Examples of Suspected Fraud or Fake Emails

PayPal_Andy
Moderator
Moderator

Hey Everybody!

 

In an effort to make things easier to find and research, I'm going to consolidate as many threads as possible where we have examples of people trying to defraud hard working sellers (Craigslist emails, 'PayPal' emails asking you to send money outside of PayPal, etc).  This will also be used as a master thread for future posts regarding this same situation.

 

When you post your examples here, please remember to not include last names or contact information of whoever is sending these emails.  There's no way to confirm if that person has been defrauded as well and the name is being used fraudulently.

 

Thanks for your cooperation and remember, keep the conversation productive, on task, and above all, keep it clean. I know these things can be difficult and frustrating, but bleep filled posts or posts that look like government redacted files will never benefit anyone. 😄

 

Andy

Login to Me Too
2,000 REPLIES 2,000

Joybelly
Contributor
Contributor

Im pretty sure we were scammed by the same oak

Login to Me Too

cancer5443
New Community Member

Thank you for saving me 250€ 🙂

Login to Me Too

beware2
New Community Member

I've just received a message saying my Paypal account has been suspended. It tells me to click on the message below.

I didn't do it. I know my Paypal account has not been suspended - I checked. BEWARE

Login to Me Too

NNG
Contributor
Contributor
My name is Christina Smedley. I'm a PayPal representative in charge of your transaction with .....

Your satisfaction is important to us; Please kindly reply to this message if you have any question regarding this transaction and I will be happy to help you.

Thank you for using PayPal. Your fund has been deducted from our client Michael Thomas account this is why you have receive the payment confirmation from us. Be informed that you are 100% safe with PayPal and you do not need to worry about anything therefore you are to go ahead with the transaction for your account to be credited as soon as you email us with the receipt given to you at the Money Gram outlet.
We are sorry we won't be able to call you or be reach via phone for now due to many transaction initiated everyday via PayPal we are sorry for any inconvenience this might cause you.
 We want you to know that your money is still "pending" on our system and can't be credited into your PayPal account. For security purpose you will have to front the shipping cost to the shipping company agent in-charge of the shipping before you can have access to the whole payment. The total sum of ........has been credited to your PayPal account, but it will neither be displayed nor be available for spending, there's no way we can credit the money to your PayPal account without you sending the money for our verification. 
 
Due to security purpose, you will not have access to any of the funds until you send the shipping cost of $1,100.00 USD to the shipping company via Money Gram Transfer. We are doing this to protect both you and your buyer from online scam.
 
In order to complete this transaction and get the funds credit into your PayPal account as soon as possible, you have to go to Money Gram Office/any Post office with cash and transfer the excess sum of $1,100.00 USD to the shipping agent information.
 
This is a step by step way of sending the money to the bearer:
 
1. Go to any money gram office close to your home
 
2. Ask for a money gram transfer form
 
3. Fill the form with the address details provided below
 
4. Tender the cash and you will be issued a receipt after the money has been sent.

However, you will need to send us the following information as soon as you have sent the money for verification and confirmation. Attach and email a scanned copy of the receipt to us or if you don't have a scanner, you can email PayPal with the following details written on the receipt.
  • The Reference # (which is the 8-digit number):
  • The Sender's Full Name And Address:
  • The Amount Sent:
  • Date The Money Was Sent:
 
 
Below is the information where the money is to be sent.

      Agent's Information Verified Address:

       

 

Login to Me Too

Seymour-
Frequent Contributor
Frequent Contributor

Those are some greedy scammers! LOL. $1,100!! oh my.

 

A few key indicators make scams easy to spot:

 

-Paypal will never 'hold' a transaction until you send a 'transaction' fee. Advance fees of ANY kind are a massive red flag.

'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'
Login to Me Too

TVN
New Community Member
If they client suppostly paid, where do you check this.
Login to Me Too

Seymour-
Frequent Contributor
Frequent Contributor

- Login to your PayPal account from https://www.paypal.com.

- If the client has made the payment, it will be listed in your account (as either Complete or Pending).

 

PayPal will never ask you to pay any money to get money. They derive their fees from the actual transactions occurring, not by holding people's money 'hostage'.

 

'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'
Login to Me Too

Perfecto14
New Community Member

buen dia, estoy Vendiendo ONU mueble por Este Medio y el heno una persona Que se llama a Tony y SEGÚN EL ya me transfirio el doble desde el lugar de yo le vendo, y tambien me dados ESE Sistema Que transfiera Una Cantidad diferente a la Que Yo le vendo El Producto, y ya revisar en mi Cuenta y no hay nada de transferencia, anteriormente me depositaron dE UN banco extranjero y el depósito se reflejo LUEGO, Pero en Este Caso sin nada heno.

Ya le Dije al cliente Que No hay nada de dinero en mi Cuenta, Pero insite Que TENEMOS Que Seguir con el trámite, Creo Que Es Una Página maligna En La Que El Me Esta presionando párr Que Siga. 

Por Sus comentarios, mil gracias

Marytere

Login to Me Too

Dustin_loomis
Member
Member
Same thing just happened to me when I was selling my bike on Craigslist. Tried to get me to send his agent 1400 to pick it up and then he would reimburse me the money through a fake PayPal account
Login to Me Too

Seymour-
Frequent Contributor
Frequent Contributor

Judging by the high pay off ($1,400) of this scam (if it works), it is no doubt one of the more popular ones for the scammers to try to use correctly.

'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'
Login to Me Too

Haven't Found your Answer?

It happens. Hit the "Login to Ask the community" button to create a question for the PayPal community.