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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cqui
Contributor
Contributor

Looks like thier English has gotten a little better. I am convinced this scheme works for them. Craigs list has a warning page that simply lists "shipping" in  a list types of scams. I'm supprised craigslist doesn't care! They don't have a forum.

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Acadiana
Contributor
Contributor

Definately scams.  Craigslist is meant for local dealings, like a big garage sell where you personally pay for the item to the seller.  PayPal is meant for buying items needing shipped over a distance and has policies in effect to maxmize the protection for seller and buyer if followed by both parties.  So if someone is trying to get you do the opposite then they are full of it.  As a seller, try to remember which site your using and the reason you chose to use the site in the first place.  Craigslist = local, ebay = shipping/delivery.  

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cqui
Contributor
Contributor

So true indeed. Unfortunately people new to the  online market place don't know this. People make mistakes. It is the shame people feel that keeps them from saying anything about their experience. They don't realise a million other people have made the same mistake before. The people who pull this stuff pray on new commers and shame in that order to cover their tracks.

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dbrown
Contributor
Contributor

I received the same email and opened a Paypal account yesterday and sent the invoice to a Henderson Boyd. Luckily I woke up this morning with the nagging feeling that something was just not right. I kept telling the person on emails yesterday that the shipper would need the dimensions and weight before being able to give him a cost for shipping and he kept saying he would handle that. This morning I got online with Craigslist and Paypal and saw this community and confirmed my suspicions that it was truly a scam.

At this point I don't know what to do though other than not to transfer the funds. I have emailed the guy and told him I; was aware of the scam and not to bother contacting me again. Is there anything else I should be doing? Should I contact my bank or credit card company" I didn't give him any info but he does have my ID #. Should I cancel my Paypal acct.?

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cqui
Contributor
Contributor

If I openned a paypal account just because of that one transaction I would definately close it. If you don't you will have to keep an eye on it so you know whether money was deposited or not. If the money gets deposited you would not have to do anything more than wait for the dispute to be filed and the money returned to the scam artist. These kinds of transactions work for these people because people never figure out it's a scam untill they are without the item and without the money. Amaizing.

Good luck to you!

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dbrown
Contributor
Contributor

Luckily I found out about the scam before accepting any money or following the instructions about sending any money to the Western Union office and sending money to the supposed shipper. I also sent an email to customer service at PayPal saying that I had no intention of following through with the instructions they had sent me with completing the transaction.  I explained the scam and mentioned that they should be aware of this type of scam since it had been happening for over a month and was being discussed daily on this communityl board.

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cqui
Contributor
Contributor

Unfortunately paypal nor craigs list can be a "watch dog" looking for scam artists. Neither one of them can afford to and to keep up with the latest scams would be impossible for anyone. The only thing either one of them can do is warn us of the various known techniques scam artists use. On the other hand, places like ebay require buyers to submit bank account information about them just to utilize the sight.

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Linstwins55
Contributor
Contributor

Our Craigs list warns you of potential scams at the top of the page before you post anything, with links to each topic.

And our forum is hilarious!  I thought all Craig's Lists were the same.

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tlandy444
Member
Member

God, Im so glad I looked in the community room!  This same exact thing just happened to me yesterday, twice!  The first one was almost verbatim with all of your previous comments except they never said what they did for a living, just that the 'nature' of their work limited them.  Honestly, a red flag went up immediately and I even asked them flat out, is this for real?  I played along for a bit just to see what was up and the last straw was when they wanted money.  My last comment to them was " you are incredibly insane to think im going to wire/send and funds anywhere with these crazy a#@ instructions BEFORE you pay for your purchase with the funds in good standing in my bank account.  You smell, which clearly means your rotten.  I've reported you to the proper authorities and now I kindly wish you to take a long walk off a short sand pier in whatever 3rd world dessert $%#&hole you're contacting me from.  USA! USA! USA!"!!!  Havent heard from them since but I did receive an email from paypay that they received their payment but wont deposit in my account until I pay the shipping costs and then repeated all of the convoluted western union instructions, etc.... ! I do believe that it was a valid paypal email, so paypal, with their sellers policies, are only serving to helping these freaks continue to wreak havok.  Freaked me out and cancelled my PP account immediately!  The second scenario was this lady hearing impaired this time and couldnt call me or come see the item, but would gladly pay full price sight unseen.  So, having just gone thru this not but an hour before, I wasnt very nice.  So just a heads up, they are claiming to be disabled too so as to pull on our heartstrings. 

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences everyone, I be they've saved a soul or twenty!!!

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cqui
Contributor
Contributor

Unfortunately this must work enough to make the scam go on. This is why many my age won't go near the internet. They've heard so much about crime via email, viruses and scams they won't trust their insticts enough to make it worth it to them. Did you know many won't do online banking because asking for access to their account information puts it on the the internet, not just asking for access? I have to explain the difference to them.

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