Scammer or victim?

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 16 Feb 2007 Posts: 6

So, do you think this guy is guilty, or a victim of a scammer as well?

Russian piracy ring lands Park Forest man in trouble

March 17, 2007

By Casey Toner Staff writer

A Park Forest man faces criminal charges for laundering stolen computers for a piracy ring in Russia, police said.

Daniel Tomblin, 31, of 304 Somonauk St., was charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud after a Georgia man contacted Park Forest police last month about identity theft, police said.

The man told police he was mailed a laptop computer though he never made a bid on eBay for it or gave anyone permission to use his identity to purchase a computer, police said. When police spoke to the laptop's seller, he said he mistakenly had sent the item to the Georgia man instead of to Tomblin.

Police then questioned Tomblin, who told them a Russian woman had messaged him on eBay in January and asked him to receive computers at his home and ship them to various locations in Russia. In return, he would be paid through his online PayPal account, Tomblin said.

He told officers he would get the computers and would e-mail the Russian woman about the computers' weight and tracking numbers, and she would provide him with U.S. Customs forms and shipping addresses.

He then would get payments of about $495 per computer in his PayPal account, with each payment including shipping and transaction fees and his $40 payment per computer shipped, Tomblin said.

Police Cmdr. Peter Green said foreign-based identity theft is common because "there's a lot of gullible people looking for an easy way to make a dollar."

Green said it's "nearly impossible to investigate because the dollar amounts are so low the federal government will not get involved, and our chief isn't going to send us over to Russia to recover proceeds."

� Copyright 2007 Sun-Times News Group

Baiting Guru Joined: 08 Jul 2004 Posts: 11856 Location: UK

Looks like the Russians simply used him as a mule, as is often the case, Ebay scammers usually have mules who they send the goods to before the mule sends it to the scammer via courier.

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 1:21 pm

He looks like he's both. Been used as a mule and in the process become a criminal himself.

Not quite a Newb Joined: 16 Mar 2007 Posts: 20

What an idiot! Laughing

Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 9:04 pm

^^^^It happens depressingly often, someone is suckered in and either don't care that it's illegal or honestly believe the scammer when he says that the mule is doing nothing wrong.