Examples of Suspected Fraud or Fake Emails

[PayPal_Andy]

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

[Aslan14]

They're bbbbaaaaaaaaaaaaaaacccckkkkkkkk!

I am trying to sell my Honda on craigslist and received this email from <removed> a few hours after I posted it.

"Hi thanks am glad to read from you ,will appreciate more pictures... I am a marine engineer, I am at sea right now am buying this for my son as a surprise promise Gift so am willing to offer you the amount you required. I can only pay through PayPal at the moment as I don't have access to my bank account on-line(I don't have Internet banking with it), but I have it attached to my PayPal account, and this is why I insisted on using PayPal to pay,all I will need is your PayPal email address to make the payments, and if you don't have a PayPal account yet, you can set one up at paypal.com it can't take you less than 3mins to do that, I will be expecting your PayPal email so l can pay and also get back to me with your best price on this. I have a pick up agent that will come for the pick up after payments has been sorted.
Your Name in full and address for me to forward it to the coiurier
company for pick up of the goods.l will be waiting for your reply
asap.


Leonard"

I then replied saying that as per Craig's List recommendations, I would not do business with anyone via PayPal. I also said I would not be scammed, and that scam artists are lazy people who can't go get jobs like the rest of us and that Karma would eventually catch up with them. Here is "his" reply;

"Yes l understand what you're saying but you need to believe if you believe that God know all does scam artist that you're talking about then move forward God will touch their mind one..............get back to me with your PayPal email account for the payment you can send the invoice to <removed> that's my PayPal ID


Thanks"

I then Googled the gmail address and found this thread.  Thanks so much everyone for sharing info! I will NOT be scammed 🙂

[Lindasue55]

I am trying to sell a piano on craigslist and got a message about this guy at sea wanting to buy for "a client" His email was word for word! If this page had not been here for me to see I would have fallen for it. I've never had anyone pay through paypal except for ebay.

THANK YOU!

[Baydabom-07]

This was mine.... Hi thanks for mailing back,I am a marine engineer on a rig offshore and do not have much time on me and i am buying this for Dad, i am at sea right now,Can i pay you $8,200 for it?.I can only pay through paypal at the moment as i don't have access to my bank account online,but i have it attached to my paypal account, and this is why i insisted on using paypal to pay,all i will need is your paypal email address to make the payments,as you don't have a paypal account yet,its pretty easy to set one up at www.paypal.com.,i will be expecting your email.I have a pick up agent that will come for the pick up after payment has been sorted Waiting to read from you soon.

[Seymour-]

That looks like the scam script that is being circulated.

[spud2]

I listed on craiglist and immediately got 2 guys wanting more info. here is the first one.

Donald joshua **removed**gmail.com

** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY --- AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home
** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html
--
Do you still have this for sales and what is the final price?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The second email came from a differant name but sounded like continued contact.

john ball <**removed**gmail.com>

Hi thanks for mailing, i am a marine engineer, i am at sea right now.I am buying this for my uncle  so am willing to offer you the amount you required. I can only pay through PayPal at the moment as i don't have access to my bank account online(i don't have internet banking with it), but i have it attached to my PayPal account, and this is why i insisted on using PayPal to pay,all i will need is your PayPal email address to make the payments, and if you don't have a PayPal account yet, you can set one up at www.paypal.com it cant take you less than 3mins to do that, i will be expecting your PayPal email so l can pay and also get back to me with your best price on this. I have a pick up agent that will come for the pick up after payments has been sorted. l will be waiting for your reply asap.

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My question is are they just trying to get me to press on the links they provided. And what good would it be to them to have the e-mail address attached to my paypal account?

I knew better than press any links but they do have my email address, what should I do?

[spud2]

Ha Ha, it's getting funny now. I knew he would be asking for ether personal info or  for me to cover some kind of exspense for him and sure enough. whats cracking me up is his grammer is falling apart and it is so obvious he is forien. The sad part is I am sure some people fall for his BS scam. I asked him for his paypal account name so I can request a payment. Lets see if he is stupid enough to send one, or if he just disapears. here is the email

john ball **removed**gmail.com

I was just about to make the payment when i had this little problem with the picking up,I got an email from my agent..i taught i included that in my previous email.he said he won't come and pick up unless i pay him the agent commission fee first in order to be able to schedule a pick up time ,and my pick up agent head quarters is in the united state and all commission payments made for pick up, from anywhere in the world is sent to their head quarters in the united state and the only form of payments they accept is western union money transfer and i tried to pay online but i will need a credit card which i didn't bring along, and there is no post office(there is usually a western union section in have to ask you to help me with the pick up fees, i will include the 500usd they charged to pick it up and take it my home(1st class treatment), to the payments i will send through PayPal. After i have made the payments and it has been confirmed by PayPal, i will need you to help me send the 500usd to my pick up agent through western union money transfer, the western union money transfer can be made at a western union office near to you,there is always a western union agent in most western union or online at www.westernunion.com .I will be making the payments shortly and will email you as soon as it has been done.
Hope to hear from you soonest

[spud2]

here is his answer for a paypal account name request

 I have just made the payments now and i expect PayPal to have emailed by now, i sent $1,600.00 USD in all,To (removed)   i added $600.00 USD meant for pick up and delivery and the western union fee also, they said they have emailed you to this effect, you will need to send the $500.00 USD to my pick up agent via western union money transfer,so that paypal can credit the $1,600.00 USD into your account as soon as you have emailed the western union details to them, i added extra $100 to cover the western union charges which shouldn't be more that $100 Here is the pick up agent info needed to get the money sent through western union money transfer:

Name:Robert <removed>

Address: <removed>

I will need the details of the transfer once you have sent fund . . .
1.The MTCN number that is the 10  digits number on the Western Union  receipt
2.Sender's name and address used in sending the money
3.Actual amount sent

[spud2]

that was followed by a fake email from paypal, this is the first half of the email and the paypal logo was removed by this forum

Hello (removed) ,
 

This email confirms that John Ball  has sent you $1,600.00 USD

View the details of this transaction here:

Payment Details

Transaction ID:0TR19308DU070764T

 
 
    Item #
    Item Title Quantity     Price Subtotal
GOODS
1 $1,000.00 USD
$1,000.00 USD

 

Shipping & Handling 

   (includes any seller handling fees)

$600.00 USD

Shipping Insurance (optional):     --       Total:   $1,600.00 USD

[spud2]

here is the second half of email

This is to inform you that you are required to send a sum of $500.00 USDto the address below via western union money transfer  and get back to us with the relevant information's which you will be provided with after the money has been sent. You are requested to give us the MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number) and the sender's name and address used to make the transfer after which we will then credit the total sum of    $1,600.00 USD   into your paypal account. Below is the address where the money is to be sent using western union money transfer .
 

   Agent's Info:   

 Name:Robert <removed>

Address:<removed>

Address Status:       Confirmed     

Please note:
  We wish to inform you that John Ball  has made his intentions known to  PayPal that he will like $500.00 USD to be sent to the recipient's address above via western union money transfer  .

  This payment has been deducted from the buyer's account and has been "  APPROVED" but will not be credited into your account until the MTCN # is sent to us for verification so as to secure both the buyer and the seller in this transaction. Below are the relevant information's required before your account will be credited:    

All you have to do is to reply directly to this email with the MTCN   a nd the sender's name and address used when sending the money.  You will receive a "CONFIRMATION Email" from Pay Pal® Service informing you that your account has been credited with $1,600.00 USD   as soon as the above information's have been received and verified by us.   

 
 Note: As this transaction was done via our e-mail    payments service, all inquiries should be directed to us by replying to this e-mail (link removed ) as it is the one being monitored for your transaction which is because the status of this transaction has not been passed on to the phone service section of our customer care.  

   Please, understand that this is a    security measure  to help protect both the Buyer and the Seller. Therefore, we apologize for the inconvenience that we may have caused you.

 Thank you for using PayPal, 

PayPal Security.

[spud2]

Please tell me these cons can be caught!