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

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Bogie
Member
Member

I likewise an selling a motorcycle (scooter) on Craigslist. I received the very same email word for word. She even went so far as to say that her agent wouldn't be able to do a pickup unless she paid his commission fee first and that his commission fee would only accept a western union money transfer but she would add the additional $1,000.00 to my PayPal account along with the additional $100.00 for Western Union Charges. The story keeps going on and on. Definitely a SCAM!

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JoshuaBrandon
Member
Member
Thanks for the mail,i am buying this for my son as his birthday gift because i would not be around to celebrate with him i am a petroleum engineer currently on a rig offshore and due to the nature of my work,phone calls making and visiting of website are restricted but i squeezed out time to check this advert and send you an email regarding it. I really want this item to be a surprise gift for my son so i wont let him know anything about the item until it gets delivered to him,i am sure he will be more than happy with the item.I insisted on paypal because i don't have access to my bank account online as i don't have internet banking, but i can pay from my PayPal account,as i have my bank a/c attached to it, i will need you to give me your PayPal email address so i can make the payment as soon as possible for the item and pls if you don't have PayPal account yet,it is very easy to set up, go on www.paypal.com and get it set up ,after you have set it up i will only need the e-mail address you use for registration with PayPal so as to put the money through.I have a pick up agent that will come for the pick up immediately you have receive the payment in full.
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anathallo
New Community Member

I got a similar letter:

 

Thanks for getting back to me as soon as you can i am buying this for
my cousin,And i wont be able to pick it up due to my working hours i
would like it shipped to my cousin i would offer you $190 including
shipping and stress i would be paying you through paypal to make this
faster get back to me with your paypal email address asap so we can do
this i need it shipped today get back to me asap.Thanks.
I await your quick response.

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cqui
Contributor
Contributor

If it wasn't for the potential victims out there this would be funny! I told one of these who was going "out to sea" I hope they drown ut there. Next time I'm going to give them my address on the moon!

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susanwad
Contributor
Contributor

Would appreciate input. new seller on Craigs List.

Listed an item for over $2,000. Immediate buyer..I was suspicious

from the get go..Felt the buyer was out of country.

Proceeded with sale not sharing any personal information.

Buyer wants to pay me $800 extra. I should send $700 to

his 'agent' in London thru Western Union.

I told him I am the seller, not my responsibility.

He said Paypal advised him OK. Paypal told me..
Not true.

He has actually put the money in Pay pal, I have

not responded. This feels illegal to me.

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cqui
Contributor
Contributor

Never do business with anyone you don't meet face to face and get cash in hand. There are warnings in Craigs list not to do business with a third party, Paypal  has no idea the item was delivered so the money can easily go back to the sendern no matter what the seller says. The "buyer" will file a greevance so let him do that. Keep your $2000 item and sell to someone locally only!

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susanwad
Contributor
Contributor

Since I have not clicked on paypal to receive the money how do I return the money to him?

Can he just get it back or do I have to initiate it.

Thx so much, you confirmed my thoughts.

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cqui
Contributor
Contributor

Whether or not this scammer got this item they were going to file a dispute. Let them. You don't have to do anything except leave the money there, no matter what. In the meantime scour the terms and conditions of paypal. You'll be fine. Just don't give your paypal information to anyone you don't know, EVER!

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Linstwins55
Contributor
Contributor

 

ANY time Western Union is mentioned, delete or, just for kicks, play along for a little while, just to get THEM excited like they did you when you thought you were getting more money than what you asked for on an item sight unseen! (another red flag)

Do NOT give your pay pal address.  This is how they hack in to your account..  There will be no money sent, but he will have access to your pp acct and if it is hooked up to your bank account, he can take money even if you don't have any!

Then you have the overdrawn fees to deal with at the bank.  This happened to me.  Sell locally, delete the rest...but not before replyng with expletives-makes you feel better.

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