The cheap car scam chronicles pt4

This is my latest email to Markus, i’d be surprised if he replies. Wouldn’t it be great if he was actually genuine? a heart warming triumph over the cynical.

Hi Markus

I’m a bit confused, the emails are coming from Damin, and that is the signature on the passport photo, but the name on the passport is Markus.

I’m keen to continue but I’m worried about scams. So it would be great if you could clear that up.

Would it be ok if i just sent you a cheque for the deposit rather than paying the transport company?

This is his reply… hmm, don’t really understand. maybe i should just leave it now.

Damiana is my child, my daughter

Damin is stands

The cheap car scam chronicles pt3

his reply…

The first step is to register with the transport company at www.eufast-expedition.com//register.php

Tomorrow morning i will go with the car and documents for inspection and the company will get in touch with you in order to proceed forward.

My contact details are: Markus Barni , {removed} , Milan, Italy

Thank you !

 

brilliantly… attached was his driving license in the name of Markus Barni but signed by Damin Anderson.

The cheap car scam chronicles pt2

This is the latest email from my cheap car scam attempt

Hello,

I can transport the car to your home location by shipping company and takes about 4-5 days. They work very simple and will arrange the payment and delivery for the car . Shipping will cost 400 pounds and i will pay half of that. The transaction is done in 3 easy steps:

1) The car and the documents are received by the shipping company;

2) A technical and legal inspection is made, then you are informed about the situation of the car;

3) The payment is made to the transport company and once they have the confirmation they deliver the car to your address;

After you receive the car you will have it in custody for 3 days to decide if you like it or not. If you

don’t like the car, the company will refund your payment.

Let me know if you agree and maybe we will go forward with a deal. I have other interested for this car so a prompt decision

is appreciated.

and my reply…

sounds good

can you send me a Digital photo of the registration documents, with your name on it.

and a picture of you standing beside the car (showing the reg plate)

thanks

The cheap car scam chronicles pt1

A brief resume. The Question Monkey is in the market for some new wheels. Money’s too tight to mention but the car needs to be a decent size or at least have good backseat leg room. I’m a second hand car buyer and not very confident when it comes to ‘doing the deal’.

The car i would like is a Nissan Qashqai, but even second hand its more than i’m wanting to spend. So i’m a prime sucker to fall for and advert on Autotrader – £5k for a two year old Qashqai. So i emailed him. This is his first reply.

 

The car is in Italy at this moment but still registered in UK. I have moved to Italy with my work and unfortunately i have to sell the car as fast as i can. MOT and road tax is paid, no outstanding finance, full service history, the car is in excellent condition, no problems what so ever. If you are really interested in my car please let me know because I’m ready to bring the car back to United Kingdom for sale.

So, it’s a scam of course. The only surprising thing is he didn’t mention Nigeria as oppressed to Italy. I decided to follow it up with this…

I’m interested in the car

when will you be bringing it back to the UK so i can test drive it

 

i await.

Act now to ensure survival?

Just a morning thought.

The problem isn’t really that we need to act now to ensure the survival of our grandchildren. For starters, our grandchildren WILL die, what ever we do, as will our children, as will everyone you have ever known. For seconders, the real problem is that they will more than likely not die soon enough. If life expectancy continues to rise and if we end up in the next generation being able to grow spare body parts in the lab (which seems likely) then we will need to reassess what it is to ‘survive’. Only a generation or two ago living to 55-60 was seen as a long life, now its mid life, it may be early life for our grandchildren.

 

Lame attempts to pretend I know what’s going on in a meeting

My work involves quite a lot of planning meetings, in groups of 5 or 6, sometimes the people in the meetings can be quite intimidating, especially when I’m not quite ofay with the subject in hand. The problem is, I have a ‘tell’ and it may as well be a sign round my neck saying, ‘I don’t have a fuckin clue what we’re all talking about!’

I can’t stop myself finishing the end of people sentences, even though I haven’t understood the first part of the sentence. Its like subconsciously I’m thinking, oh crap, I don’t understand a word of this… hang on its ok, I know that this sentence is going to end with the phrase ‘…to give us a bit more speed’. So I shout that out just as the person is about to say it.

I know that I do it, but I can’t stop myself, It’s a mental disorder. As soon as I start to do it everyone else in the meeting must automatically know that I’m bullshitting.

Zero 7: Yeah Ghost

I’d forgotten that Zero 7 existed and that i quite liked them.

Their latest album sounds quite nice on the first few listens.

Kirk Cameron : i think he might be serious

via Will Crawley’s blog….

Great stuff, at last someone is saying what we all think  Christians stand up and unite!

M Vernon on why i blog

Paradoxically, community is vital if you want to work on yourself. It is only with others that you can properly take the risk of not just reading about ideas but making them your own. That’s why visiting art galleries, or listening to music, isn’t really enough. It’s too passive. Instead, as any educationalist will tell you, an active stance is required. Hence, a rich learning experience doesn’t just involve studying, but writing your own work and reading it out to others too, in preparedness for their critique. It’s rather like the risk an artist takes, or a writer of blogs for that matter.

Great moments in rock #4

Elvis  – Just can’t help believin’

I just can’t help admitting that I’m always drawn to the Elvis ‘fat in Vegas’ era. There was a grandness about it, an honesty in its dishonesty.  The two moments in this song are at 22secs when for some reason the crowd cheers and applauds in recognition. Hackneyed now, honest and responsive back then, the drama, the energy.  The other moment is 4.30, when he tells the backing singers to  ’sing the song baby’, then 4.07 ‘take it’. I just love it, one of the lines that sprouted a thousand impersonators.

Great moments in rock #3

Radiohead – Lucky

3.45

One of the most finely crafted pieces of music you’ll ever hear. I’m realising that my favorite moments in rock songs tend to be ‘the bit after the breakdown/middle 8′. I just love the etherial guitar solo, i cannot deny.

Great moments in rock #2

The Charlatans – One to another

2.58

The instrumental break down, then the drums come in, quite far back in the mix initially but obviously having seven bells beaten out of them, then they are moved up front and centre to perfect effect.  All built upon the platform of a urban repetitive wah-wah riff,  police sirens, and warehouse located drums – it draws me in, tells me i’m in the band too, just by listening.

Great moments in rock #1

Bruce Springsteen – Human Touch

2.30

“you can’t shut of the risk and the pain, without losing the love that remains….”

Then 2.36

“… we’re all riders on this train”

Why is it great? It’s his voice, the straining, the reaching, almost catching up with crescendo that the band has created behind him, giving it all. Believable.

Catch yerself on

There are moments in life when you ‘catch yerself on’, as we say north of Dundalk.

One such moment was when i went into my 2yr olds bedroom to try and get him back in bed and stop pulling his bedroom apart. I laid him down beside his teddy bear and said…

Hey, i was talking to teddy bear the other day and he was saying that he really liked it when you stayed in bed and gave him a cuddle. He’s been a bit down lately because you’ve got some new toys and im sure he’s really appreciate it if you gave him some attention.

It was like i was teddy’s representative on earth, like i was his pope. I was very convincing and the wee fella gave teddy a cuddle and went to sleep but there must be a fine line between fantasy and deceit.

Mark the moment, it will never return

It’s offically …

12:34:56    07/08/09

love it!