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

[imclueless]

Hate to hear you lost out. I read on here where people joke and call us idiots for falling for it but it's not funny at all. Especially when you are new to paypal and are really clueless as to how it works. These scammers are aggressive and make you feel like they know how to use paypal and it and kinda make you feel secure with the transaction. Their stories seem sincere and maybe we are stupid in a sense but we don't need laughed at. I even tried calling someone from paypal first and told them about this scam- this person assured me I would be protected under the buyers protection! HA! Good thing she sent me an email to read about it first! After reading it, I realized I would not be covered and that's when I found this forum and posted a help question and someone sent me to the scam links.......that's what saved my butt. My husband was falling for it mainly because he had been in the military and understood that there are times you cannot make phone calls so he was relating to the scammer for not being able to call or pick up the item himself... I was the skeptical one. Good thing!  Again, I'm sorry. These scammers are rotten! Dirty tricks they are pulling and it's too bad it can't be stopped.

[Melit]

Hi everybory,

It's too late for me to find out that I was scammed! I posted a Samsung Galaxy Note 3 32 GB in Craigslist. Somebody texted me that  she's interested to buy it. Nogotiated the price, and asked me for my pay pal email. then  she said she's going to pay me through pa pal. I got a messaage from pay pal that  Jill XXXX sent me $470.00 and said it will be credited in 48 hours after I send the phone and after pay pal will receive the tracking number from me. Jill  let me sent the phone to her cousin, Ola... in Nigeria. Wanted it USPS Express mail., so it will arrive on her cousin's graduation. I paid $59.00 for that, sent tracking number to pay pal and also to her.

48 hours had passed, I received a messaage from pay pal that they can't credit my money to my account because the buyer overpaid me, that she sent $770.00 and I need to rrefund $300.00 to Ola xxx in Nigeria through Western Union. I started to doubt. I checked my pay pal account, there's nothing pending there. That's where I noticed that they use a fake Pay pal link

Jill keep on messaging me that I need to do that so that pay pal will credit my money to my account after they receive the MTCN / western Union from me. I said, I am not doing it! Please return my phone. I said, you got my phone but you will not get my money!

I said, how long have you been doing this to people like me? Until now I didn't hear anything from her or him anymore.

Please, anyone out there can help me...

[kmaraghy]

I think we were dealing with the same people. I almost sold a camera to a "US Serviceman" in Nigeria who wanted it as a gift for his fiancee by a certain date. Asked for the same 3-5 day shipping and tracking number information. The email confirm I got from "payPal" looked legit and above board. Called to inquire after a detail in the fine print that I didn't understand and I had a WONDERFUL customer service rep who quickly said it wasn't a PayPal policy at all. Wonder if it was the same group

[croninfilm]

I am having the same issue myself. Woman from London wants me to sell her my camera and have it shipped to Nigeria. Yeah, right lady. I don't deal internationally anyways.

[FLGal]

I am reading all the posts on scamming, and I believe I am being scammed right now. I am selling a leather sectional on Craigs List and got 12 texts immediately saying yes, they want to buy it right away. Good with price, and wanting to make pick up arrangements. They asked for my paypal account name and asked me to ask for a payment from them. It is pending on my PayPal account, but now they want more information like my address for arranging shipping. They say they are military, and can't call me, just email and testing. The phone number is area code 321. Has anyone done business with this area code, and it is Nigeria?

One caller has been extrememly persistant, while all the others faded away when I send cash deal only and face to face transactions for furniture pickup. This one person named Kim Scott, has persisted, but will not answer any of my questions. Keeps pushing for pick up arrangements. I have not been asked for any money....yet for shipping. What does everyone think?? SCAM???? I have told them there will be no transction until they call me on my cell and answer MY questions.

[Chepr]

It is a scam! They guy who tried to scam me said that he was a person who works with a maritime company and does not have access to telephone etc.

[Seymour-]

Certainly sounds like a scam to me. An easy way to get confirmation from PayPal is to forward the email to: spoof@paypal.com with the bodytext "Scam?"

They should write you back quickly.

+321 is Brevard County, Florida, USA .

+32 is Belgium's country code.

The oriiginator would depend on how many more numbers were in the list.

[Skiddish]

I don't need to write much, I to just had someone trying to scam me out of my samsung note 3. Her name is Amanda

[StormieP]

Would you be interested in talking to an attorney? If so, do you still have her number and email?

[Klee109]

Yes I would