Question Regarding Getting Scammed

[crackaonrice]

So I've sent a USPS Money order to this guy all the way across the country in Orlando, FL (I paid for the USPS Money Order by Debit card because they don't accept credit card for money orders)...and I've come to the realization last night that he will definetely not be sending me my item...

The money order was sent out on Monday, July 16, 2007...it arrived at his home on Wednesday, July 18, 2007. I have no way to check to see if he has cashed it or not yet and I desperately need to make sure the the money doesn't get through to him. If he decided to cash the money order already, do you guys think that his bank has cleared the funds?

If it's in the limbo stage where the bank is clearing the money order, what options do I have?

If it has ALREADY cleared...is my $1030 gone for good?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!


By the way...watch out for this guy like the plague:

http://beta.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/058/RipOff0058629.htm

I did not manage to find out this information until last night......6 days too late.

[ssim]

Wow, I read through some of that link that you provided. What a scumbag. If there are that many people reporting it, there are probably lots of people getting hit by him. Many people won't fess up to being taken by conmen.

I'm not sure about money orders in the US but in Canada they are like cash. I wish you luck in getting this resolved to your advantage.

[cosworth]

Paypal may be a hassle, but when things go south you just file a chargeback with your CC company and all is well.

I REALLY hope UPS was able to stop this money order for you.

[crackaonrice]

Thanks for the replies so far Sheldon and Jason.

I'm going to head over the the post office first thing tomorrow morning and hope that I can still place a stop payment on that money order. Other than that, I don't know much else of what I can do. I really would like to get this guy federally prosecuted for mail fraud because he's done so much harm to so many people...

I've also recently found out that he scammed an entire message board for CD's that he never shipped:
http://www.virgos.ws/messageboard/viewtopic.php?t=198&start=135&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

Hopefully some of the guys over at the MR2 message board that are in the Orlando area will be able to either clear up some of the laws, file a police report, or pay him a visit.

Any other suggestions guys?

[Tee Why]

Isn't committing fraud via USPS a federal offense? In which case you can talk to the postal police dept. no?

Anyway, sorry to hear but once again, anyone that doesn't take CC/Paypal is probably a con artist.

[crackaonrice]

I visited 2 post offices this morning. Both referred me to the supervisors and Postal Inspectors' offices. I called the supervisors and they said that nothing could be done about it and that Postal Money Order is just like cash, as soon as it hits the bank for depositing it's good as gone for me. They were not able to tell me whether the MO has been cashed or not. And there is no such thing as stop payment on a money order through USPS apparently.

I called the inspectors' offices. I can file a Money Order inquiry to see if the money order has been cashed, and if it hasn't I can get a refund. Problem is...it takes 2 weeks to file the inquiry and they send me a letter telling me what to do from there. There's absolutely no way that the money order has not been cashed and will not be cashed within the next two weeks. So I guess it's a call to the police and lawyer...and if that doesn't work out, time to pay him a visit.

[CyberDyneSystems]

I thought that if it's USPS Money order, then it's mail fraud and a federal crime to boot I would think.
You may want to go back to the postmaster re: the mail fraud issue, as opposed to re: stopping payment and see what they say then.
this guy is cruising for a bruising of people press the issue.

[crackaonrice]

I did push the mail fraud issue a bit and they told me that unless he solicited me through the mail, they don't consider it mail fraud...shame.

Thing was...he was so absolutely brazen and upfront in my contacts with him. Called me, sent me an office ID, sent me a scan of his Driver's license..everything. I thought somebody would have to be absolutely retarded to attempt to scam after giving up all this legit information...guess i was wrong.