I watched Lock, Stock and 2 Smoking Barrels the other night – it’s a 1998 movie, and this sequence really amused me – here is a video snippet from the movie, and 2 versions of the same idea …
* * * R18+ Don’t Watch This If You Easily Get Offended – You Have Been Warned
Version One
The embarrassing check scam is, perhaps, more a myth than a reality.
Why?
Because no-one has ever come forward and admitted to being caught out with it.
Rumours of the embarrassing check scam circulated predominantly around Australia a few years ago and the scam was highlighted in the movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels in 1998. The way this check scam plays out is thus -
The victim, who is looking for material of an adult nature acquires such literature, videos, toys, etc from a company who offer to ship in plain packaging and operate their billing through a non descript company name, in order to avoid any embarrassing details appearing on bank statements, credit card bills, etc.
The only problem is that the company doesn’t actually have any product to send out.
They’ve taken the victim’s cash and delivered nothing, thereby making themselves liable to claims of theft.
However, before anyone could go to the extreme of calling them thieves they are going to do the decent thing and request a refund arn’t they?
Surprisingly, the adult company duly obliges, sending a check for the full amount back to the customer.
Therefore there is no wrongdoing and the scheme, whilst morally dubious, is perfectly legal.
So what does the scammer get out of this if he is refunding everyone for non delivery of goods?
Well….. Whilst the adult company may offer to ship and bill using indescript names they are not so careful when it comes to writing checks.
In fact they have a bank account with the most sexually explicit of names especially created for their refund check department!
How about explaining your bank statement to your partner?
Can you imagine the cashier’s face when you deposit the check at the bank?
No?
Nor could anyone who has received these checks yet.
Hence the fact that this scam remains a myth and totally unproven… for now!
So, in reality, if indeed this scam is real, the perpertrator has a bank account full of cash to offset checks that will never be cashed.
Even if they are at some point in the future the scammer is earning a decent rate of interest I’m sure.
Version Two
Don’t know for certain that this one is true, but damn funny if it is! I heard this story from a guy in a bar in Hong Kong–this is what he told me:
There are three things that most woman want, and three things that most men want: if you can satisfy any of these wants, it’s a sure path to riches.
Most women want: 1) More money, 2) bigger tits, & 3) to weigh less.
Most men want: 1) More money, 2) a bigger unit, & 3) more hair (& to weigh less . . .)
If you have a product or service that can provide the solution to any of the above wants, it’s a sure fire path to riches, right? So his friend did the following:
He placed very well written ads in the back of certain magazines (don’t know which ones, but evidently he did this in Europe) claiming to have some kind of formula (think Enzyte) which would increase the size of a man’s penis. I think it was some marketed as some kind of mixture of secret African herbs. Regardless, there was some amount of scientific jargon, user testimonials, plus (and this is the most important part) a money back guarantee. (BTW, I heard this 20 years ago, before internet, paypal, etc.)
One more important thing: this guy said you for the scam to be a success, you had to sell the thing for just the right amount of money–something like $30, which would be enough to make you a lot of money, but not enough for anyone to really care about (you’ll understand why in a moment).
In the advertisement you offer shipping within two weeks, and again, money back guarantee.
So supposedly you sit back and wait for the checks to flood in. When they do, you deposit them into your account and wait for them to clear. Then, in 13 days you issue the customer a REFUND check, claiming that due to govermental regulations or some other bulls–t that you are unable to send them the product, but as promised you are sending them a full refund. Here’s the scam.
The name of the company at the top of the check is something like “Make My Small Penis Larger, INC” and in the memo section of the check, written in all CAPS and in red ink, you hand write something to the effect of “Refund for Penis Enlargement System”
According to the guy who told me this story, a large percentage of men will be too embarrassed to cash or deposit the check, and therefore you LEGALLY get to keep the money!
He said (and again, I have no way of knowing if this is true) that a friend of his did this and made enough money to backpack around the world for over a year.
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