Charles Taylor money scam - originating in Naples, FL

I actually called the phone number listed on the email and Gene Tuxhorn (the domain owner)answered, confirmed who he was and that he did in-fact own this domain (I posed as a domain name telemarketer). He almost fell over dead when I told him I received his scam letter and traced it back to him. Then he became a little hostile when I told him I had turned him in to the IRS and the FBI. Hey, I'd be more afraid of the IRS if I were him because you know he never claimed his scam money on his taxes. This guy is a MAJOR jerk! He can't trace my phone number since I called from a pay phone in another state as I travel often for business. I wanted to post all of his info incase someone else receives a 419 from him. His reply email addresses are fake and actually roll over to his domain email address.

Whois Result for shaffihitaylor.com @ whois.melbourneit.com
Registrant
Gene Tuxhorn
3443 Seminole Ave (I found the cross-street of Cherokee St. )
Naples, FL
34112

UNITED STATES
Domain
Name
shaffihitaylor.com
CreatedDate
2007-08-09 UpdatedDate
2007-08-09
ExpiresDate
2009-08-09
NameServer
dns2.earthlink.net
NameServer
dns3.earthlink.net
Status
ok
AdminContact
Name
Gene Tuxhorn
Address
3443 Seminole Ave
Address
Naples
Address
34112
Address
FL
Address
UNITED STATES
Email
[email protected]
Phone
+1.2393707968
TechContact
Name
Hostmaster Hostmaster
Address
1375 Peachtree St.
Address
Level A
Address
Atlanta
Address
30309
Address
GA
Address
UNITED STATES
Email
[email protected]
Phone
+1.8889321997
Fax
+1.7177035107
Status: RO
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Message-ID: <20070809142508>
Date: Thu, 09 Aug 2007 14:25:08 +0200
From: SHAFFIHI MOHAMMED TAYLOR <admin>
Reply-to: [email protected]
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: I just tried to call you, but your phone was not accessible
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From: SHAFFIHI MOHAMMED TAYLOR [mailto:[email protected]]

Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2007 7:25 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: I just tried to call you, but your phone was not accessible

From Shaffihi Taylor of Liberia

I just tried to call you, but your phone was not accessible and I decided to send this e-mail to you, which I expect you would treat with all eriousness, as it a matter that would affect a lot of lives negatively, if not handled seriousely.

My names are SHAFFIHI MOHAMMED TAYLOR, the younger cousin of the embattled former president of Liberia, Mr. Charles Tayor, who is presently being tried in the UN court at the Hague, Netherlands, for his role in the war in Liberia. I have been faced with the need to immediately secure to safety, some money and valuables of my family, which are of grave importance to us, especially at this trying times, to save us a lot of embarrassments from the decision of the government of my country liberia.

I was not bothered about moving money that belongs to us, because there had been no need for that, but last week, the new President of Liberia, Madam Salim Saleef decided to freeze all assets belonging to my cousin and his family, which she had started doing in every country where such assets are. To ensure that everything is not lost, I decided to mop up the few assets I could lay my hands on, which were not in banks, but with deposit houses, which because we bare the same surnames, I had problems keeping them here in Africa, as everyone I approached would advise me of the risks, which lead me to discussing with a diplomat in your countriy's Embassy in my country, who in turn gave me your contact details.

Iin all, I have in my pocession, cash in total of US$ 38,500,000:00, Diamonds totaling about 12,000 carats and 200kg of gold dust. These are assets belonging to my brother and our family, but because of the name, we stand the risks of losing them to the Government, which is why I have decided to have them invested in Asia, where there would not be too much attention, and the economy big enough to invest in. I arrived Ghana last night, but the assets are in the custody of the security company, that would ensure the security and the safety of the items till you take them in for me, which I would be safer about. The gold and the diamonds have no documents for export before now, so they were brought into Ghana by road, to avoid security checks, but the money is in cash, packed in a two crates, which is what makes it easier to move.

What I want is this, that you assist me take custody of the valuables, till I would be able to meet you in your country, or any safe part of the world where you want us to meet, apart from Africa.You would have to take delivery of it as though it were consigned to you, as I would arrange for the issuance of a letter of authority for you to lawfully be entitled to stand in and act in the position of the trustee. You would then hold it in trust, till we agree on what viable areas of investment we both agree upon, till I arrive in your country. I have been discussing with my contacts in the United Nations office, and they have advised that I should not use my name, though I told him that the contents of the box family valuables and heritage, which we intend to protect and keep in any safe part of the world. This is because if I tell him that there is money in the consignment, they might act funny, or even give away the information. As far as the consignments are concerned, only two people now know that the contents are money, and they are you and I. No one else knows of this, and this is why I have decided, that for your assistance I would give you 20% of the money soon as you receive it, and then the balance 80% put in investment portfolios that we both agree upon.

What you have to do is this, send to me, your direct telephone contacts, where I can discuss with you securely, send me a copy of your passport information pages to enable me prepare the legal letters, giving you direct authority to deal in regards to the valuables and their administration, which would then pave the way for your claiming the valuables.

When you have claimed the consignment, and safely in your custody, you then take out your 20%, and then keep the rest till we meet to discuss the investment as we both agree.

My telephone numbers are: +233 244 669 002. You can reach on it anytime. I would expect you to call me soonest, but now I have to arrange with the handling company, to discuss with them, and notify them of my intention to have a trustee take the valuables on our behalf. I would expect that you indicate to me your willingness to assist, by providing me with the requirements I asked for. I would also like to inform you that there is no risk what so ever on your part, should you agree to help us out.

I would be in touch with further information, as we look forward to greater things ahead.

Kind regards

SHAFFIHI TAYLOR

REPLY EMAIL: [email protected]

[email protected]

Hi Doe, welcome to ScamWarners
Whilst the letter you posted is undoubtedly a scam format email, I'm a little confused here. You said you called the number in the email, right? +233 244 669 002 is a mobile phone in Ghana, Africa. I looked at shaffihitaylor.com, and it certainly has all the hallmarks of an email only fake domain. That said, a scammer would NEVER use his real details to register such a domain, esp in the US. The normal MO is for the scammer to either use the name and address of a phishing victim (whose credit card is used to pay for the domain), or to grab the details of an innocent person from somewhere on the web. If you called the +233 number, chances are good that the scammer recognized the name and pretended to be Gene Tuxhorn, thinking that the call had something to do with his fake domain.

As to the email, it traces to a blackhole server, which makes tracking its origin impossible (at least for me). Hopefully, some of our more techy members will take a close look at this and add their thoughts on the situation.

I have found another link to the mobile number in your scam email. It's the same format letter. I agree with SlayerFaith. The number is from Ghana. You probably spoke to the scammer.

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Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2007 21:31:59 -0700
From: "SHAFFIHI TAYLOR" <[email protected]> Add to Address Book
Reply-to: [email protected]
Subject: Dear , I just tried to call you, but your phone was not accessible and I decided to send this e-mail to you, which I expect you would treat with all seriousness, as it a matter that would affect a lot of lives negatively, if not handled seriousely. My names are SHAFFIHI TAYLOR, the younger cousin of the embattled former president of Liberia, Mr. Charles Tayor, who is presently being tried in the UN court at the Hague, Netherlands, for his role in the war in Liberia. I have been faced with the need to immediately secure to safety, some money and valuables of my family, which are of grave importance to us, especially at this trying times, to save us a lot of embarrassments from the decision of the government of my country liberia. I was not bothered about moving money that belongs to us, because there had been no need for that, but last week, the new President of Liberia, Madam Salim Saleef decided to freeze all assets belonging to my cousin and his family, which she had started doing in every country where such assets are. To ensure that everything is not lost, I decided to mop up the few assets I could lay my hands on, which were not in banks, but with deposit houses, which because we bare the same surnames, I had problems keeping them here in Africa, as everyone I approached would advise me of the risks, which lead me to discussing with a diplomat in your countriy's Embassy in my country, who in turn gave me your contact details. in all, I have in my pocession, cash in total of US$ 38,500,000:00, Diamonds totaling about 12,000 carats and 200kg of gold dust. These are assets belonging to my brother and our family, but because of the name, we stand the risks of losing them to the Government, which is why I have decided to have them invested in Asia, where there would not be too much attention, and the economy big enough to invest in. I arrived Ghana last night, but the assets are in the custody of the security company, that would ensure the security and the safety of the items till you take them in for me, which I would be safer about. The gold and the diamonds have no documents for export before now, so they were brought into Ghana by road, to avoid security checks, but the money is in cash, packed in a two crates, which is what makes it easier to move. What I want is this, that you assist me take custody of the valuables, till I would be able to meet you in your country, or any safe part of the world where you want us to meet, apart from Africa.You would have to take delivery of it as though it were consigned to you, as I would arrange for the issuance of a letter of authority for you to lawfully be entitled to stand in and act in the position of the trustee. You would then hold it in trust, till we agree on what viable areas of investment we both agree upon, till I arrive in your country. I have been discussing with my contacts in the United Nations office, and they have advised that I should not use my name, though I told him that the contents of the box family valuables and heritage, which we intend to protect and keep in any safe part of the world. This is because if I tell him that there is money in the consignment, they might act funny, or even give away the information. As far as the consignments are concerned, only two people now know that the contents are money, and they are you and I. No one else knows of this, and this is why I have decided, that for your assistance I would give you 20% of the money soon as you receive it, and then the balance 80% put in investment portfolios that we both agree upon. What you have to do is this, send to me, your direct telephone contacts, where I can discuss with you securely, send me a copy of your passport information pages to enable me prepare the legal letters, giving you direct authority to deal in regards to the valuables and their administration, which would then pave the way for your claiming the valuables. When you have claimed the consignment, and safely in your custody, you then take out your 20%, and then keep the rest till we meet to discuss the investment as we both agree. My telephone numbers are: +233 244 669 002. You can reach on it anytime. I would expect you to call me soonest, but now I have to arrange with the handling company, to discuss with them, and notify them of my intention to have a trustee take the valuables on our behalf. I would expect that you indicate to me your willingness to assist, by providing me with the requirements I asked for. I would also like to inform you that there is no risk what so ever on your part, should you agree to help us out. I would be in touch with further information, as we look forward to greater things ahead. Kind regards SHAFFIHI TAYLOR REPLY EMAIL: [email protected]
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Perhaps "doe" meant to say that they'd called the phone number mentioned in the domain registration.

Even then, it would still seem more than a little strange that one of these advance fee fraudsters would be a person in the USA using their own real details.

If you don't know how to track an IP address try this......

I know this is a bit pricey (actually only 36.00 US a year) But I am registered with http://www.readnotify.com I use a 'silent' mode and attached a certification to the emails I send back. It will tell you where it is opened, if it is forwarded, and what places it is opened in - all without the recipients knowledge. Quite handy it is!

Happy baiting

LIR

I'm actually a Systems Security Engineer for an International pharmaceutical company. I used my companies search tools to track this guy down. when I called him he actually admitted (I'm sure by accident) that it was his site. I tricked him when I posed as a domain host telemarketer and asked him if he would like a better deal by transferring his domain, SHAFFIHITAYLOR.com to the (fake) hoster I was representing.
I had him confirm that he was the owner of the domain name (SHAFFIHI TAYLOR.com) and that I could beat any hosting price he was already paying. This guy is just really dumb to set-up his "operation" this way.

I worked with our Telecom Engineer and we called the Ghana number which she was able to show rolled back to a Florida area code and a different number that what was on his domain reg. I'm sure he's not working alone to accomplish this. I did call the number on his domain reg but he did trip-up and say he owned the domain. Yeah, it is pretty strange that he would register the domain using his own info, maybe he's just never done this before and thought it would be that easy. He did admit to owning the site, so I guess you really can't fix stupid.

Another possibility (which is done quite often) is the scammer picked a name and address but used another phone number for registration. One way to confirm is to call the land line number registered to that address, which is in white pages, and see if it's the same guy.