complete Strangers??
Comeon we are the Mac RUmors people with nothing ebtter to do than hawk used computers (mine is still for sale) and help people who got ****ed

[diorio]

Originally posted by sickboy_osX
What??? Complete Strangers??
Comeon we are the Mac RUmors people with nothing ebtter to do than hawk used computers (mine is still for sale) and help people who got ****ed

Sure we are a community, but a rather large one. It is hard to know everyone on Macrumors, but good to know that there are those who are willing to help, often a complete stranger.;)

[zimv20]

regarding the real street address you found, it's not in the nicest of neighborhoods. i would, er, "stand out" were i to wander there.

let the cops handle it (if they even will :-(

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by zimv20
regarding the real street address you found, it's not in the nicest of neighborhoods. i would, er, "stand out" were i to wander there.

let the cops handle it (if they even will :-(
Thanks for the info. I doubt i would "stand out" if you get my drift, but I'm not really planning on going there anyway. Just want to hand this guy to the cops on a silver platter. Thanks again.

[MacBandit]

I have no problems accepting personal checks or any other form of payment except COD. I just make it known that the product will not ship until the payment transfer has been made certified.

[sickboy_osX]

Hey I would appreciate all the help I could possibly get if I was in your situation,

Also if you need some Muscle in chi town, someone to do some work, i could help iu dont look like your typical geek, or corporate whore....and my sister is in chi.......

just somthin to think about.

I dont advocate violence, I just help with peaceful resolution. of issues. with imidation.

:-D


P.S. I also suck at spelling
can someone PLEASE install a spell check system on this BB

thanks

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by sickboy_osX
Hey I would appreciate all the help I could possibly get if I was in your situation,

Also if you need some Muscle in chi town, someone to do some work, i could help iu dont look like your typical geek, or corporate whore....and my sister is in chi.......

just somthin to think about.

I dont advocate violence, I just help with peaceful resolution. of issues. with imidation.

:-D


P.S. I also suck at spelling
can someone PLEASE install a spell check system on this BB

thanks

I actually have to pay attention to the real world today, but I do plan on following up on the different spook agencies. I'll keep everyone posted. Thanks again.

eric smith

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by kevin49093
Wow.. I'm on the edge of my seat here. I've got some friends in Chi-town. Let me know if you need anything checked out.

Please let us know what's happening!

oh yea... did you ever let us know how you two found each other?

The plot thickens:
Head on over to O'Grady's Powerpage. They were kind enough to post this as a news story, turns out I'm not the only guy who's been scammed by this guy... http://www.powerpage.org/story.lasso?newsID=10245

[keltorsori]

Update for the day:

O'grady's Powerpage was kind enough to post this as a news story, so I got lots of replies, turns out this guy has done it before, same MO, same outcome. I'm hoping I can add these together and convince the FBI that this guy is a serial con artist and hopefully they can also investigate.

I'm still waiting on getting the actual cashier's check back from my bank before calling the secret service or the federal reserve as was suggested by SickBoy. Thanks a lot for the tips.

I called the phone number I got from the reverse address lookup (the real landline) today. I spoke with a guy who wouldn't identify himself (his voice was the guy's though). So, I told him I'd like to leave a message. Wanna know who I left a message for? One for the irony meter. The actual name of the perp is Melvin Christmas. That's right, Mr. Christmas has ruined my Christmas. So I left a message with all my contact letting the guy know he had 48 hours before the dogs of hell would be let loosed upon him. I doubt I'll get a call back, but I at least have a confirmed address and landline number to give the police now.

Again, I'd like to sincerely thank everyone for their support and help. I'd like to see a bunch of Dell dudes offer this much help to strangers! :D

[SPG]

Well it looks like you're zeroing in on Melvin. With that much info the police slhould be able to act.
Just as a morale boost, I'll tell you my story of theft and redemption. I was shooting a night time sports event in Vermont when I was a struggling photographer. After the event I locked my gear in my friend's car and went in to have a drink. When I came out everything in the car was gone. $14,000 worth of camera gear (still owed payments on it), all my friend's snowboard gear, 100 cd's and other misc items. The police said they would file the report, but they said the chances of getting it back were slim to none, and Slim just went home.
My friends in the area rallied around me and helped call and fax every camera, pawn, snowboard, used cd store within 150 miles. It worked. A few days later the snowboard of all things was spotted and the clerk called my friend for the reward. I called the cops, they called more cops, and the guys who ripped me off were then sitting down with a whole pack of cops searching their house.
I got all my gear back, and since they threw out the film I shot that night, they had to pay restitution for infringing on my work and income. I got a monthly check for a couple hundred for three years from those guys.
Good luck and I hope you get the bastard.

[iJon]

Originally posted by keltorsori
Update for the day:

O'grady's Powerpage was kind enough to post this as a news story, so I got lots of replies, turns out this guy has done it before, same MO, same outcome. I'm hoping I can add these together and convince the FBI that this guy is a serial con artist and hopefully they can also investigate.

I'm still waiting on getting the actual cashier's check back from my bank before calling the secret service or the federal reserve as was suggested by SickBoy. Thanks a lot for the tips.

I called the phone number I got from the reverse address lookup (the real landline) today. I spoke with a guy who wouldn't identify himself (his voice was the guy's though). So, I told him I'd like to leave a message. Wanna know who I left a message for? One for the irony meter. The actual name of the perp is Melvin Christmas. That's right, Mr. Christmas has ruined my Christmas. So I left a message with all my contact letting the guy know he had 48 hours before the dogs of hell would be let loosed upon him. I doubt I'll get a call back, but I at least have a confirmed address and landline number to give the police now.

Again, I'd like to sincerely thank everyone for their support and help. I'd like to see a bunch of Dell dudes offer this much help to strangers! :D
Don't know if that was such a smart idea, letting him know your one his tail. I really hope you get your money back. If your lucky this guy hasnt sold the thing yet and wanted it for his own use. Reading this forum last night is one of those things that makes me proud to be a mac user. there is just something about this community like we are one big family. all my pc friends try to beat everyone with the best computer (although i beat them in every category, hehe) and the mac users just compliment everyone on their computer. If you have a fast computer, people ask how it is, if you have a slow mac people help you to make it faster. i feel so proud to be part of a community that only consists of 5 percent but yet stands so strong. hope that didnt get to cheezy,lol.

iJon

[keltorsori]

Your friendly daily update:
Well, I spoke today to "Tony" the new name for Melvin Christmas. Called his house again, "Tony" told me he'd relay the message. If only I lived in Chicago, I'd be knocking on his door.

Anyway, I also spoke with the Secret Service field office here. Special Agent Polozola was very understanding of my predicament. Unfortunately, again, the amount is too low for the Secret Service to pursue it. Agent Polozola did offer to annoy the Chicago PD for me, see what he could do to cajole them into going ahead and grabbing this guy. So I guess I'm at the mercy of the Chicago PD, I only hope they are more competent than the PD we have down here.

Maybe I'll Priceline a plane ticket to Chicago for the weekend :D

Once again, thanks to everyone for their help and support.

Eric Smith

[keltorsori]

Anyone live in Chicago know a decent cheap hotel near the airport? I'm flying up this weekend and should have good news for everyone by Tuesday. (No, I'm not doing anything stupid, but I can't really talk about it on the board). If you know anywhere decent, please PM me or send an email to misterye at yahoo dot com.

thanks
eric smith

[idkew]

Originally posted by BenderBot1138
ok, it's definitely across state borders... and your statement that the FBI don't concern themselves with crimes of a certain size is wrong. You express a less than confident or real view of Law Enforcement... why not have a little faith in them and their abilities, they're just as interested and capable as you are, and they are also interested in crime free society.

:cool:

i have LITTLE faith in law enforcement, besides their ability to ticket me for speeding.

recently, the caprene green (spelling?) housing projects in chicago have been moved to my little ol' crime free town. how nice.

anyway- as a welcome present, someone decided to help themselves to my $3000 car stereo, while causing $2000 in damages to my car. the perp also decided that he would help about 15 or more other people get rid of their car stereos in two or so months. there were 2 break in's all last school year.

when i spoke with the police, they TOLD ME that they were not going to do anything. they had "Better things to do".

so- to return to the topic slightly- why would you trust police? they are busy padding their wallet with tickets, not preventing and solving crime.

- a taxpayer.

[MacBandit]

Originally posted by idkew


i have LITTLE faith in law enforcement, besides their ability to ticket me for speeding.

recently, the caprene green (spelling?) housing projects in chicago have been moved to my little ol' crime free town. how nice.

anyway- as a welcome present, someone decided to help themselves to my $3000 car stereo, while causing $2000 in damages to my car. the perp also decided that he would help about 15 or more other people get rid of their car stereos in two or so months. there were 2 break in's all last school year.

when i spoke with the police, they TOLD ME that they were not going to do anything. they had "Better things to do".

so- to return to the topic slightly- why would you trust police? they are busy padding their wallet with tickets, not preventing and solving crime.

- a taxpayer.


It's a sad state of affairs where in a world you can not leave your door unlocked for fear of thieves but if you go 5mph over the speed limit they'll have you.

[idkew]

well, one worthless *uck got cauhgt-

click me (http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/internet/12/05/crime.ebay.reut/index.html)

[keltorsori]

Daily Update:
Big things are afoot. I've been contacted by four other people who were scammed by the same guy (even used the same email addresses). Something is about to give and I have one last request for help from everyone.

If anyone lives in the Chicago area and can just drive by an address for me to confirm whether or not there is even a building there, please contact me by email, misterye at yahoo dot com

Thanks to everyone again for your help and support. With it I've managed to track this guy down and he will get caught. Thank you again

Eric Smith

[Sun Baked]

The forward movement (or lack thereof) of the criminal phase shouldn't stop you from filing a civil action against this guy either.

It's probably the only way you'll have a chance of any recovery.

Though the wood bat is a bad idea, possibility of leaving too much evidence at the scene if you splinter the bat - thought they do clean up much easier (burn it).

[keltorsori]

It's about to get even better. Things are coming together faster than I can keep track of. I'm keeping a detailed journal which will be published/posted once the big bit goes down.

Thanks again to everyone again and stay tuned.

Eric Smith

[dynamicd]

Any new word on what's going on??

[irmongoose]

Dammit this is like a friggin movie... the suspense is killing me!!!! AHHHH!!!

Tell us what's going on, please!!!!

I would've tried to help (kinda pointless if you're across the ocean, but...) if I had foudn this thread earlier on. GOOD LUCK!





irmongoose

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by dynamicd
Any new word on what's going on??
There's lots, but I can't say yet. Sorry, I'm not trying to build suspense, but there's a lot at stake today. You'll know by Wednesday. I try to tell people like this that I'm not a good guy to ***** with, I *will* hunt you down (just in case any one out there is interested in messing with me in the future).

Stay tuned

Eric Smith

[G4scott]

wow... the suspense... Well, I hope you get the bastard...

[keltorsori]

Sorry to keep doing this but it looks like you all will have to wait until Wednesday night for the big news. I have finals all day tomorrow and the big thing hasn't come down yet. All will be revealed.

Thanks for the support.

[keltorsori]

BUSTED!!
Full story at my website:
http://www.remodern.com/caught.html

THANKS EVERYONE!!

[iJon]

Thank God. I am so happy for you man, just like the rest of us. Although I read this and tried to help but eveyone else helped you already. I hope the other people he jipped too got there stuff or money back. Another proud moment in the Mac community. Congrats again. Hope you get your computer back to, keep us posted.

iJon

[Performfreak]

yeah man, congratulations, even though it shouldn't have happened in the first place, if it wasn't for your hard work and dedication to finding this fradulent loser, he'd still be out there stealing computers from innocent honest people. You did the world a good service today, well done.

[Sun Baked]

The civil suit should be fun...

Provided he isn't in jail.

[keltorsori]

Originally posted by Sun Baked
The civil suit should be fun...

Provided he isn't in jail.
He'll be in jail, the detective is very serious about pursuing the charges against him. And I didn't detail it yet, but I actually set him up so he'd get truly f*cked. He had 4 counterfeit cashier's checks on him. Three were for me.

Do not mess with southerners or Mac users, we will get you. :D

[jelloshotsrule]

so... you won't be getting any money if you don't get your computer? if not, thats kinda dumb...

i mean, i don't know where it would come from exactly.... ahhh.

great job though. you the man.

[macktheknife]

Congratulations! Sorry to hear your woes, but glad to hear some scumbag is gonna pay for this. BTW, I sold my Dell before through eBay (to get a TiBook, of course :D ) a few months ago without problems, so not everyone is a crook. Here's what I recommend to anyone who's thinking of selling or buying a high-priced ticket item on eBay:

1) Get escrow. It doesn't cost much, and it could protect you. Most honest buyers or sellers should be willing to at least pay half of it.

2) Wait for the money order or check to clear before sending the item. Better yet, have the payment sent via PayPal to ensure it's verified.

I'm glad I sold my Dell laptop without any problems. Like you said, I'd doubt any Dell user would have been willing to do what your fellow Macusers did for you. :p

[G4scott]

this guy is really screwed... You did a good job nailing the mofo... I just hope you can be compensated for your losses. Maybe if this guy is part of this other fraud scheme that you mentioned, You'll be able to get it back...

[sparkleytone]

way to ****ing go man.

you are my personal hero of the month.

hear hear to the mac community.

[kevin49093]

GREAT!!!

I'm sure there are a few mac loving lawyers in Chicago who could help you out now!

Glad you got him!

[sparkleytone]

YOU'RE THE MAN NOW DOG! (http://www.yourethemannowdog.com)

[MacBandit]

I know someone who will be sleeping a whole lot better. Oh and a lot of geeks too.

Hey keep us up to date. I want to know about your Powerbook and how your finals went.

I'm glad we could help.

[zimv20]

awesome. glad he's caught. excellent work.

oh, to have seen the look on his face when the cops came from everywhere.

[irmongoose]

Congrats man. You nailed him good, and I mean really good. The fun is just about to start... hehehehe :D :D




irmongoose

[pgwalsh]

I wonder how long he will go away for? Hopefully they can put him away for a long time. People like that suck.

[digital1]

ERIC DUDE!

I am so happy for ya! I havent bought my Mac yet, and you have just given me all kinds of things to watch out for! :D I wish i could have helped earlier, but I somehow just found this thread,even though I come like every day! But man! as college student, I feel ya man! Money for a college student is money! and a mac is a mac! :D kudos!
~O~

[fargoboy]

This isn't any help for you now, Eric, but for anybody else with a Mac that they're selling or worried about being stolen there's a piece of software called Mac PhoneHome that sends important info to a pre-selected email address when it is connected to the internet. The $30 version can even withstand a hard drive format, low-level format or fdisk procedure.

Here's MacNN's article (12 March 2002):
http://www.macnn.com/news.php?id=13072

[sparkleytone]

awww boooo

looks like the site has been slashdotted.

anyone able to mirror it??

AL??

[sparkleytone]

i am adding here that you now need to be pretty careful of the things you may or may not do. especially concerning people wanting to send you money and whatnot.

if you havent already, it would be very beneficial to contact a few lawyers, most importantly at the moment someone with tax experience. i know mcrain has some experience with this as well. i do not know what kind of money you can and cannot accept right now, how it may or may not be taxed, nor how it may affect any trial against this guy.

just be careful and have the law on your side at all times.

[beefstu01]

The slashdot type copy and paste.

Here it is, the links may not work, but here it is. (needs to be in multipe parts)

----------------

Mac Addicts to the Rescue

or

How I Caught a Counterfeiter with a Little Help from my Friends

a true story by Jason Eric Smith

Check out the Forum

in the interest of getting this out, no fancy layout, just hand coding. maybe i'll spruce it up later.
the names of the innocent have been changed, the names of the guilty though...

I am a college student (my second time around). Specifically, I'm studying to become a high school history teacher. I am a student with a lifelong habit though, Macintosh. I got my first Mac in 1986, a used Mac Plus with 1 megabyte of RAM a massive 40 megabyte external hardrive. Since then, I've always had to keep up, first it was the SE, then the IIsi, the Powerbook 140, and from there on, more Macs than you can shake a stick at (I missed the Mac TV). I usually keep my Mac for about 6 months, and then resell it and move up. I almost always buy used, so don't get any ideas about me being rich.

Since I went back to being a student again, I've been selling Macs more regularly, picking up good deals on used Macs locally and then reselling on eBay. I've been doing this for about two years now, its relatively easy, takes about an extra hour of my day, and usually pays the rent. In November when the new Powerbooks came out I decided I was going to buy one for myself, to keep, an early Christmas present that would come in handy for taking notes in class and finishing up a presentation I needed to do on the New Orleans school system. The day they were announced I ordered a nice new Powerbook G4 867 and found it on my doorstep only a few days later.

It was a beautiful machine, if you've never played with one in person, you won't believe it. I played with it for a couple of days, took it to school to take notes and do research on. The more I used it, the more I loved it. But, it was just too much to be carrying around, $2300 in my backpack had a tendency to make me a little nervous. I decided maybe I should turn it around and pick up an iBook. My girlfriend and I decided we would use the extra money to donate to some charities for Christmas. So on November 19th, up on eBay it went, along with an Airport Basestation and a bunch of other knickknacks. I set a buy-it-now price on a whim for $2950.

The next morning I checked my auction, a couple of bids placed, and so the buy-it-now option was gone. Checking my email I got a couple of questions about the computer and much to my surprise, an offer to buy it for $2900 from Steve Matthews, a dad with a lucky son in college who was going to be getting a Powerbook for his birthday. Steve wanted to pay for it COD, no problem, its actually how I usually sell things. I called him on the phone number he gave me to ask a couple of questions and make sure everything was on the up and up.

He reiterated that he was buying it as a last minute present for his son and since it was already setup as a package, he thought it was a good deal. Not to mention the Chicago Apple stores were still out of stock. I got home from school, packed up my Powerbook and accessories, and off they went Fedex overnight to Chicago, never to be seen again.

At 10:21AM on November 21st, a man going by the name of Paul Smith signed for my two packages and gave the driver an official cashier's check from LaSalle Bank for $3052.78 in return. The check made it back to my doorstep the next morning. I went to the bank, deposited the check and withdrew enough to go ahead and pay my rent and pick up a couple of household items. I sent an email to Steve to make sure he got everything ok and to check that nothing had been damaged in shipping. No reply. As the old saying goes, no news is good news, right?

My girlfriend and I went away for Thanksgiving, and when we got back on Friday, I had a message from my bank. The branch manager had called to let me know she had a returned item for $3052.78 and that my account was now in the negative. Seriously in the negative. No problem I thought, I'll just call Steve and see what's up.

So I dialed the number I had. In the back of my mind I expected a "this number has been disconnected message". Instead I got an answer, the voice sounded identical to Steve, so I asked if Steve was there.

"Oh, Steve, yeah, that's my cousin, he's out of town for Thanksgiving you know. He'll be back Tuesday"

"Can I leave a message for him?"

So I left my information and asked that he give me a call. That little voice in the back of my mind let out a sigh and an uh-oh. The voices were the same right? Was I being scammed? Well, if I was, I certainly wasn't going to let the weekend go by without doing a little investigating.

I started off with the information I had. His AOL email address, his phone number, and the address I shipped the computer to. The AOL address didn't yield anything. Doing a reverse lookup on the address (thanks to Whitepages.com) I got three names and phone numbers, none of which matched anything I had. The phone number didn't give me anything. I finally found a way to lookup the exchange on the number to see if it was a cell phone or a landline (Fone Finder). It came back as Nextel and I wanted to scream.

There really isn't anything you can do with a cell phone number. There are no directory services. The cell phone companies won't give out any information. And that's that. I called Nextel and pleaded with them. The customer service rep I spoke with seemed more confused than anything. He kept asking me what my Nextel phone number was and why I suspected someone was fraudulently billing to my account. I calmly explained at least three times that I was not a Nextel customer, that I was just trying to get an address for another customer I suspect has defrauded me, etc, etc. I finally gave up on Chris from Nextel, I've had customer service reps who don't even speak English who were more helpful.

I was at a dead end. I'd just sent my $2300 laptop, my Airport basestation, and a load of stuff to somebody I didn't know and all I had to show for it was a bill from Fedex for overnight shipping and a returned cashier's check. It's hard to sleep comfortably knowing some asshole has your Mac and is doing god knows what with it.

Sunday the first of December, I sprang into action full force. I called for help. I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere with this on my own, so I figured I might be able to get some help from some bulletin boards. I posted my tale of woe and call for assistance on every Mac bulletin board I could think of. I hoped that somebody who worked for Nextel, some fellow Mac addict like myself, might be willing to bend the rules a little. I wanted this guy's address and I wanted it bad. I was already pricing flights to Chicago and putting my professors on notice that I might have to miss a little class. I may have made an error in trusting this person, but I'm not someone you want to have that happen to. I will get you. I will hunt you down, and I will bring a baseball bat with me.

I got more replies than I could keep up with. Everyone wanted to know what they could do to help or at least offer support. Well, everyone except one guy who just wanted to let me know how incredibly stupid he thought I was and that he would never have accepted a counterfeit anything. I think a 102:1 great person to asshole ratio is pretty good. Several people living in Chicago offered their assistance, be it in gathering information or even forming a tough guy squad if necessary.

The most important reply I got was a pointer to an online PI service that does reverse lookups on cell phones. I was already beyond broke, but I figured $85.00 more wouldn't kill me. Twelve hours and $85.00 later, I had a name, an address, and a landline phone number for this guy. The name and his AOL email were eerily close, actually with a last name like Christmas, it would be pretty weird if it didn't match up. I couldn't believe it. A Chicago resident named Melvin Christmas had just ruined my Christmas. I was expecting William Faulkner to come popping out of the pantry at any moment and laugh at me.

[beefstu01]

I was now ready to call the police. I called the Chicago police department and filed a report. I gave the operator all of my information, including the real name and address I had managed to get. "A detective will contact you within one to two weeks, thank you." One to two weeks?!? I had this guy, I'd done all the work already, all you had to do was go pick him up. I'd even gone ahead and called Fedex and spoken to the Chicago station manager and was assured that the driver would cooperate in identifying the guy if necessary. All they had to do was pick him up. In one to two weeks he could be gone. And all the while my precious Powerbook is sitting god knows where being used by somebody completely undeserving of a Mac. I know in my heart that Mr. Christmas is really a PC guy.

I was furious. Chicago PD weren't going to do anything about this. If they were anything like the New Orleans PD, one to two weeks was likely to turn in to never. I figured I'd call Mr. Christmas myself. Let him know I was going to give him a chance to fix this, and I thought, maybe at least scare him. Let him know he was dealing with someone who would track him down no matter what, even if I had to make a deal with the Prince of Darkness to do it. Mr. Christmas said he didn't even know what email was. Obviously a PC user.

I kept checking the message boards. Maybe someone would have a better idea. I called the local FBI field office. Agent Jones was very understanding, but let me know that even though this crossed state lines, the field office didn't take anything involving less than $5000. "Try the Chicago PD".

I kept everyone on the Mac boards updated as best I could. On Tuesday I got a useful reply, try the Secret Service, counterfeiting is their jurisdiction. I made my way to the under-renovation Federal Building here in New Orleans. After walking many a dark, scary hallway, found myself at the door of Agent Keith Lopola. Keith came out and heard my case. I had brought copies of all the emails between myself and Steve Matthews/Paul Smith/Mr. Christmas, a copy of the check, and the call journal I had started keeping. Agent Lopola told me the same thing the FBI did, "It falls under our jurisdiction, but we can't take the case." He wanted to let me know that he really felt for me. Thanks. I left the office determined to call and bother him and the Chicago PD everyday for the rest of my life or at least until Mr. Christmas was behind bars.

Finals were fast approaching. It's not very easy to concentrate on school when all you can think about all day is the fact that all of your student loans for the next semester are going to cover this counterfeit check. That and some grubby criminal has your Powerbook. It's enough to drive someone to the drink.

Tuesday night I got an email from someone who had seen my story posted on O'Grady's Powerpage, a Powerbook enthusiast site. George Dunbar had seen the story and thought it sounded eerily similar to his. I called him, we compared notes, and turns out it was the same guy. George forwarded me all of his emails. Everything was the same, word for word, it was like Mr. Christmas just copied and pasted and magically made money. George was in it worse than I was though and had completely given up. He was out $6000 and two computers. He also let me know that there were more victims. He'd talked to at least three other people who had been taken by the same guy, all of whom had just given up. I was not going to give up. That night I dreamed of Mr. Christmas and a baseball bat, some duct tape, and roofing nails.

Wednesday morning I decided I was going to Chicago. I set up another eBay auction under my girlfriend's account, this time for same computer, different city. Three hours later, lo and behold I received an email from eBay user videopro55 (the same one) asking me if I'd like to sell the computer right now for $2500. Oh yes, I'd love to sell the computer, I'll even be there when it gets delivered to make sure it gets "setup properly".

He emailed me a new address and phone number, the phone number again traced back to the same address for Mr. Christmas. I called the Secret Service and the Chicago PD, pleading, all they had to do was be there when Fedex dropped off the package. It was a guaranteed hit, he'd have another counterfeit cashier's check, all you'd have to do is arrest him. Like shooting fish in a barrel. "Sorry, Detective McDonaugh will be out until next Wednesday, can I take a message?" Fine, if the cops won't do it, I decided I'd just Priceline a ticket and be waiting next door when it got dropped off. So I'd know what kind of neighborhood I was looking at, I asked for help again in the Mac boards. Two Chicago residents replied, and the next morning, courtesy of Tim, I had 23 pictures of the house, the cars in the driveway (with license plate numbers) and the neighborhood. I'd like to see a Dell user do something like that at 4:30 in the morning for a complete stranger a thousand miles away. I started planning my trip. I decided I'd leave on Saturday, have the package delivered on Monday, and make it back just in time to screw up on all my finals.

On Friday in preparation for flying up I mapped the new address from the one for Mr. Christmas to see how close it was. As I looked at the map, it hit me. The new address wasn't in Chicago. It was in a suburb, Markham. I googled for the Markham police and 5 minutes later was talking to a very enthusiastic Sargeant Knapp. I had hit the jackpot, the new drop was outside of Chicago jurisdiction and therefore outside of their inattentiveness as well. Sargeant Knapp informed me he loved this kind of thing, even had a UPS and Fedex uniform ready. He'd call Fedex and they would set it up for Tuesday. I was certain I was dreaming. After talking to two detectives in Chicago, an FBI field agent, an agent in the New Orleans field office of the Secret Service, an agent with the L.A. Secret Service and having a conference call with a large group of agents from the Chicago Secret Service, I finally was getting somewhere. And I didn't even have to stand on someone's doorstep with a baseball bat to do it.

I spent the entire weekend on pins and needles. What if Mr. Christmas figured something out between now and Tuesday? All would be lost. I wouldn't even get the chance to confront him on my own. On Monday I spoke with Sgt. Knapp to make sure everything was ready to go. I had sent him a package with all of my documentation (he didn't have email), and I tried to explain what all the email stuff meant as best I could. He had worked everything out with Fedex and they were set for the delivery on Tuesday.

I called my brother in Nashville and had him send the package. I had set everything up to be coming from there so that Mr. Christmas wouldn't get suspicious. I could barely sleep Monday night. All I could think about was something going wrong and my only chance at getting this guy being missed. I wanted to update everyone on the Mac boards, but I had to keep it quiet until I knew something was going to happen.

Tuesday afternoon Sgt. Knapp called. They had tried the delivery but no one was home. I just wanted to scream. The board users kept posting how the suspense was driving them nuts. Well, it was going to give me an aneurism. A million possibilities went through my head. Maybe he had somebody working at Fedex who tipped him off, maybe I worded something in one of my email a little off. Sgt. Knapp called me back to let me know they would try the delivery again tomorrow. He also wanted to let me know that they had intercepted another package that was being sent to the same address. Looks like he'd already struck again, thankfully the lady from New York will get her computer back. He also told me that he was definitely going to keep pursuing this, and that oddly enough, the address I'd given him was also related to another fraud case, but this one much bigger (hundreds of thousands) involving a certain Chicago franchise I won't mention. So maybe I had led them to something bigger than just some asshole counterfeiting cashier's checks.

Today I had finals all day. I'm a 4.0 honors student. I've had a 4.0 all semester. I'm not sure if I'll keep that after today. I just couldn't sleep last night. All I could think about was Mr. Christmas and the delivery. I couldn't study either. So I winged it, I'll get my grades tomorrow. I called Sgt. Knapp at 2:45. He told me he was on his way back to the house. They'd already made the delivery and arrested the guy. He had more than $10,000 in counterfeit cashier's checks waiting for deliveries.

*I* got him.

I'm right now waiting on Sgt. Knapp to fax me a copy of his mug shot for posterity. Then I'm going to go celebrate. Sgt. Knapp said the guy was cooperating and he was going to try to recover my laptop. I'm hopeful, but I don't expect it. I might not ever get my computer back, but at least there is one less asshole on the street. When will criminals learn? You just shouldn't mess with Mac people.

For everyone on all the boards who offered their help and encouragement, I thank you. This would have been a lot harder without you. If you're ever in New Orleans, look me up and I'll buy you a beer. I've still got to figure out how I'm paying to college next semester, but I'll keep some beer money set aside for ya'll.

Oh yeah, and if there are any lawyers in the Chicago area who can file a civil suit against this guy for damages (yeah I know I'm not going to collect) please contact me, misterye a t yahoo d o t com

The sites with great users that helped out (you can sign up for the forums and read all about this as it was going on):
MacRumors.com
MacNN
ThinkSecret
O'Grady's PowerPage

[tallman]

Bad news gets worse. Let me shoot you to the final stages of this, cause I have been through it...
Once you have all his correct contact info, you can send it to police. They arrest him, he gets out on bail. Court hearing comes around which has to be in the the city where the crime was committed. That means you fly. Once you win case, you get a judgement against him. Problem is that you are still responsible for getting the money from him. Which means you have to hire a collection agency, and they take 1/2 of the judgement as payment.

I went through this for 2500. I was one of 68 people who bought from two guys on ebay and there were over 100k involved. We reported to FBI internet fraud division, and they are prosicuting. In the long run, they will go to jail because of the amount of money involved. But those of us who didn't use credit cards are just out the money.

Long story short, you have to decide on how you want that guy to suffer for the money he stole from you. Court and collections is long and time consuming. I would suggest being more creative...

[vniow]

keltorsori, I seriously think that you should submit this story to Apple (well they probably already know about it, but it couldn't hurt)

I think that Apple could take advantage of it as part of the switch ads; 'Switch to Mac and have millions of other users help you when needed!'

Not that I'm being Apple-selfish at all, but I do think it has great marketing potential.http://img.ranchoweb.com/images/veronica/smiley.gif

[Computer_Phreak]

Originally posted by sparkleytone
awww boooo

looks like the site has been slashdotted.

anyone able to mirror it??

AL??

what do you mean by 'slashdotted'?

thx for explaining

[vniow]

Originally posted by Computer_Phreak


what do you mean by 'slashdotted'?

thx for explaining


When some sites are posted on /., they get so many hits that it goes down after awhile.

Like this one.

[scem0]

I used to think that slash dot had something to do with comments
in c++.

Ex:

/* this is a comment. I typed slash and then dot to make it, except
it isn't really a dot*\

[madoka]

I've tried looking for your auction for the Powerbook, but I haven't been able to find it. It doesn't seem to exist. Can you post a link to it?

Thanks.

[andreascarlsson]

I read your story and me, my friends and my family, want to congratulate you to this great story!

I hope you get a really good christmas and a wonderful 2003!

And as other people has mentioned you will probably have some problems getting your $ back. I'm willing to contribute some money for your sake - You deserve it!

/andreas :)

[sturm375]

I am glad to hear you were able to catch this dirtball. People like you are what make this world live-able. Thanks.

[mcrain]

PM me. I'm sure my Department wouldn't mind getting the taxes we are owed on the money he stole, and thus had income from.

[evildead]

Man.. this story is World Wide now...

It made the Regsiter in the UK!

http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/39/28548.html


Sorry If some one all ready posted that.. I didn't see any one that did and the Reg posted the story today


eddit: opps.. the Reg posted it yesterday

-evildead

[kkentium]

Eric, you really do rock. I wish I still lived in the Chicago area (moved to DC in Sept), I mighta helped. In any case, your story made the Chicago Tribune:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/technology/chi-021214appletech,1,293172.story?coll=chi%2Dnews%2Dhed

Long live the power of the Internet!

BTW, I'm sure you have Mr. Melvin Christmas' personal information but his real home address can be found thru a search on www.switchboard.com... ;)

kken

[topicolo]

Good Job Eric. Good to hear that you caught the bastard.
Let's hope that he gets hung by his nuts ;)

[redAPPLE]

Originally posted by Computer_Phreak


what do you mean by 'slashdotted'?

thx for explaining

... and your callsign is "computer_phreak"?? ;)

[Mr. Anderson]

They're a little late in the game, but its on cnn.com now

http://www.cnn.com/2002/US/Midwest/12/15/computer.crimestoppers.ap/index.html

Way to go!

D :D