Is this a Scam?

[+Lloyd77]

Hi, I had rather a strange email via my geocaching profile which I believe is a scam which could lead to various false claims of lost gifts and requests for money. Just wondered if anyone else has had such messages: Here is the email I got the toehr day:

Dear Lloyd77,

 

I´m writing to you after I became a member of Geocaching community and randomly searched for geocachers based in Plymouth. I´ve been looking for a way to execute a certain idea and I´ve been told about geocaching, which I find hugely amazing! So I signed in. Anyway, the reason for my writing is, that I´ve had this idea of sending a small gift to a girl whoom I fell in love with 2 months ago and who lives in Plymouth. Her name is Eva, she´s Slovakian as well as me (I´m living in Bratislava, Slovakia). To make it more exciting, I thought of her going to find it hidden somewhere in the city - for which I would need somebody to whoom I could send this gift (a pair of earrings) by post and who would do me the favor of going to a place we´d agree on and hiding the package. And then a friend told me about geocaching and the way it works with GPS and the rules of the game. Bingo! Well apparently, this is not a part of the actual game, but as I realized that the idea is the same, I thought it could be nice to find a friendly person who understands this kind of fun and helps me to show my feelings to a beautiful girl. It would only take a short time on your way home from work, or when riding a bike, to place a small package somewhere in the city and send me the GPS coordinates and a picture of the cache. I´d then send the coordinates to Eva and hope she finds it...

I would be realy grateful for your kind help, as this girl means a lot to me and I find this an unusual and romantic way to say I love her.

He signs it with his geocching name of Kundycka...

Anyone else had anything similar?

[+eusty]

Could be OK, but if you are unhappy about doing it then just delete it!

[+Imabus]

Sounds like someone being romantic in a way the girl would remember for a long time! As said if your not up for it then delete or ignore it or suggest he uses a non expensive gift and makes it a trackable with the aim to get to her. Then they could both watch it's progress and it would be exciting for longer than a day..... Unless it goes missing....

[+OZ2CPU]

it is a nice romantic and great idea,

I hope it is not a joke or scam,

you got nothing to loose, a dude will send you something,

you hide it, he gets the cords, the girl gets the cords, and hopefully she finds it.

I would do it :-)

 

if you dont like giving him your own private address,

then use your work address :-) for the gift..

 

Good luck.

[+MartyBartfast]

Hmm,

I could be either. Might be worth asking this over in the UK forum, in case anyone else in the area has been approached.

[+Planet]

I'd use general delivery at the post office. I wouldn't yse mine or my employer's. But if you're worried about it, forward the email to geocaching.com and have them look into it. I wonder how many people in your area got it, or how many people in any area.

[+C8W9]

Providing the box arrives containing earrings rather than white powder in plastic bags, you'll be fine!

[+DonB]

Ask him if he's willing to send you Eva's address so you can be sure it's not a scam of some kind. I guess I'm just not the trusting type.

[+whh0]

"Yes my Lord, it is quite usual for me to accept parcels from Foreign Nationals I do not know" "No, my Lord, I did not realise that the small box I was asked to hide in the woods contained 1kg of drugs, I thought they were earrings for his girlfriend........" DELETE NOW AND DO NOT GIVE IT A SECOND THOUGHT!!

[Pup Patrol]

Hi, I had rather a strange email via my geocaching profile which I believe is a scam which could lead to various false claims of lost gifts and requests for money. Just wondered if anyone else has had such messages: Here is the email I got the toehr day:

Dear Lloyd77,

 

I´m writing to you after I became a member of Geocaching community and randomly searched for geocachers based in Plymouth. I´ve been looking for a way to execute a certain idea and I´ve been told about geocaching, which I find hugely amazing! So I signed in. Anyway, the reason for my writing is, that I´ve had this idea of sending a small gift to a girl whoom I fell in love with 2 months ago and who lives in Plymouth. Her name is Eva, she´s Slovakian as well as me (I´m living in Bratislava, Slovakia). To make it more exciting, I thought of her going to find it hidden somewhere in the city - for which I would need somebody to whoom I could send this gift (a pair of earrings) by post and who would do me the favor of going to a place we´d agree on and hiding the package. And then a friend told me about geocaching and the way it works with GPS and the rules of the game. Bingo! Well apparently, this is not a part of the actual game, but as I realized that the idea is the same, I thought it could be nice to find a friendly person who understands this kind of fun and helps me to show my feelings to a beautiful girl. It would only take a short time on your way home from work, or when riding a bike, to place a small package somewhere in the city and send me the GPS coordinates and a picture of the cache. I´d then send the coordinates to Eva and hope she finds it...

I would be realy grateful for your kind help, as this girl means a lot to me and I find this an unusual and romantic way to say I love her.

He signs it with his geocching name of Kundycka...

Anyone else had anything similar?

 

Might be a scam.

 

Might be a stalker. Maybe "Eva" is trying to hide from this person.

 

If I received an email through my profile like that, I would immediately report it to Groundspeak, with as much technical data as possible. IP address of sender, etc.

 

 

B.

[+NeecesandNephews]

Wow, I thought I was cynical. Sounds like a romantic. Would guess probably young too. What do you have to lose???

He is not asking you to buy the gift. He is asking you to hide it.

 

I would probably give it a shot. I would, as mentioned in prev posts, NOT give him my home address. Have him mail it to general delivery.

If it is really a pair of nice earrings, the guy is taking quite a leap of faith in thinking he can trust you to not just keep them. As I said... probably young.

 

I think the idea is charming, and would try to help him out. When the package arrived, I would check to be sure just what was in it, and either attempt to cache it, or destroy it, or turn it over to local authorities, depending on what was in it.

 

Of course it could be some terrorist plot to send anthrax into your neighborhood as big brother would like you to believe. Making it easier to justify using more of your tax dollars to protect you from just this sort of thing.

 

Wow... its funny how times have changed and we have two different thought processes to consider. I choose the positive one (at least today) and would probably try to help.

 

 

I am sure that because I used the word "anthrax" and "terrorist" together in an internet post, I probably just went onto some kind of list and my actions will be monitored for the next ten years. I hate what this world has become.( Now I am being cynical. )

[+fuzziebear3]

You could offer to hide a cache 'For Eva', but decline to add the gift, indicating that you will add an appropriate FTF prize. Tell him he can look it up on geocaching.com, and she can get an account and go find it. Maybe include his note in your cache description.

 

It's all on the up and up, no personal exchanges that way. If it is a scam, it is foiled. Maybe you get a new geocacher, or maybe not. Everyone gets to read an interesting story.

[+Dan2099]

"Yes my Lord, it is quite usual for me to accept parcels from Foreign Nationals I do not know" "No, my Lord, I did not realise that the small box I was asked to hide in the woods contained 1kg of drugs, I thought they were earrings for his girlfriend........" DELETE NOW AND DO NOT GIVE IT A SECOND THOUGHT!!

 

Whoa now....In your scenario I see a business opportunity

[+The Blorenges]

Wow, I thought I was cynical. Sounds like a romantic. Would guess probably young too. What do you have to lose???

He is not asking you to buy the gift. He is asking you to hide it.

 

I would probably give it a shot. I would, as mentioned in prev posts, NOT give him my home address. Have him mail it to general delivery.

If it is really a pair of nice earrings, the guy is taking quite a leap of faith in thinking he can trust you to not just keep them. As I said... probably young.

 

I think the idea is charming, and would try to help him out. When the package arrived, I would check to be sure just what was in it, and either attempt to cache it, or destroy it, or turn it over to local authorities, depending on what was in it.

 

Of course it could be some terrorist plot to send anthrax into your neighborhood as big brother would like you to believe. Making it easier to justify using more of your tax dollars to protect you from just this sort of thing.

 

Wow... its funny how times have changed and we have two different thought processes to consider. I choose the positive one (at least today) and would probably try to help.

 

 

I am sure that because I used the word "anthrax" and "terrorist" together in an internet post, I probably just went onto some kind of list and my actions will be monitored for the next ten years. I hate what this world has become.( Now I am being cynical. )

 

I don't usually do this but I'm going to, for this post...

 

+ 1

 

I don't see any reason to report it to Groundspeak: It's not offensive, it doesn't appear to be spam (I don't see lots/several other geocachers reporting that they've had exactly the same email), he's not picking a fight with you over some imagined slur of geocaching etiquette.

I would go along with it, using some "work" address, but I would tell him that I would be examining the contents before willing witnesses when the parcel arrived there.

 

Call me old, naive and romantic if you like...

 

MrsB

[+NeecesandNephews]

Call me old, naive and romantic if you like...

 

MrsB

 

Yup... guilty as charged! And in that context I wouldn't be offended if someone called me that!! Thanks for the laugh Mrs B.!!

[+whh0]

Be very aware that if the parcel is addressed to you and is not legitimate you will be liable, whether the parcel goes to your house, work or PO Box number.

 

If the parcel is intercepted at customs they may well let it go on it's way and the first you'll know about it is when the Police come banging on your door at 4 in the morning!

 

"I thought it was earrings", will not be accepted in court.

[jholly]

Hi, I had rather a strange email via my geocaching profile which I believe is a scam which could lead to various false claims of lost gifts and requests for money. Just wondered if anyone else has had such messages: Here is the email I got the toehr day:

Dear Lloyd77,

 

I´m writing to you after I became a member of Geocaching community and randomly searched for geocachers based in Plymouth. I´ve been looking for a way to execute a certain idea and I´ve been told about geocaching, which I find hugely amazing! So I signed in. Anyway, the reason for my writing is, that I´ve had this idea of sending a small gift to a girl whoom I fell in love with 2 months ago and who lives in Plymouth. Her name is Eva, she´s Slovakian as well as me (I´m living in Bratislava, Slovakia). To make it more exciting, I thought of her going to find it hidden somewhere in the city - for which I would need somebody to whoom I could send this gift (a pair of earrings) by post and who would do me the favor of going to a place we´d agree on and hiding the package. And then a friend told me about geocaching and the way it works with GPS and the rules of the game. Bingo! Well apparently, this is not a part of the actual game, but as I realized that the idea is the same, I thought it could be nice to find a friendly person who understands this kind of fun and helps me to show my feelings to a beautiful girl. It would only take a short time on your way home from work, or when riding a bike, to place a small package somewhere in the city and send me the GPS coordinates and a picture of the cache. I´d then send the coordinates to Eva and hope she finds it...

I would be realy grateful for your kind help, as this girl means a lot to me and I find this an unusual and romantic way to say I love her.

He signs it with his geocching name of Kundycka...

Anyone else had anything similar?

 

Might be a scam.

 

Might be a stalker. Maybe "Eva" is trying to hide from this person.

 

If I received an email through my profile like that, I would immediately report it to Groundspeak, with as much technical data as possible. IP address of sender, etc.

 

 

B.

Actually if you received it through your profile on Groundspeak they already have all the technical data in their logs.

[+MartyBartfast]

Be very aware that if the parcel is addressed to you and is not legitimate you will be liable,

...

"I thought it was earrings", will not be accepted in court.

 

That's debatable, after all if it were absolutely true it would be a very easy way to land someone in it, just send them an unsolicited package that they know nothing about and make sure it's suspicious enough that Plod will intercept it.

 

Anyway I think paranoia has overtaken everyone here, the chances that this is some sort of terrorist plot are about zero. The bad guys have much better methods than this.

 

If it's a scam it's more likely to be an attempt to obtain money by deception, so go for it if you feel inclined, don't give any personal details of any kind, and at the first sniff of them suggesting you spend any money then do a runner.

 

For this reason I would suggest that if you are going to enter into a communication you should set up a disposable Email address (Gmail or Hotmail etc) for this purpose, and then if you need to back away you can drop the Email address.

[jholly]

I don't know. It might be romantic, it might be a way to get drugs in the country, it might be lots of things. Perhaps Mr. Nigel moved from Nigeria to Slovakia. Unfortunately the email reads like those I get from Mr. Nigel and his many friends that live it Nigeria. Right now, if I got the email, it would be solidly in the scam column. Come on now, no one emails some one randomly that they don't know to send some thing, which might be worth more that $1 USD, to go hide. The next email is that there is a problem sending the earrings so I will send you a check, which is quite large, that you can use to buy some nice not very expensive diamond studs and then send the money you did not spend to Mr. Nigel PO Box ....

[knowschad]

I'm generally extremely skeptical about things of this nature, but this one passed my smell test for the most part. But what I'm surprised nobody is asking is, how is "Eva" going to find the "cache", since she apparently is not a geocacher herself? And even if she were an expert cacher, how are you going to make sure that she is the one that takes the earrings?

 

Probably not a scam, but an all around bad idea.

[+Dan2099]

Hi, I had rather a strange email via my geocaching profile which I believe is a scam which could lead to various false claims of lost gifts and requests for money. Just wondered if anyone else has had such messages: Here is the email I got the toehr day:

Dear Lloyd77,

 

I´m writing to you after I became a member of Geocaching community and randomly searched for geocachers based in Plymouth. I´ve been looking for a way to execute a certain idea and I´ve been told about geocaching, which I find hugely amazing! So I signed in. Anyway, the reason for my writing is, that I´ve had this idea of sending a small gift to a girl whoom I fell in love with 2 months ago and who lives in Plymouth. Her name is Eva, she´s Slovakian as well as me (I´m living in Bratislava, Slovakia). To make it more exciting, I thought of her going to find it hidden somewhere in the city - for which I would need somebody to whoom I could send this gift (a pair of earrings) by post and who would do me the favor of going to a place we´d agree on and hiding the package. And then a friend told me about geocaching and the way it works with GPS and the rules of the game. Bingo! Well apparently, this is not a part of the actual game, but as I realized that the idea is the same, I thought it could be nice to find a friendly person who understands this kind of fun and helps me to show my feelings to a beautiful girl. It would only take a short time on your way home from work, or when riding a bike, to place a small package somewhere in the city and send me the GPS coordinates and a picture of the cache. I´d then send the coordinates to Eva and hope she finds it...

I would be realy grateful for your kind help, as this girl means a lot to me and I find this an unusual and romantic way to say I love her.

He signs it with his geocching name of Kundycka...

Anyone else had anything similar?

 

I once got an email from a former nigerian prince offering me millions of dollars, but first I had to send him only 5k. I took the deal and became rich but sadly lost all my fortune on scratch off lottery tickets a week later.

[+Lloyd77]

Thank you all for your comments, much appreciated. I have reported it to Groundspeak for their info. I won't be replying as I believe it is very dodgy just wanted to warn others and the UK forums. I will probably reply and ask him to send it to my work addres as when he gets that if it is dodgy I will never hear from him again!!

[4wheelin_fool]

I don't see anything wrong with it. Back in the old days snail mail use was more common, as well as people being romantic. It also is very typical of what people in other countries do. Why must things that are out of the ordinary viewed with such mistrust? Does such actions really have to be filed away in your mind as "paranoid" ?It's like a muggle noticing a geocacher acting out of the ordinary and calling the cops, or reporting a lock n lock filled with broken toys as a bomb.

[Pup Patrol]

I get inundated with spam all the time. I'm immune to it by now. This is definitely one of those "sympathy needed, help me" types.

 

Let's say this is legitimate. (that's a stretch)

 

How do you know that this isn't someone stalking Eva? How do you know that this isn't intended to cause someone to be frightened?

 

Perhaps people who don't understand how sick minds work would think this is "romantic".

 

In the end, the "I picked you at random" is a good tipoff of a scammer/spammer. Lots of people still fall for these types of scams. Lately, it's been the "grandparents" scam.

 

 

 

B.

[jholly]

I get inundated with spam all the time. I'm immune to it by now. This is definitely one of those "sympathy needed, help me" types.

 

Let's say this is legitimate. (that's a stretch)

 

How do you know that this isn't someone stalking Eva? How do you know that this isn't intended to cause someone to be frightened?

 

Perhaps people who don't understand how sick minds work would think this is "romantic".

 

In the end, the "I picked you at random" is a good tipoff of a scammer/spammer. Lots of people still fall for these types of scams. Lately, it's been the "grandparents" scam.

 

 

 

B.

100% agreement with the fuzzy pup. I almost bet you if you respond the next email will ask where and how your going to hide it, just so they know it is a good place. And, oh by the way can we do this over regular email? There might be another one or two to suck you in and then you'll get the email about a problem with customs or something so I sent you a check. Just cash it, buy a present and hid it and send the remainder to Mr.Nigel in Nigeria.

[+NeecesandNephews]

Thats just sad. Is this what we have become?? Count me out of "that" crowd. I still believe in trusting strangers until they give me some good reason not to.

And everyone likes to say that geocachers are the most wonderful people.

[knowschad]

Thats just sad. Is this what we have become?? Count me out of "that" crowd. I still believe in trusting strangers until they give me some good reason not to.

And everyone likes to say that geocachers are the most wonderful people.

 

He signs it with his geocching name of Kundycka...

 

Keep us up to date, OK?

[+dphickey]

Thats just sad. Is this what we have become?? Count me out of "that" crowd. I still believe in trusting strangers until they give me some good reason not to.

And everyone likes to say that geocachers are the most wonderful people.

 

Wow, what a dangerous view of the internet to maintain.... I see now why the African Bank Princes keep sending emails.

[+Dan2099]

Thats just sad. Is this what we have become?? Count me out of "that" crowd. I still believe in trusting strangers until they give me some good reason not to.

And everyone likes to say that geocachers are the most wonderful people.

 

Who says that

[4wheelin_fool]

Back in the old days they used to pass out books with everyone's name, address, and phone number.

 

Today it would be unheard of to post your phone number somewhere public, even in a community of anonymous usernames. If someone asks you to receive a small package to place somewhere for romantic purposes, then they must be running a scam somehow. I suppose once they have your address, then they could be sending drugs, or break into your house.

 

I suppose that when the banks fail again for good, everyone should just lock themselves in their house and live off of canned foods in fear until the authorities tell you how to behave.

[+NeecesandNephews]

Thats just sad. Is this what we have become?? Count me out of "that" crowd. I still believe in trusting strangers until they give me some good reason not to.

And everyone likes to say that geocachers are the most wonderful people.

 

Wow, what a dangerous view of the internet to maintain.... I see now why the African Bank Princes keep sending emails.

 

Wow that is an alarmist view to live with.

 

Perhaps you could explain how my view affects the number of "African Bank Princes" emails?? I am trusting... DO NOT read into that "I am stupid or careless". They ARE NOT the same thing.

 

I've been online for years, buy online, pay online, bank online, am a member of upwards of a dozen forums and chat groups, pay all my household bills online, manage my investments online... ad naseum. I facebook, I tweet, I used to myspace, all that stuff. I have yet to have my identity stolen or any one of my online accounts hacked.

 

So go ahead... tell me I am lucky. That's a load.

 

"That which you fear the most, and that which you admire the most, can own you." But only you can allow that. I will not live under the bondage of constant fear. You want to live like that??? Rock on!

[knowschad]

I've been online for years, buy online, pay online, bank online, am a member of upwards of a dozen forums and chat groups, pay all my household bills online, manage my investments online... ad naseum. I facebook, I tweet, I used to myspace, all that stuff. I have yet to have my identity stolen or any one of my

He's even gone so far as to post in the Off-Topic forum!!!

[jholly]

Thats just sad. Is this what we have become?? Count me out of "that" crowd. I still believe in trusting strangers until they give me some good reason not to.

And everyone likes to say that geocachers are the most wonderful people.

 

Wow, what a dangerous view of the internet to maintain.... I see now why the African Bank Princes keep sending emails.

 

Wow that is an alarmist view to live with.

 

Perhaps you could explain how my view affects the number of "African Bank Princes" emails?? I am trusting... DO NOT read into that "I am stupid or careless". They ARE NOT the same thing.

 

I've been online for years, buy online, pay online, bank online, am a member of upwards of a dozen forums and chat groups, pay all my household bills online, manage my investments online... ad naseum. I facebook, I tweet, I used to myspace, all that stuff. I have yet to have my identity stolen or any one of my online accounts hacked.

 

So go ahead... tell me I am lucky. That's a load.

 

"That which you fear the most, and that which you admire the most, can own you." But only you can allow that. I will not live under the bondage of constant fear. You want to live like that??? Rock on!

I think there is a major difference between buying online, banking on line and being a member of forums and chat groups and putting trust and belief in a letter from Mr. Nigel about your fortune winning the lottery or taking part in a little fun hiding a package for Eva, the girl of his dreams. The latter two are designed to lighten your wallet the former are not. Well, dealing with banks will probably at one time or the other lighten your wallet but that is a different thread. Oh, by the way, Kundycka joined the day he sent the emails and has no finds and no hides. He is not much of a geocacher, probably more of a fisherman.

[+Dog Town]

Wow, really. Trust,being romantic,etc...really? What on earth good could even happen here? Like others have said... RANDOM find of person, girlfriend don't cache, how could you even slightly say that she would be the FIRST/ONLY possible person to go to a PREVIOUSLY posted cache and get the earrings, Guy is from a known typical scam location of request probes,there's options such as sending flowers,candy,gifts..that he can send from 'on-line',and so many more. I'm only scratching the surface here of thoughts. Really? anyone possible thinks this is ligit?

[+cache_test_dummies]

I've been online for years, buy online, pay online, bank online, am a member of upwards of a dozen forums and chat groups, pay all my household bills online, manage my investments online... ad naseum. I facebook, I tweet, I used to myspace, all that stuff. I have yet to have my identity stolen or any one of my

He's even gone so far as to post in the Off-Topic forum!!!

"Off-Topic forum" - ha! Talk about a scam! I keep shelling out thirty bucks a year, and I still don't see it.

 

[+NeecesandNephews]

Wow, really. Trust,being romantic,etc...really? What on earth good could even happen here? Like others have said... RANDOM find of person, girlfriend don't cache, how could you even slightly say that she would be the FIRST/ONLY possible person to go to a PREVIOUSLY posted cache and get the earrings, Guy is from a known typical scam location of request probes,there's options such as sending flowers,candy,gifts..that he can send from 'on-line',and so many more. I'm only scratching the surface here of thoughts. Really? anyone possible thinks this is ligit?

 

I cannot say it is or is not a scam. The point I am trying to make is... why do so many people automatically have no doubt it is a scam? At least give the guy a chance to play out his hand. Or turn his next card.

I can't believe the "panic" responses that appeared instantly. I have to wonder what game all of you are playing. This whole geocache setup is ripe for exploitation, yet people wander blissfully along.

 

Lets say a criminal sets up an account here. (all it takes is a freemail addy) Find a cache in a remote location, and set up and wait for a victim. Cacher/s show up and out steps a dude with a GPS hanging from his neck and a 357 in his back pocket. Cacher/s automatically assume he is harmlessly looking for the same thing they are. Turn their back on him. Next thing all their stuff is now all his stuff.

Better yet he could post a fake remotely located cache, and he would not have to wait very long at all before the FTF hounds came charging in. Easy pickings. Robbers, rapists, kidnappers... anyone could be waiting. I wonder if thats why urban LPCs are so popular?

 

Another thread someone is talking about placing a cache on their own (remote) property. Criminal stakes out his driveway, waits for them to leave, goes up to scope it out. Someone comes along, they have an excuse for being there. Later a LEO stops them at the end of HO's driveway, they show him their GPS but not the HO's big screen, home computer, ect. in the trunk. Instant alibi!!!

 

But OMG!!! Someone got an email!!! Delete it!!! Run and hide!!! Report it to Groundspeak right away!! I mean c'mon people. Its not like the dude can steal his stuff right through his monitor screen. I could get almost as much information about your home local, your travel habits, ect. right here, as I could from an email response. Probably more.

 

I have to laugh at this whole situation. Or at least at the reaction.Am I the only one who finds this bizarre??

 

We drive our $___ vehicle out to the middle of freaking nowhere, get out with cell phone/gps, probably wallet, keys to vehicle, and wander off into the brush because the internet website told us there was tupperware hidden out there, but we panic if we get an email?? Now that is funny.

 

edit-delete possibly offensive comment.

Edited June 21, 2012 by NeecesandNephews

[+NeecesandNephews]

I've been online for years, buy online, pay online, bank online, am a member of upwards of a dozen forums and chat groups, pay all my household bills online, manage my investments online... ad naseum. I facebook, I tweet, I used to myspace, all that stuff. I have yet to have my identity stolen or any one of my

He's even gone so far as to post in the Off-Topic forum!!!

 

Amen to that brother!!! You have to be trusting to venture in there!!! I think at one time the sitemap had a note on it along side the Off Topic heading that said " here thar be sarpents"!!!!

[+Hot Pepper Crew]

The problem with the scammers is they're so flakey! I once thought it would be fun to get one of the fake checks in the mail so I started responding to their emails. I must have responded to a dozen different scammers. Many of them never replied again. I had back- and-forth exchanges with several of them, and a couple I even gave my address (PO box). Not one ever actually sent me a check. Seriously? Why are you sending all this spam if you're not going to pounce on a willing subject?

 

As far as this email is concerned, you know that someone can only scam you if you go along with it, right? Even I it was a scam and they asked you to send them money, they don't actually get your money unless you send it to them. I would have replied out of sheer curiosity!

[+Hot Pepper Crew]

Which leads me to another thought. If instead of deleting these Nigerian scam emails, everyone replied to them, the sheer volume of emails they would have to sort through would put them out of business quicker than any other method. Why aren't we encouraging every person who ever gets one of these emails to respond to them, multiple times even?

[AZcachemeister]

Sounds perfectly legitimate to me...but I'm a hopeless romantic.

 

Dude sends you the gift that you are supposed to hide and provide co-ordinates for. What could go wrong?

So someone has your mailing address...I can look up mailing addresses all day long. Probably I can get the name of the property owner without too much trouble, and the name(s) of the renters with only a little more effort.

 

You are safe, be romantic and crawl out on that limb for the guy.

[+gpicard]

I came across this site years ago. Some of these stories are really funny!

 

http://www.scamorama.com/

 

But, I digress...

[4wheelin_fool]

Ok, they are actually special weight loss slimming earrings. The cacher goes and hides them, the girl finds out, gets especially offended, and wants to track down who hid them, so she can pummel him with a giant salami or rollingpin or something.

[+mymren]

I came across this site years ago. Some of these stories are really funny!

 

http://www.scamorama.com/

 

But, I digress...

 

Thanks for wasting my afternoon! I just sat and had to read a bunch of these while rolling on the floor laughing! I found a similar website about a year ago where the baiters do the same type stuff. SO much fun to read!!

[knowschad]

Which leads me to another thought. If instead of deleting these Nigerian scam emails, everyone replied to them, the sheer volume of emails they would have to sort through would put them out of business quicker than any other method. Why aren't we encouraging every person who ever gets one of these emails to respond to them, multiple times even?

 

I'm guessing that you are probably right about there being no real risk in playing along with a spam scam, but this piece may still be worth a read: Should You Respond to Scammers

Edited June 21, 2012 by knowschad

[+MartyBartfast]

Which leads me to another thought. If instead of deleting these Nigerian scam emails, everyone replied to them, the sheer volume of emails they would have to sort through would put them out of business quicker than any other method. Why aren't we encouraging every person who ever gets one of these emails to respond to them, multiple times even?

 

I'm guessing that you are probably right about there being no real risk in playing along with a spam scam,[/url]

 

I'm with Hot Pepper Crew, it's not really about playing along with the scam. These boys are using mail bots to send maybe 1000,000 Emails at a time, if everyone replied to all the mails then they would go along to their Internet Cafe in downtown Lagos the next morning to find 1,000,000 unread Emails in their inbox and they just wouldn't be able to do anything with them so they'd give up. However realistically this is never going to happen so we're stuck with the way things are right now.

 

I've played a few scammers in the past, and it can be fun for a while.

[+Dog Town]

deleting dup. post

Edited June 22, 2012 by Dog Town

[+Dog Town]

Wow, really. Trust,being romantic,etc...really? What on earth good could even happen here? Like others have said... RANDOM find of person, girlfriend don't cache, how could you even slightly say that she would be the FIRST/ONLY possible person to go to a PREVIOUSLY posted cache and get the earrings, Guy is from a known typical scam location of request probes,there's options such as sending flowers,candy,gifts..that he can send from 'on-line',and so many more. I'm only scratching the surface here of thoughts. Really? anyone possible thinks this is ligit?

 

I cannot say it is or is not a scam. The point I am trying to make is... why do so many people automatically have no doubt it is a scam? At least give the guy a chance to play out his hand. Or turn his next card.

I can't believe the "panic" responses that appeared instantly. I have to wonder what game all of you are playing. This whole geocache setup is ripe for exploitation, yet people wander blissfully along.

 

Lets say a criminal sets up an account here. (all it takes is a freemail addy) Find a cache in a remote location, and set up and wait for a victim. Cacher/s show up and out steps a dude with a GPS hanging from his neck and a 357 in his back pocket. Cacher/s automatically assume he is harmlessly looking for the same thing they are. Turn their back on him. Next thing all their stuff is now all his stuff.

Better yet he could post a fake remotely located cache, and he would not have to wait very long at all before the FTF hounds came charging in. Easy pickings. Robbers, rapists, kidnappers... anyone could be waiting. I wonder if thats why urban LPCs are so popular?

 

Another thread someone is talking about placing a cache on their own (remote) property. Criminal stakes out his driveway, waits for them to leave, goes up to scope it out. Someone comes along, they have an excuse for being there. Later a LEO stops them at the end of HO's driveway, they show him their GPS but not the HO's big screen, home computer, ect. in the trunk. Instant alibi!!!

 

But OMG!!! Someone got an email!!! Delete it!!! Run and hide!!! Report it to Groundspeak right away!! I mean c'mon people. Its not like the dude can steal his stuff right through his monitor screen. I could get almost as much information about your home local, your travel habits, ect. right here, as I could from an email response. Probably more.

 

I have to laugh at this whole situation. Or at least at the reaction.Am I the only one who finds this bizarre??

 

We drive our $___ vehicle out to the middle of freaking nowhere, get out with cell phone/gps, probably wallet, keys to vehicle, and wander off into the brush because the internet website told us there was tupperware hidden out there, but we panic if we get an email?? Now that is funny.

 

edit-delete possibly offensive comment.

 

Well, I guess I'm completely wrong here, nothing at all bad can happen here.I'm sorry I even brought up how this might be a scam. I guess since the OP and I are a little suspicious, and you are a much more willing to "give the guy a chance"....Maybe you could give the scammer , I'm sorry, lovebird your info. and have him send it to you. Then you can post about the wonderful experience you had with the whole thing, and show us how foolish we were. Thanks again for showing me how foolish I was in my thinking.

[+Lady Loki]

Ironically, while reading this thread I got a phone call from someone wanting to talk to my husband in connection with a "settlement" conference tomorrow. When I asked her what it was about, she stammered around and finally pulled out the "Well, you're not on this account, so I can't give you any information," so I told her that with no information, there's no way to know she's legit, and she said she'd just call back later. (I suspect it's in regards to our mortgage, but really... I'm supposed to just be all "Oh, ok! Sure, I have no idea what you're talking about or who you or your firm are, but I'll wake my husband up, who by the way works nights, so he can talk to you! Why don't I give you some social security numbers and bank account info while I'm at it?")

[+NeecesandNephews]

Wow, really. Trust,being romantic,etc...really? What on earth good could even happen here? Like others have said... RANDOM find of person, girlfriend don't cache, how could you even slightly say that she would be the FIRST/ONLY possible person to go to a PREVIOUSLY posted cache and get the earrings, Guy is from a known typical scam location of request probes,there's options such as sending flowers,candy,gifts..that he can send from 'on-line',and so many more. I'm only scratching the surface here of thoughts. Really? anyone possible thinks this is ligit?

 

I cannot say it is or is not a scam. The point I am trying to make is... why do so many people automatically have no doubt it is a scam? At least give the guy a chance to play out his hand. Or turn his next card.

I can't believe the "panic" responses that appeared instantly. I have to wonder what game all of you are playing. This whole geocache setup is ripe for exploitation, yet people wander blissfully along.

 

Lets say a criminal sets up an account here. (all it takes is a freemail addy) Find a cache in a remote location, and set up and wait for a victim. Cacher/s show up and out steps a dude with a GPS hanging from his neck and a 357 in his back pocket. Cacher/s automatically assume he is harmlessly looking for the same thing they are. Turn their back on him. Next thing all their stuff is now all his stuff.

Better yet he could post a fake remotely located cache, and he would not have to wait very long at all before the FTF hounds came charging in. Easy pickings. Robbers, rapists, kidnappers... anyone could be waiting. I wonder if thats why urban LPCs are so popular?

 

Another thread someone is talking about placing a cache on their own (remote) property. Criminal stakes out his driveway, waits for them to leave, goes up to scope it out. Someone comes along, they have an excuse for being there. Later a LEO stops them at the end of HO's driveway, they show him their GPS but not the HO's big screen, home computer, ect. in the trunk. Instant alibi!!!

 

But OMG!!! Someone got an email!!! Delete it!!! Run and hide!!! Report it to Groundspeak right away!! I mean c'mon people. Its not like the dude can steal his stuff right through his monitor screen. I could get almost as much information about your home local, your travel habits, ect. right here, as I could from an email response. Probably more.

 

I have to laugh at this whole situation. Or at least at the reaction.Am I the only one who finds this bizarre??

 

We drive our $___ vehicle out to the middle of freaking nowhere, get out with cell phone/gps, probably wallet, keys to vehicle, and wander off into the brush because the internet website told us there was tupperware hidden out there, but we panic if we get an email?? Now that is funny.

 

edit-delete possibly offensive comment.

 

Well, I guess I'm completely wrong here, nothing at all bad can happen here.I'm sorry I even brought up how this might be a scam. I guess since the OP and I are a little suspicious, and you are a much more willing to "give the guy a chance"....Maybe you could give the scammer , I'm sorry, lovebird your info. and have him send it to you. Then you can post about the wonderful experience you had with the whole thing, and show us how foolish we were. Thanks again for showing me how foolish I was in my thinking.

 

For crying out loud, don't get all butthurt over my comments. Scammers can't get squat from you that you don't give them.

 

And as far as giving the "scammer" my info, if I was anywhere near his girlfriend I would probably do just that. Unfortunately, I doubt she would want to travel to Oklahoma to find a pair of earrings.

 

And I never said you were foolish.

 

edit to remove response to wrong poster

Edited June 22, 2012 by NeecesandNephews

[knowschad]

[Edit to go to the lobby for popcorn]

 

.

Edited June 22, 2012 by knowschad