Beware of scammers.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I just got scammed by someone who claims that they're a reptile breeder and can send rare reptiles.

Beware of anybody who claims that someone named "Cheo Christian" or "Christian Cheo" can help you out with finding rare pets. Especially a douche bag who goes by the screen name "bill1988".

That goes for plants as well.

This piece of scum, and anyone like "him"/"her", will prey on anyone who's desperate, is willing to take risks, and is unaware of this scam.

It is a variation of the African "help me" scams. Apparently they're branching out and finding other ways to rape people of their hard earned cash.

Just in case someone is wondering...

No! They haven't gone away! They still try to do it and occasionally get away with it because it's difficult to catch these chameleons, no matter how lame their attempts appear to be.

[RosieC]

Thanks for the warning Philip. We have banned bill1988 a while back. If there are any other usernames on OB which need to be banned because they are contacting people please let me know.

In the mean-time, everyone should be aware.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Thank you Rosie.

In the meantime, I've spent some time thinking about how to avoid these scams.

Here's what I came up with...

The scammers are narcissistic individuals who have psychopathic or sociopathic tendencies.

Psychopaths and sociopaths are NOT crazy. They're closed off emotionally and can be very logical. They can sniff out their prey almost immediately.

Narcissism is much more than just physical vanity or loving oneself too much.

There are books that talk about narcissism. One of them that touches on the subject is "Generation Me" by Jean Twenge, if anyone is interested.

The people these scammers are looking for are:

1. People who are under moderate to high amounts of stress who are feeling like they are in a desperate or hopeless situation.

2. People who are under moderate to high amounts of stress who are vehemently searching for a rare item they desperately need or want.

3. People who seem very emotionally involved in their own drama. This emotional attachment can be with people, pets, or any miscellaneous items.

4. People who are willing to take high risks to get out of their hopeless or desperate situation.

- In layman's terms, someone looking for "a short cut", "a way out of a tough situation asap", or to "find a way to end the pain or suffering quickly".

5. People who are willing to take high risks to get what they're desperately or feverishly looking for (whether it is something they want or need).

- Again, in layman's terms, a person looking for "a shortcut", "way out of a tough situation asap", or to "find a way to end the pain or suffering quickly".

6. People who are greedy. (Now always.)

If any number of the criteria that scammers are looking for are you or anyone you know, now you know what kind of people they're sniffing out.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Scammers usually employ tactics such as:

1. Using the victim's emotions to dig the victims deeper into the scammer's extortion traps.

2. Using the "time is short, hurry before it's gone" or "time is a sensitive matter, so we need to hurry" method of sales to gently coerce or force victims into hasty and impulsive decisions.

3. Telling the victims to trust them or to ensure the victims that the scammers can be trusted.

4. They will pull the emotional strings of the victim by putting the focus on the person you are "helping", or the pet, or whatever else the victim is emotionally tied to.

- example: "I'm worried about the geckos and their safety. I hope they will make it to you alive and in good health. Think about the geckos. I trust you will take good care of them."

5. The scammers will ensure the victims that they will be taken care of.

- This one's a biggie. Especially for those people who feel that they've been taken advantage of; or hardly or never been taken care of by their family members.

6. They can sometimes build rapport with the victims and treat them like a long lost uncle/aunt, a friendly neighbor, or a good friend going on a good "Huckleberry Finn type adventure".

7. Their offers are often outlandishly enticing or believably enticing. This depends on the skill level of the scammer.

8. They can sometimes "sell a dream", much like the multi-level marketing companies do.

9. Scammers will usually show insincere emotions when they feel they need to put on a show or when they are the ones who are being attacked.

10. They will sprinkle a little bit of truth with their lies. (aka half-truths, white lies, fibbing, embellishing)

11. If they get caught fibbing, they will try to mix it up by working up the victim's emotions, pretend like they are emotionally hurt to guilt trip the victim further into their trap, or tell another half-truth.

12. This is going to sound silly, but they often have "radio-worthy type voices". You know, the friendly, soothing, and warm voice. The kind of voice that can lull a person to sleep or make them feel warm and comfortable.

They are NOT fast, jittery talkers. They speak slowly and calmly - in a soothing manner.

This is also reflected in how they laugh.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Scammers are not always using logic. They're playing more into people's emotions and automatic responses.

They often times mix it up a bit between logic and emotions.

Logic and emotions don't always sync up!

This is why intelligent people can still get suckered in!

It is a myth that people who fall for these tricks are "idiots", "out of their minds", or "people with low self-esteem". Sometimes, it's quite the opposite.

[Gin]

I got a call from my supposed bank (no account there ) telling me my debit account has been hacked and I need to cancel it and get a new one .( I am on the no call list ) and did not use that bank .. I read them their pedigree . Too bad it was a robo call . Thanks for the info.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Originally Posted by Gin

I got a call from my supposed bank (no account there ) telling me my debit account has been hacked and I need to cancel it and get a new one .( I am on the no call list ) and did not use that bank .. I read them their pedigree . Too bad it was a robo call . Thanks for the info.

I've heard of this particular kind of robbery.

Unfortunately the situation you experienced is very difficult to do anything about.

These thieves are often untraceable.

Their activities are also difficult to track.

[RosieC]

On the bank type of scam, I never accept any call they have made to me and will call back my bank on the number I already have.

In one case it WAS my bank, they rang and said they needed to confirm my details. I responded that they could be anyone and how did I know they were really ringing from my bank. The person on the other end just kept saying they needed to confirm my details before they could tell me what it was about and I said I can't tell you my details without knowing who YOU are.

In the end I rang my bank and they knew all about it and it got sorted out... but I made the point to them again quite strongly that they should NOT expect people to give details in responce to them ringing as this opened the way for scammers to try and do the same thing.

[DelawareJim]

A very simple technique my wife and I use is we let the answering machine answer all our calls to screen them and call people back at our convenience.

No scammers I'm aware of are willing to try their pitch on a machine.

Cheers.
Jim

[dheideman@gmail.com]

Hey, folks. I'm not actually an orchid girl, but I wanted to come add some information to this thread.

The names "Lisa Parks", "reyes" and the email "lisaparks88" are also associated with Christian Cheo now.

He/they very nearly scammed me for $120, also on a rare lizard.

The very short version is: The very short version:

I tried to buy a gonatodes female from one Lisa Parks, and communicated with him for a week via email and phone about the animals. Friday morning, he had me send Western Union payment to him on the day she was to be shipped, I was told she was shipped, then got a “bait and switch” email from a transport company saying some of her eggs hatched in transit, they needed more money for “vaccines”, and to send additional funds. At this point, I reversed the Western Union transaction (it had not yet been picked up) and halted all communication. I did get my money back from Western Union, and they forwarded the case on to law enforcement.

All of my documentation on the issue can be found here:
Bad Guy Lisa Parks / Christian Cheo - CAMEROON SCAMMER targeting reptile buyers - FaunaClassifieds