Adam Bain 15" Apple Macbook Pro On Craigslist $1300 SCAM Milano Other

Adam Bain is a complete scam. I was thinking on purchasing a MacBook Pro and checked Craigslist to see about used ones. Here are the emails I received after inquiring about it. I am a security professional, and have placed some of my observations about this potential breech below the text of these letters. They are just tips, and do not guarantee your security, but I encourage you to read them because they may indeed help protect you.

Hello,
I still have the macbook pro. But the thing is that I'm in Italy for my school (I have the machine with me).
The price is $1,300.00 USD.
I hope you are still interested and we can make the deal happen right away.
Obviously we need a safe way to complete this deal that will allow us to make sure we receive what we are after.
I have found a way for us to complete the deal fast (3 days) and easy. The solution is a
worldwide delivery company called Royal Mail. Royal Mail is similar to FedEx, DHL or UPS and they will provide assistance in handling the payment and delivery of the macbook pro.
With this procedure you will be able to check the macbook pro before I receive the payment.

Like I said, I will pay for a 2 days delivery so you will receive the macbook pro right away.
Let me know what you think.

Thank you!
Adam Bain
Politecnico di Milano
Campus Bovisa
Via La Masa 34,
20158 Milano Italy
admbain@hotmail.com
Ph: 0039 348 212 0251
__________________________

Hey David,

Did you speak with your boss?
Yes, it's the unibody aluminum macbook pro.
This are the FULL specs:
"Intel Core 2 Duo mobile processor
With 1066MHz frontside bus, 6MB shared L2 cache and 2.53GHz processor speed.
The next-generation Intel Core 2 Duo processor
Based on the innovative Intel Core microarchitecture, so it runs faster and is more energy-efficient for cooler, quieter operation.
4GB PC3-8500 DDR3 SDRAM
For multitasking power.
Slot-loading multiformat DVDRW/CD-RW SuperDrive with double-layer support
Records up to 8.5GB of data or 4 hours of video using compatible DVD+R DL and DVD-R DL media.
15" widescreen LED backlit display
With 1440 x 900 resolution to bring your games and movies to life.
320GB Serial ATA hard drive (5400 rpm)
Provides plenty of storage space and fast read/write times.
Nividia GeForce 9600GT with 512MB graphics
With up to 768MB GDDR3 SDRAM shared video memory and support for DVI, VGA and dual-link DVI connectors (requires adapters; not included). Dual display and video mirroring capability.
1 FireWire 800 port and 2 high-speed USB 2.0 ports
Provide quick and simple connection for digital peripherals.
Built-in Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR wireless interface
Lets you connect to other Bluetooth-enabled peripherals.
Built-in AirPort Extreme wireless network connection (802.11n)
For easy wireless connectivity.
Built-in 10/100/1000Base-T Gigabit Ethernet LAN
Supports an easy wired connection to the Internet.
Built-in iSight webcam
With stereo speakers and omnidirectional microphone make it easy to video chat with friends and family.
Multitouch trackpad
For precise cursor control, 2-finger scrolling, pinch, rotate, 3-finger swipe, 4-finger swipe, tap, double-tap and drag capabilities.
Precision aluminum unibody
For a stylish exterior.
Weighs 5.5 lbs. and measures only 1" thin
For easy portability; lithium-polymer battery for up to 5 hours of battery life.

This are the Software:

Aperture 2.1 ((Pre-installed with license) Retail
Microsoft Office 2008 Mac version (Full Version) (Pre-installed with license) Retail
Adobe Photoshop CS4 Extended (Pre-installed with license)

This MacBook Pro is installed with the following software, all of which is fully licensed, and activated - just boot up and start working!

MAC OS 10.5X Leopard

Microsoft Office 2008 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Entourage)
iTunes 8.x.x
(Adobe Bridge CS4, Contribute CS4, Device Central CS4, DreamWeaver CS4, Fireworks CS4, Flash CS4, Flash Video Encoder, Illustrator CS4, PhotoShop CS4)

Safari
Spaces
Time Machine
Mac Mail
iMovie
iPhoto
iDVD
iCal
iChat
iWeb
iLife 09' suite
GarageBand
Photo Booth
Address Book
Front Row
Boot Camp
Mozilla FireFox 3

What's in the box
MacBook Pro
85W MagSafe Power Adapter, AC wall plug, and power cord
Lithium-polymer battery
Install/restore DVDs
Display polishing cloth
Printed and electronic documentation
Environmental Status Report MacBook Pro is designed with the following features to reduce its environmental impact:

Highly recyclable aluminum and glass enclosure
Mercury-free LED-backlit display
Arsenic-free glass
BFR-free internal components
PVC-free internal cables
Meets ENERGY STAR requirements
EPEAT Gold rating

Precision aluminum unibody enclosure."

About the procedure, things are pretty simple. First I go to Royal Mail with the item and start the delivery procedure. After I give them the item for you, Royal Mail will send you a notification to let you know the process has been initiated, and that they have the item for you. Also, in the notification they will send you clear instructions on how to make the payment to Royal Mail, to the Royal Mail agent's name. After you complete your payment, then you will notify Royal Mail, they will collect the payment and once they have your payment, then they will deliver the item to you asap. Delivery time is 2 days. After you receive the item you will have 5 days (i think it's enough) to test it to see if it is as I said, also to see that everything is in good order and then if you are satisfied with the items, then you will instruct Royal Mail to release the payment.

I will support the shipping and handling charges that are almost $175.00 USD. And you will support the fee to send the money to the Royal Mail company. Fee that is almost $95.00 USD. So the total estimated price that you will pay for it is $1,395.00 USD.

So if you want to make this happen please provide me your full name and shipping address.

Thanks,
Adam
_________________

I noticed a couple things here. A) I had never heard of Royal Mail offering this type of service, as far as i know, they still don't. B) "Adam" had placed a custom signature at the end of the first email to make his identity (name, address, etc) seem legitimate and gain my confidence. However, he slipped, in the second email it just says "Thanks, Adam" with no custom signature. This is odd, if he were using Outlook (or a similar program, on Mac Entourage or Mail) the signature would be applied every time by default. But he is not using any of those apps, because hotmail will not allow any of those apps to access it, microsoft disabled this around 2002. You now must use their premium service to access these features. Who would bother to type this custom signature every single time on hotmail...well, not Adam Bain the scam, because he thought he already had gained my confidence by my interest level.
Please also notice that Adam clearly copied and pasted the specs from a list, probably apple.com, and pretty much took the default configuration, with minor upgrades to make it seem more legit.

When talking about the shipping he mentions that I will have 5 days to check this out and in the parentheses he notes that he thinks its enough (as if he is trying to be flexible and work with me). Also, he notes the software installed. I do design and web development in addition to security (as my degree), and the Adobe Design Suite that he is noting does not make this a $1300 laptop. It makes it upwards of a $3000 dollar laptop, especially since the laptop itself is $2100 from Apple. If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is, and he did not offer to use a legit payment service like paypal. Hope this helps

1pp1k10k4m1
Chesterfield, Virginia
U.S.A.