Apparently I seem like a chump

I tried to sell my extra iBook battery on Craigslist and I got a very quick response. I was happy about it, but I quickly started to suspect that I was talking to a bot. Finally he agreed to pay me $110 + $3 for shipping materials, and to send me a USPS money order along with a prepaid UPS shipping label.

Then I got this:

From: unitedstatespostal_order@post.com
To: xxxxx
Date: Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:21:01 -0500
Subject: Order Approved

USPS MONEY ORDER  APPROVED USPS Money Order of $110.00 sent by [dirty scammer] to Richard Liang has been successflly processed and has consequently been approved.

Dear  Richard Liang,

Congratulations! The order placed by the buyer of your item: [dirty scammer] to have a United States Postal Service branded Money Order SM $110.00 (USD) sent to you as payment for the item: 12" iBook G4 Li-Ion battery . Payment has been successfully processed and has consequently been APPROVED. The financial details of the transaction are stated below:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*FINANCIAL DETAILS*
(NOTE: All amounts are in USD)
-----------------------------
Item Site         : www.craigslist.com
Item Description : 12" iBook G4 Li-Ion battery

Total  : $110.00
-----------------------------

The Money OrderSM will be delivered to your contact information below, Please verify that the name and address (As entered by the buyer) are correct: 

 

 


Name             :    Richard Liang
Address         :    xxxxx
City                :    xxxxx
State              :    XX
Zipcode          :    xxxxx
Country         :    xxxxx
Email             :    xxxxx


 

If there is an error in the name or address, Please email our representative at  unitedstatespostal_rep@consultant.com

 

The order has been APPROVED, you CAN NOW ship the merchandise to the buyer's shipping address. You are expected to make the shipment within 48 hours of recieving this Payment Confirmation Notification and get to our Costumer/Technical Dept. with the tracking number for Shipment Verification.

The Money Order SM will NOT be dispatched or get to your resident until the shipment has been verified. This measure is taken in order to protect both seller and buyer's interests and to reduce the occurrence of fraudulent activities.

Due to the fact that United States Postal Service processes thousands of orders daily, United States Postal Service RECOMMENDS contacting the Customer Support Representative that has been assigned to this particular Order directly. This ensures speedy verification of shipment as well as prompt dispatch of Money Order SM. Send shipment tracking details to : unitedstatespostal_rep@consultant.com

Postal Money Orders are safe to use because they have many security features that help distinguish between real and counterfeit notes. Just like our own U.S. currency, they are specially designed with different colored inks, watermarks, and security thread in the paper tip envelop

Hold the money order up to the light and look for the following security features:

	Ben Franklin images (watermarks) repeated on the left side (top to bottom).
	A dark security thread running (top to bottom) to the right of the Franklin watermark, with the tiny letters “USPS” facing backward and forward

      Also below is the sample of the money order that will be delivered to you after we have receive the shipment tracking number from you.

       If we do not hear from you as soon as expected the payment will be returned back to the buyer. We will be  awaiting  you to ship the item and mail us the shipment tracking number so that we can send out your payment.With this no buyer can stop payment with a false claim that there is no longer any transaction between the two of you after you might have shipped the items.We are your mediator,we stand between both the buyer and the seller because we have our name to protect.
    
     Thank you for using Postal Money Order Payments® ExpressPayment SM. We look forward serving your Online Money Order Payments® needs in future.

                                                                      "Domestic Money Orders"

*Purchase with cash, debit card, or traveler's check
*Valid for an unlimited period
* Can be cashed at any Post Office or can be deposited or negotiated at your financial institution
*Replace damaged, lost, or stolen money orders.
 
Thank you for using postal money order. We look forward to serving your online
 payment needs in the future.

HERE IS THE PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION WHICH YOU CAN PRINT OUT

 Printer-Friendly Version

Order Status And Informations:

Order Number:	44485295697
Payments Order Status:	AVAILABLE
Order Placed	17th Oct 2006
Order Status	Money order Available
Money Order Approved	Money Order  Confirmed
Billing Information:
Status:	Processed successfully
Name on Account	[dirty scammer]
Account number	*****************
Services Purchased:	USPS Money Order
Payment for Item	$110.00
	CASH DELIVERY
Purchased Item Information:
Auction site	www.craigslist.com
Item Description	12" iBook G4 Li-Ion battery
Number of Item	N/L
Seller Information:
Name	Richard Liang
Street address	xxxxx
City, State, Zip	xxxxx
Country	xxxxx
Phone Number	N/L
Email	xxxxx

 

We required a proper verification for shipment, before mailing the reference number slip of money order.

 

Thank you for using United State Postal Money Order Payments copyright®.  We look forward to serving your online auction payment needs in the future.

 

Sincerely,
United State Postal Money Order Payments copyright®

 

 

 

--

Firstly, note that this isn't for $113, it's for $110.

Secondly, note that it requires me to ship the product within 48 hours... when I didn't even have the shipping address.

Thirdly, "United State Postal Money Order Payments copyright®". Right.

Fourthly, there's an ad at the bottom of the page.

If you wanna scam Dickolas, you're gonna have to do better than that.