Silk Road forums
Discussion => Shipping => Topic started by: Spikey on August 18, 2012, 11:46 am
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Hey guys, definitely not the best way to start off my first post in the forums, but I just received this email and need some advice:
Dear Sir,
we are bringing this notification to you with regards the status of your
package.
we just received information regarding the shipment that there is a problem
with the parcel at the custom checking and that
is why we cannot deliver the package to you today as scheduled.
The customs officers have withheld the parcel that new law have been
passed by the
customs that , no parcel with label as diplomatic should enter the
facility without a sticker and seal permit for Diplomatic packages.They
have ask about the content but we cannot declare as the shipper registered
it as a Diplomatic package and it cannot be opened except with permission
from the Malaysian Consulate or Embassy.
So they said your parcel have to own the seal for Diplomatic Sticker and
the bearer has to show prove of liability for Diplomatic packages and this
has to be done within 48 hrs so as to proceed with the shipment to the
delivery address and give free entry clearance so that custom will have
nothing to check on it.
We realize all this happening because its your first shipment , but
after this shipment all your certificate will be issued to you and as
from next shipment , there will be no disturbance with the parcel since
all your details will be registered and you will have access to the free
importation of Diplomatic packages.
Please we request that you get back to us as soon as possible so that we
can settle the problem and if you do not posses this Certificate, then we
shall help you process it.
We look forward to reading from you.
We are at your service 24hrs/7days and please do not hesitate to contact
us immediately for any queries.
Any advice guys? I've already contacted the seller and they said they're working on a solution and will get back to me shortly :/ The shipping agent is intmaritimelog.com
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Sounds really sketchy to me mate, not an expert on the matter but im pretty sure diplomatic packages can only be sent to government officials / embassies and not to individuals, also I think the sender must be a diplomat in the country of origin.
Got a few questions:
Has the vendor gotten back to you about this matter yet?
Is this your first order from the vendor?
Did you FE for the order?
Is it a new vendor your using or a well reputable vendor?
Is the vendor shipping from malaysia?
Why do they have your email address...!?
Depending on the answer to those we can probably work out if you have been scammed or not, really hope you stayed in escrow.
Got a bad feeling about this, hope it works out for ya.
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Cheers for your response man.
When I posted this thread I was already about 90% certain that I had been scammed but I didn't want to say anything in my post so I can hear other people's own thoughts. Yeah, this was my first order from the vendor and it wasn't through Silk Road. What I don't understand is, I literally went through about 50 different suppliers and weeded out all the dodgy looking ones and only did business with these people because they seemed to be the most legitimate vendor and satisfied all my concerns before I did business with them. They provided me with about 5 tracking numbers from previous orders through DHL, then when I requested some more they provided me with an additional 10, all packages were sent off from the same location (Malaysia) and arrived in the specified time frame, I spoke to them over the phone several times, I ran several Google searches on the email address I was in contact with and there was nobody complaining about them, only several advertisements over the internet dating back from around '08, and yeah, they just seemed pretty genuine.. They satisfied all my concerns but I was still a bit iffy about them because of how cheap their pricing was, but I didn't have any reason to believe it was a scam so I went ahead with a sample order which cost me around $360 through Western Union. I wasn't really expecting it to check out when I first placed my order but I decided to go ahead with it anyway, then as soon as they provided me with tracking details it seemed to be legitimate, although they had initially told me they do their shipping through DHL. Fedex and TNT and such but decided to change this to intmaritimelog without notifying me beforehand because apparently DHL wanted to know what was in the package. I ran a whois on intmaritimelog.com and it's only been registered since April this year (from memory) which rings alarm bells, but it still doesn't explain how the vendor had legit tracking details with DHL.
Anyway, it all became apparent it was a scam when I received the following email back from them. Also, keep in mind I was never in contact with intmaritimelog, and I also changed my email address AFTER the vendor sent off my order. I was in contact with the vendor with my new email address, but then the shipping company somehow magically got my email address which I created after the item had been sent off and I received my tracking details. The vendor was also very concerned about me receiving my tracking details so I can track the item.
Here's the email I got back from the shipping company even though I never made any contact with them whatsoever.
Dear Sir,
Thanks for your inquiry with regards the status of your package.
For the process of obtaining a Diplomatic License and Seal for your
package, you will have to make a deposit for the License and Diplomatic
Seal. Once you get the License, you will have the immunity to import
Diplomatic packages for a period of 1 Year and this License is
renewable.For any of your shipment, a diplomatic seal will be put on the
package and this will be free from all custom check points.
You would also have to pay for the refundable insurance scheme fee which
covers for the conformity certificate that your goods or products are not
for illegal activities or will illegally be use on young adults. The funds
will be refunded to you once the parcel is delivered.
Brake down of cost and needs
License fee ..................$750 USD
Refundable insurance Scheme Fee...........$5,000 USD (note this fee will
be refunded to you when your parcel is delivered at 95%)
Please do get back to us as soon as possible for the resolution and onward
proceeding of your shipment so we can keep to the scheduled time of
delivery and prompt arrival of your parcel.
We are at your service 24hrs/7days and please do not hesitate to contact
us immediately for any queries.
Yours Faithfully
Mr Sharef Abidin
Cargo Agent
International Maritme Logistics
Tel: +6019-344-5973
TEL: +603-6127-0165
Email: info@intmaritimelog.com
So yeah, doesn't look like there's much we can do from here. I really don't get how the vendor had legit, up to date tracking details through DHL, I even ran a Google search on a couple of the tracking numbers and didn't find any results....... :(
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Very scam sounding--and moreover, how did anyone get an email address for you in the first place?
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Cheers for your response man.
When I posted this thread I was already about 90% certain that I had been scammed but I didn't want to say anything in my post so I can hear other people's own thoughts. Yeah, this was my first order from the vendor and it wasn't through Silk Road. What I don't understand is, I literally went through about 50 different suppliers and weeded out all the dodgy looking ones and only did business with these people because they seemed to be the most legitimate vendor and satisfied all my concerns before I did business with them. They provided me with about 5 tracking numbers from previous orders through DHL, then when I requested some more they provided me with an additional 10, all packages were sent off from the same location (Malaysia) and arrived in the specified time frame, I spoke to them over the phone several times, I ran several Google searches on the email address I was in contact with and there was nobody complaining about them, only several advertisements over the internet dating back from around '08, and yeah, they just seemed pretty genuine.. They satisfied all my concerns but I was still a bit iffy about them because of how cheap their pricing was, but I didn't have any reason to believe it was a scam so I went ahead with a sample order which cost me around $360 through Western Union. I wasn't really expecting it to check out when I first placed my order but I decided to go ahead with it anyway, then as soon as they provided me with tracking details it seemed to be legitimate, although they had initially told me they do their shipping through DHL. Fedex and TNT and such but decided to change this to intmaritimelog without notifying me beforehand because apparently DHL wanted to know what was in the package. I ran a whois on intmaritimelog.com and it's only been registered since April this year (from memory) which rings alarm bells, but it still doesn't explain how the vendor had legit tracking details with DHL.
Anyway, it all became apparent it was a scam when I received the following email back from them. Also, keep in mind I was never in contact with intmaritimelog, and I also changed my email address AFTER the vendor sent off my order. I was in contact with the vendor with my new email address, but then the shipping company somehow magically got my email address which I created after the item had been sent off and I received my tracking details. The vendor was also very concerned about me receiving my tracking details so I can track the item.
Here's the email I got back from the shipping company even though I never made any contact with them whatsoever.
Dear Sir,
Thanks for your inquiry with regards the status of your package.
For the process of obtaining a Diplomatic License and Seal for your
package, you will have to make a deposit for the License and Diplomatic
Seal. Once you get the License, you will have the immunity to import
Diplomatic packages for a period of 1 Year and this License is
renewable.For any of your shipment, a diplomatic seal will be put on the
package and this will be free from all custom check points.
You would also have to pay for the refundable insurance scheme fee which
covers for the conformity certificate that your goods or products are not
for illegal activities or will illegally be use on young adults. The funds
will be refunded to you once the parcel is delivered.
Brake down of cost and needs
License fee ..................$750 USD
Refundable insurance Scheme Fee...........$5,000 USD (note this fee will
be refunded to you when your parcel is delivered at 95%)
Please do get back to us as soon as possible for the resolution and onward
proceeding of your shipment so we can keep to the scheduled time of
delivery and prompt arrival of your parcel.
We are at your service 24hrs/7days and please do not hesitate to contact
us immediately for any queries.
Yours Faithfully
Mr Sharef Abidin
Cargo Agent
International Maritme Logistics
Tel: +6019-344-5973
TEL: +603-6127-0165
Email: info@intmaritimelog.com
So yeah, doesn't look like there's much we can do from here. I really don't get how the vendor had legit, up to date tracking details through DHL, I even ran a Google search on a couple of the tracking numbers and didn't find any results....... :(
Super Duper Sketchy... Pretty obviously a scam within a scam. And maybe he could create fake tracking numbers using a program related to a key generator? IDK but that guy seems pretty desperate to get other peoples money... Also like what Gruzel said, how did he get ur email address?
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Sorry to hear you lost your money mate, did a little digging yesterday and this diplomatic package scam is a pretty common one for nigerian scammers.
Only thing I can really do is give ya some advice.
Never deal on the clearnet, was scammed there myself a few times before finding SR.
Get yourself some bitcoins and do some searching on the rumor mill part of the forum for reputable vendors that sell what your looking for and place an order through SR with them. It may end up costing a little more but at least you have the escrow service to protect you if you do get scammed and you'll get most or all of your money back.
Never give out any personal details to anyone except your vendor and always make sure its pgp encrypted when you send your address or any sensitive information.
If you ever need any help with sorting our encryption, getting bitcoins etc just look around the security sections of the forum, there's a few guides there and if your still stuck just make a post on the forum and someone should help ya out :)
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There are alot of clearnet sites that are legit you just have to research for a looong time. The legit ones are usually limited to benzos,ketamine,codein,sleeping pills,viagra. You wont find any legit sh 1 or 2 drugs on the clearnet.ever.