Republic of Benin scam - I gave my name/address. What to do?

Question

I'm selling books on Facebook and got an offer from a guy who's buying the book for "his client in the Republic of Benin." I was stupid enough to give him my full name and home address so that his client can "send his check to me."

Now I've received several different offers from Facebook from different IDs, same content. Now I'm sure this is a scam. But I already gave my full name and address. What should I do? Should I report this to someone? What can they do with my name and address? Would they be knocking on my door harrassing me? Did this happen to anyone here? What's gonna happen next? What should I do? Help!

Answer 1

I understand your fears, but you are getting a bit paranoid.  Nothing is going to happen -- you will be soon forgotten (no offense intended).

Answer 2

Report the incident to the Law Enforcement Agency regulating internet scams in your country so that the culprit will be traced and charged in court of fraud.

Answer 3

If it is happening through facebook, there are security options where you can report the profiles that send you the messages.  Facebook will filter and delete them.  That is the best approach that you can take.  You may also want to put a fraud alert on your name through the major credit reporting agencies (which you can do online) so that no one steals your identity.