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

[Linstwins55]

They always want to send their own shipper, whatever that means. It never seems to be the person emailing that is going to pick it up. Not sure why. No one is going to show up any way, once you give them your pay pal account info. And what does a guy in the military need a washer/dryer on Craigs list for? And how come the person who is in a wheel chair wants to buy your Total Gym? For an extra $100? Not rocket science. 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. If the money is already in your pay pal account, I would close it and re open another one with a new email address. Maybe you can keep their money and donate it to charity.

[mbhc32]

There's nothing to worry about if you give them your email address.  They cannot break into paypal.  The senders are good but their not that good.  I've played with some idiots who I strung along through this scam to see what they actually do.  Here's what will happen....once they know you've committed to sending the item, an official email will be sent to you from paypal letting you know that money has been deposited in your account.  The information will tell you to send the mail tracking number immediately to the sender.  Unless you actually check your paypal account, you'll never know that no money was ever transferred to your account and the email is a fraud.  They are expecting you to think you've been paid and to send them the tracking number....once that is done, the merchandise you theirs.

Be smart, check your paypal account first and never ship anything until the money is in your hand. 

[Linstwins55]

Actually they can get in to your account with just your email.  It happened to me and they donated all my money and even money I didn't have, to charity.  But that is not how this works.  They actually DO put money in your account.  But they want a shipper to pick it up, rather than have a tracking number.  The tracking number is the only way Pay pal will honor buyer protection.  If it is picked up, the scammers then file a complaint with pay pal saying they never received the items.  Since there is no record, pay pal forces seller to refund the money AND they get to keep the item.  That is why you never let anyone pick it up.  Get a valid verified address.

[concernseller]

are you sure they are unable to hack into your account if you give them your email address?  Should this be something I have to be concern about. 

[Ten8Zeb]

Here is what I recieved after posting a laptop on Craigslist.

"Okay i have no problem with your asking price  i really want it... but
if u can assure me the item is in good condition i will proceed with
the deal and i will be paying through my paypal account because due to
nature of my job i will not be able to get to my bank, sorry for the
inconvenience, I want your honesty in return to my faithfulness on
this transaction.Your immediate response will surely be appreciated
need your reply soon, I use Paypal for payment as it is a safe way to
exchange funds Once you receive the payment you can ship it out  i
will add extra $100 for the shipping and handling."

I also received a text message from someone else that was similar to the whole gift for a person abroad.

After reading the forums I am confident that these are scams.

Thanks everyone for saving me from being ripped off!

[dodgerchamps]

I'm so glad I read this before doing business with these bozos! almost the same verbage but now its Judah and he's back on the pacific ocean buying a power wheelchair as a birthday gift for his son. here is what he sent:

"Hey there, having gone through the ad a few times more and after
looking around, I'm satisfied with the price and ready to buy it now
for my Son. I'm working in a ship (on Pacific Ocean) as geologist. Due
to the nature of my work, phone calls making and visiting of website
are limited but had to create a chance out to check this advert and
send you a message regarding it. I would appreciate this being a
surprise package for my son birthday. i wont let him know anything
about the this until it gets delivered to him, i am sure he'll
appreciate that.
I currently don't have access to my bank account online as i'm not
subscribed to internet banking. A payment through paypal would be best
to make things secure, faster and risk-free. i already have my bank
a/c attached to paypal account, I'm aware that paypal charges a 2.9%
fee on transfers though but won't be a problem, I will include this in
the payment for you to receive full amount. If you don't have a paypal
account yet, it is very easy to set up, go to www.paypal.com and get
it registered, I only need the paypal email address and the account
name to remit the funds.
I will get in touch with an Agent whom will come for pickup after
you have confirmed the receipt of payment in your account. I shall
hope to read from you soon"
Kindest Regards.
- Judah -

Ya i don't understand the scam as well but appently this guy has nothing better to do.

[TBZ]

Here's what I received:

Thanks for the prompt response..I fully understand the condition of what i am buying. I'm ready to buy it now for my personal use but am not local 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.Note that you will not be responsible for shipping and handling. My  shipping company will come to your location for the pick up.  Kindly provide me your name and full address so i can forward it to the shipping company to calculate the cost of pick up for me. And concerning the payment, i will prefer 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 because i have my bank account attached to it. I will also need you to give me your PayPal email address so i can make the payments immediately and if you don't have an account with PayPal yet, it is very easy to set up, go to http://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 deposit the fund. So get back to me with the following details:

Your Full Name:
The Pick Up Address including Zip Code:
Your PayPal email address for the payment.

Thanks and in anticipation of your response.

Best Regards.

[cqui]

These people are banking on our being ignorant of paypal's terms and conditions, or signing up quickly because they did what every crook already knows. Greed and fear rank at the top of the list for persuading  us to do something we wouldn't normally do.

Also, just as a side note about all of this, paypal and my bank are two of the few sites that won't let me automatically sign in by placing a cookie on my computer. So I treat my paypal information just about the same way I treat my bank information.

Then there is the story about the address. What I was selling is locked behind a security gate that is monitored by people. When I told this to the scam artist he wasn't equipped to handle that situation. He said his shipper would take care of all that. What shipper?! How exactly do we hook up when your "shipper" would only have an address of where its at? I'm getting tired of having to think like a crook to stop crooked activity! I bombard these people with the same insulting sentence in about 15 replys in the hopes I help their server to cave in and go down in a blaze of glory.

[MRII_noturbo]

I to have also encountered this f'n scam. i was soo happy to, have thought, that my item was sold after i put it on craigslist, but to no avail. neway i'm going to report it to craigslist like others have done also. i've also noticed all these post are from mid april til now. . are we now in the "Scamming time of year" now lol

[myharley]

We too have a car for sale on craigslist.  Had a buyer within 2 days!  This time it's Sandra Bradley, Marine Chef at sea.  Here's a few of the emails.  She/he actually wanted us to wire $1250 to a canada address for shipping charges and we would get that paid back to us via paypal.  Seemed too suspicious. The last email she signed the wrong name!  Here are a few of the emails:

Hi there,

Thanks for the prompt response, The price is okay by me.

I am buying it for as surprise birthday gift for my son because i wont be able to participate on his birthday because i am at sea at the moment as i am a marine chef 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, So i will be paying you via Western Union because i don't have access to my bank account on-line, but i can instruct my sectary to go and send the money via Western Union, So, i will need you to give me your receiver's name so i can instruct my sectary to make the payments asap, I have a pick up agent that will come and pick it up after the payments.

Cheers Sandra.

Hi,

I will be responsible for everything charges from PayPal over this transaction because i have already inform them.. I have already explain to you that i can activate my bank account online but it has been attached with my PayPal account, So.. it will be more easy for me to pay you through my PayPal account..

I want you to know that i am a serious buyer and i only do business base on  trust and understanding. I will be so glad if you can be real with me.

Thanks

Sandra.

Hi-

I was just about to transfer the payment when i had this little problem with the pick up of the item. The logistics agent i was able to negotiate the pick up of the item with said i will have to pay commission fee in advance, directly to their corporate international head office in Canada. where all payment deposit are made to, for any logistics services across the globe and the only form of payment they accept is via western union money transfer. They charged me and we agreed at $1,250 for pick up and delivery to door step, (fist class treatment). I will have to add the commission fee of $1,250 to the total money i am transfer into your PayPal account and i will need you to help me reimburse the shipping fee and send it over to them in their corporate international: head office in Canada. Through western union money transfer, so that i can be rest assured my appointment for the pick up is arranged and secured. The western union transfer can be made from any post office or online as well at <www.westernunion.com>..i would have done it myself, but i will need a credit card which i did not bring aboard, i am a little incapacitated..I will be making the payment shortly and will want you to get back to me before i get the money transferred. OK! Make sure you remove the ad from market immediately so it does not further generate interest..?

Note: My shipping agent will have to show up with a purchase form/payment receipt copy from me as proof, so, Kindly send me your address so that the agent can ring  you and figure your address out while coming for the pick up at your appropriate time/day of the week.

Cheers Debby.