Manzanitaburl Wood Scam

[Wilfred A Murray]

Fellow Woodturners,

This information is to make you aware of a SCAM involving the sale of Manzanita Burl wood offered on the internet. THIS IS NO JOKE as I have been deceived into an act of deception of sending a personal check for $581.00 to: Elaine Means; EJ Burl & Co, 37103 Siskiyou St., Burney, CA 96013 USA.

Here is how I was approached. You receive an e-mail solicitation via the internet, offering a 25% discount on three sizes of Manzanita turning burls. The solicitation is timed so that the order must be placed within a short time. In my case, the solicitation was dated Sun, Sept 25, 2005 and to receive the discount, I had to respond by the end of September.

Four separate pictures of the Manzanita burl wood is attached to the e-mail as well as a couple of small pictures showing a finished product of a turn bowl and vase/urn.

After an exchange via e-mail as to pricing and wood sizes, I received a response that EJ Burl & Co (manzaqnitaburwood@hotmail.com) would like to be paid through Paypal. I wanted to pay by Credit Card, but she indicated that she was not authorized to accept credit cards at this time. and I (Quote" If you would rather send me a check, please make it out to Elaine Means, and send it to 37103 Siskiyou St. Burney, Ca 96013. Order is ready to ship. I found some beautiful burls to send you." (end quote). Approximately, 30 days later, I inquired via another internet e-mail (jackburl96001@yahoo.com) about my shipment. NO RESPONSE, NONE WHATSOEVER. After numerous e-mails and phone calls to (530) 335-4279 (now disconnected), I finally reach an older man who said this was not a scam and that there was a mix up in shipping due to an elderly person trying to help them out.

Thirty days elapsed and still nothing other than receiving a notice from Paypal canceling an invoice which made no sense. Long story short....I have yet to receive a response or the shipment and here it is the first of February, 2006. For this reason, I am attempting to alert as many wood turners as possible about this situation so that they are not bilked out of any money. Please be sure to share this story with your fellow wood turners.

I am pursuing the reporting of this incident to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (www.IFCCFBI.Gov) and the local authorities in Shasta County. Should anyone experience a similar problem with this business or people, they should proceed to report the incident as well. Perhaps, we can put a stop to these people taking advantage of other woodturners.

Wilfred (Bill) Murray
E-mail: billmurray@rochelle.net

UPDATE: 2/3/6 LOCAL OFFICIALS HAVE LOCATED ELAINA MEANS WHO WAS RECENTLY RELEASED FROM JAIL AND IS ON PROBATION. SHE HAS TALKED TO ME DIRECTLY IN THE PRESENCE OF AN OFFICER, REASSURING ME THAT MY ORDER WILL BE SHIPPED WITHIN THE NEXT 7 TO 10 DAYS. THE OFFICER SAID TO CONTACT HIM WITHIN THAT PERIOD SHOULD I NOT RECEIVE THE MERCHANDISE.

 

[Sean Troy]

Someone like that would probably turn right around and do it again. Getting your own wood is always the best way to go in my book.

 

[Wilfred A Murray]

Fellow Woodturners,

This information is to make you aware of a SCAM involving the sale of Manzanita Burl wood offered on the internet. THIS IS NO JOKE as I have been deceived into an act of deception of sending a personal check for $581.00 to: Elaine Means; EJ Burl & Co, 37103 Siskiyou St., Burney, CA 96013 USA.

Here is how I was approached. You receive an e-mail solicitation via the internet, offering a 25% discount on three sizes of Manzanita turning burls. The solicitation is timed so that the order must be placed within a short time. In my case, the solicitation was dated Sun, Sept 25, 2005 and to receive the discount, I had to respond by the end of September.

Four separate pictures of the Manzanita burl wood is attached to the e-mail as well as a couple of small pictures showing a finished product of a turn bowl and vase/urn.

After an exchange via e-mail as to pricing and wood sizes, I received a response that EJ Burl & Co (manzaqnitaburwood@hotmail.com) would like to be paid through Paypal. I wanted to pay by Credit Card, but she indicated that she was not authorized to accept credit cards at this time. and I (Quote" If you would rather send me a check, please make it out to Elaine Means, and send it to 37103 Siskiyou St. Burney, Ca 96013. Order is ready to ship. I found some beautiful burls to send you." (end quote). Approximately, 30 days later, I inquired via another internet e-mail (jackburl96001@yahoo.com) about my shipment. NO RESPONSE, NONE WHATSOEVER. After numerous e-mails and phone calls to (530) 335-4279 (now disconnected), I finally reach an older man who said this was not a scam and that there was a mix up in shipping due to an elderly person trying to help them out.

Thirty days elapsed and still nothing other than receiving a notice from Paypal canceling an invoice which made no sense. Long story short....I have yet to receive a response or the shipment and here it is the first of February, 2006. For this reason, I am attempting to alert as many wood turners as possible about this situation so that they are not bilked out of any money. Please be sure to share this story with your fellow wood turners.

I am pursuing the reporting of this incident to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (www.IFCCFBI.Gov) and the local authorities in Shasta County. Should anyone experience a similar problem with this business or people, they should proceed to report the incident as well. Perhaps, we can put a stop to these people taking advantage of other woodturners.

Wilfred (Bill) Murray
E-mail: billmurray@rochelle.net

UPDATE: 2/3/6 LOCAL OFFICIALS HAVE LOCATED ELAINA MEANS WHO WAS RECENTLY RELEASED FROM JAIL AND IS ON PROBATION. SHE HAS TALKED TO ME DIRECTLY IN THE PRESENCE OF AN OFFICER, REASSURING ME THAT MY ORDER WILL BE SHIPPED WITHIN THE NEXT 7 TO 10 DAYS. THE OFFICER SAID TO CONTACT HIM WITHIN THAT PERIOD SHOULD I NOT RECEIVE THE MERCHANDISE.

UPDATE: 2/24/6 I HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE MERCHANDISE AS OF THIS DATE. I CONTACTED THE LOCAL OFFICER AND HE IS TO MAKE A PERSONAL CALL AND ALSO NOTIFY HER PAROLE OFFICER. HE REMINDED ME THAT THIS IS REAL A CIVIL MATTER, BUT HE WOULD MAKE ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO CONTACT HER.

 

[Gary]

Scams

There are a whole lot of scumbags out there on the internet just looking to take advantage of us. Some things we can do to reduce the probability of being 'taken' are

• believe that if "its too good to be true", it probably is (too good to be true)
• do not even open any email if you do not know who sent it or if you are not expecting it
• I keep a low-limit credit card specifically for internet commerce

 

[Bill Boehme]

I would not depend on getting good legal advice from the police -- they can be misguided especially on matters involving the Internet. Furthermore, the police seem to avoid getting involved in fraud over the Internet. Consult an attorney about the matter and have the attorney talk to the police. I don't know where the police officer came up with the notion about this being a civil matter -- since when did theft become a civil matter? The modus operandi of crimes do not change the law. Ex: A dumb policeman once told me that no crime had been committed because a person who attempted to steal money from me was unsuccessful -- WHAT? "Are criminals graded on the successful outcome of their endeavors", I asked? "Didn't there used to be a crime called attempted robbery?"

I have a question for you: Did you call the police or did they call you? (There is an implied question here)

Bill

 

[pssmith]

Maybe it's civil if in fact she can demonstrate that she is actually in business but not fulfilling orders. But if she's not, and money has changed hands, it could be construed as fraud, particularly federal offense if you two don't reside in the same state.

Did you get her probation / parole officer's contact? Find out what she's on supervision for (type of offense) -- this is public information. While they can't give personal information on the subject, you can give them the information you have (ie. address, email, phone...) and hope that they take the information and check what they have for "inconsistencies" that may raise suspicion, possibly calling for further inquiry or even criminal investigation.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune.

 

[JimQ]

And the Probation Officer may be very interested to know that they are involved in fraud while on probation.

JimQ

 

[Mike Schwing]

I have been receiving emails from that same person for quite a long time. After a bit I replied asking to be removed from whatever list it was they had me on. I have to admit, it did not seem like a scam, but I just wasn't interested in their product. I can totally see how you were scammed, sorry you were, hope you recover your loss, and thank you for letting others know.

 

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

UPDATE: 2/24/6 I HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE MERCHANDISE AS OF THIS DATE. I CONTACTED THE LOCAL OFFICER AND HE IS TO MAKE A PERSONAL CALL AND ALSO NOTIFY HER PAROLE OFFICER. HE REMINDED ME THAT THIS IS REAL A CIVIL MATTER, BUT HE WOULD MAKE ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO CONTACT HER.

Maybe you should list the name of the LOCAL OFFICER here then send them a link to this thread! This is not a civil matter! It's fraud! Must be too much paper work involved!

 

[Hstudio]

I have also crossed paths with this woman. She has placed several want ads with local turning groups across the country. I e-mailed her stating my needs of five or six manzanita burls. We swapped e-mails several times, and I attempted to call her several times. She finally e-mailed back, saying she found five or six burls that would be perfect for my projects. I ask for photos. She gave me excuses about not knowing how to use a digital camera. I finally called her and kept getting a teenager on the phone. Again, I e-mailed her and asked for photos. She finally e-mailed back an invoice for several hundred dollars. I quickly shot back an e-mail stating I wasn't paying for anything that I hadn't seen yet. That was the last I heard from her.