Inevitable Actions - Acknowledging Gravity

She calls me as soon as I sit down at work. "i need some good advice"

"well i can give you advice, but good advice might cost you."

She has travel vouchers offered at about 1/5 of their commercial value. The person is getting rid of them because he can't use them. Now they are sitting enticingly on Craig's List - Buy me.

what do you know about the seller...oh I have everything, his phone number, a copy of a green card, school transcript from MIT.

uhhhh...you have a copy of a green card and a copy of someones transcript. That doesn't mean they are real and that doesn't they are even his. He doesn't even want to use PayPal but Greenpoint in which you buy money vouchers and can't refute charges like you would be able to do on a credit card if here were to use Paypal.

ok but i talked to him and we exchanged emails and i know he is legitimate.

How do you know this?

I can tell.

how?

He wrote me back.

Well he would, wouldn't he. He still doesn't have your money. And all the documents he provided, he provided without your requesting...so it only means he has access to some fake id or or possibly stolen ID. If you are really going to do this anyway, at least ask him to send an email from work stating what he will send you in detail prior to you sending any money. At least you have the domain of a company.

Some time later she calls back to tell me he refused claiming his work privacy is an issue and tells her to search for deals on eBay in which she can feel safer...

she takes this as proof of his sincerity and honesty.

She sends him the money.

She calls me again.

I've been scammed.

What can i do? (........she's asking for more advice)

Nothing, put it down to learning a lesson and move on.

I can't move, on I lost 350 amount of money. And this is not just about the money.

No, it was a worth while lesson. it wasn't a loss of money.

I can't let this go.

Do you really think you are going to catch him, this is how he makes his living...he knows all the tricks and you will just end up more frustrated at having wasted more time and energy on it.

(We argue back and forth for much longer then i care to bore you or admit to myself)

Ultimate result of argument: she decided she is going to look for him and teach him a lesson.

But all this time was not wasted, I am becoming aware of the fact that when most
people ask for advice, what they really are asking for is confirmation that what they really want and plan to do, is the best and possibly only correct course of action.