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

[angelislas]

This is a young black lady her photo was with her gmail she sent to me looks like a nice enough person, but I think this is a scam. How can you make sure when you have a 25,000 car for sale that this is not a SCAM!!!! HELP

kathy
Aug 22

to me

Thanks for your response, I am quite okay with your price,I need you
to understand that i am willing and ready to purchase it right
away,put it off the AD site,consider me as your favorite buyer,and
Please note that i have a shipper/mover who handles my shipping
arrangement anywhere in the world,she would be coming for the
pickup,after you have received payment,which would be through
PayPal,If this is acceptable,advice soon as i am a Sailor and i am
buying this for my son as a surprise gift,So kindly get back to me
with the present condition of it and also some pictures of it,I can
only pay through PayPal at the moment as i do not 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
pay pal email address to make the payments and some pictures if you do
not 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 payments has been sorted.

[Merrygirl]

Dear Kathy,

I got a very similar email and put the text into the google search and got tons of scam warnings.

Sorry and good luck trying to find a real buyer.

[lawjnc]

I thought I would relate what ocurred after responding to one of these scammers.  I made the mistake of answering their e-mail sent via Craig's List which then gave them my personal e-mail address.  They wanted me to go through PayPal, offering me $100 more than the asking price of my motorcycle.  I responded telling them:  "This is strictly a cash transaction.  No cash, no sale."  I did NOT tell them I was going to report them, but of course I reported them.  I sent this guy's e-mail address & information to Craig's List fraud department.  Next thing I knew I was bombarded by e-mails from some porn dating site referencing my ad title on CL.

Just more fun & games from criminals.

[firedog66]

Was this guy from Great Britan?  Cause I had a guy offer me $100 over asking price for my car, and wanting to pay by paypal.  He wants to send a shipping company to pick up the car after the payment clears.  It makes me very wary based on the info here.

[lawjnc]

I assume your question about England was for me.  Not given location information.  The $100 over the asking price is pretty typical for this type of scam.  This guy wrote that he was too busy to call or deal with the purchase himself and that an agent (another scam clue) would pick it up.  At least the porn e-mails stopped after 4 days.

[Waterdoctor]

I also had an email from someone when selling my car on craigs list. They offered to buy the car through PayPal. They would send their shipping company to pick it up and complete the paper transaction at that time. I've held off because the PayPal site said if they ship they can make a claim that the item never arrived at the destination and make a claim against the seller. Is this so or is this for real?

[bmartin3]

Just had a scam happen to me. Posted my daughter's clarinet for sale on Craigslist. Got a text very soon after posting from a guy in Las Vegas (Im in Oregon) saying that he'd pay what I asked (what? no dickering over price??) and he'd be sending the money paypal. Told him he couldnt get the clarinet until I was able to get the money actually into a bank account. He said no problem, he'd "make arrangements" for it to be picked up. Then told him no deal, cash & pickup only. Havent heard back from him since.

[MossMan]

I've been trying to sell a travel trailer since December 2011.  All responses to my ad from Craigslist have been a scam.  All respondents have obviously poor and frequently foreign writing skills, and say they're on ships at sea, or some undisclosed remote place with limited phone and internet communication.  They want me to send PayPal account info, and they will deposit the money to my account, and furthermore, they have no other means to pay.  Then, and by the way, they indicate thier "shipper" does not accept PayPal, so would I please pay their shipper for them, for which they will reimburse the amount.  I'm sure the "shipper" is their cousin or accomplice to fraud, who after receiving my payment, I would never hear another word.  This has been the only type of reply I've recevied from my ad on Craigslist.  I wrote to them to inform them, but they don't seem to care enough to inquire further.

MossMan

[wiliskiju]

Get me your paypal account and i will wire the funds there...!!!!!!

these is the message i had from the claimed Karen ******  with the below email:

Please beware

[tonnie04]

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From:

                                Dear Advertiser                   
                        Somebody's interested in your vehicle!                   
                        Your ad:                                                           2006 Skoda - Fabia, Skoda, Fabia, Silver, 2006, 4 doors, Aut...                                                                17/08/2012 21:04:00                           £1,600                                                   Customer's details:                   

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PayPalCustomer Support Message    

We are sorry for any inconvenient, we have problems with  our Bank Account provided, because we made some security updates. In order to  solve this problem, we will be able to receive your Payment in this new Bank  Account.Your safety comes first!

How to make the  payment:

1. Go to your local Bank Unit.

2. Transfer the payment (£ 1,600 ). Fill in the Wire Transfer form and make the payment using the PayPal  Account Agent's name and Bank Transfer Information.

3. E-mail us the following  details from the payment receipt: - Transaction  Number - Sender Name and Address - Receiver Name and Address - Amount

4. Fax a copy of the receipt  to : <removed>.

PayPal Agent Bank  Account Details:

PayPal Agent Name: <removed> Address:  Wembley, United  Kingdom Bank Name:  Bank Address: 2/4 London, United Kingdom Account Number : <removed> IBAN : <removed> SWIFTBIC: >re,poved> Sort Code: <removed>

  Need additional help? Contact  a PayPal representative!

  Contact PayPal representative!

If you have any questions, chat with one of our  operators:

Live chat by PayPal

PayPalCustomer Support Message    

We confirmed your payment.  The vehicle will be delivered at your shipping address on 18 September, 2012 at  6:00 PM. You must sign all the documents provided, so you can inspect the  vehicle.

PayPalCustomer Support Message    

We received your fax receipt.  Allow us maximum 48 hours to confirm your payment and we will instruct the  Seller to start the shipping to your  location.