Possible Scammer Too?

[visuelephant]

In Reply to your Post Possible scammer?:

I received an email this morning asking about a .mobi domain I own. I'm always leary of the language in the emails and this one triggered my alarm.

-----Original Message-----
> From: murphy@eliteinvestment.net [mailto:murphy@eliteinvestment.net]
> Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 9:07 AM
> To: info@nameswing.com
> Subject: NLLL.mobi (sent 02/23/09)
>
> Hello,
>
> I'm interested in your domain in the subject line.
>
> Investing in domains is a profitable business. We are in real estate
> business. Sometimes we buy, sometimes we resell for making a profit.
>
> Looking forward to do business with you.
>
> Regards,
> Andrew Murphy
> Vice President
> Elite Investment Group



My response directed the person to SnapNames.com where I have the domain at auction.


He/they responded back with the following:


Sorry for delay with answer. Our family was celebrating newborn child of my sister.

Can you accept 5,000 USD?


Do you sell domain with a web site or just the name?

Domain without content is ok with me. Web site is not necessary.

Have you had your domain names evaluated in the past? I mean domain appraisals. Without valuation we cannot be sure in the sale price. It's very important for me in terms of reselling too. But we must engage a valuation company with REAL manual service. So I will only accept valuations from independent sources I and my partners trust.

To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal companies.

Please check this blog with suggestions from other sellers and buyers:
http://domainblog.007sites.com/587412.htm

If, for example, the valuation comes higher you can adjust your asking price accordingly. It will be fair. I also hope you can give me 12% - 15% discount.

After you send me the valuation via email (usually it takes 1-2 days to obtain it) we'll continue our negotiations.

What is your preferred payment method: Escrow.com, International wire transfer, PayPal.com or something else?

Hope we can come to an agreement fast.

Looking forward to your reply.


Has anyone had dealings with this person or seen emails like this before? It seems that it may be a new way to "sell appraisals" -- thanks for any feedback.

Regards,

Rob Lafaye

[randomo]

This is a well-known scam, trying to make money from domain appraisals. (Many of us have gotten almost identical versions of this letter before.) Do NOT pay to have this domain appraised!

[visuelephant]

That's what I thought.

Thanks, Randomo!

[MT Domains]

I've read about this outfit before on another forum. It's definitely a scam. They want you to pay for an appraisal at a 'trusted' company (the company is theirs of course) and then after the appraisal is done (which costs something like 60 euros) they will change their mind about the domain, so you basically give them 60 euros for nothing. I got the same email (almost word for word, except the domain name, and the price) about a typo domain I recently acquired. They offered $15,000. I emailed them back saying if they want an appraisal from the site they trust, they can pay for the appraisal I'll knock the cost of the appraisal off of the final price I doubt I'll hear anything back from them.

[draggar]

Chalk up one more vote for an appraisal scam.

[Ilze]

Chalk up one more vote for an appraisal scam.

These scammers are terrible and heartless, preying on a poor
dot.mobi owner

[scrsteven]

Hey, you're right, an appraisal sounds like a good idea. It looks like they charge $50 for the appraisal, but I only have $40 in my paypal account right now. Think you could send me $10 to cover the difference, and then just take $10 off the selling price when you buy the name?

Just in case you didn't realize it...that was supposed to be funny.

[jberryhill]

Don't ignore it.

Run a reverse scambait.

Get right up to the point where they want to sell you the domain appraisal. If they want $50 for the appraisal, tell them that you have tax problems which have frozen some of your accounts, but you have $45 in your Paypal account to pay for the appraisal, and you only need $5 more to pay for the appraisal. So... get them to send you the $5.

Play it cool and don't lead right up to the bait.

If they send you the $5, show no mercy and let them know they are the dumbest scammers on the planet.

[Albert Tai]

Don't ignore it.

Run a reverse scambait.

Get right up to the point where they want to sell you the domain appraisal. If they want $50 for the appraisal, tell them that you have tax problems which have frozen some of your accounts, but you have $45 in your Paypal account to pay for the appraisal, and you only need $5 more to pay for the appraisal. So... get them to send you the $5.

Play it cool and don't lead right up to the bait.

If they send you the $5, show no mercy and let them know they are the dumbest scammers on the planet.

Lol yes that would be funny. Karma bites back .
I never got those emails before but I am certainly sure they want you to pay for the apprisal service which they own and then they probably would change their minds or appriase the domain very low and buy it very low.