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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Shouse_23
Member
Member

I am selling my Canon Camera so I put it up on Craigslist, (my husband has sold many things on there before). I had a buyer contact me. He asked if I accepted Paypal. I personally don't have a Paypal account, I use Square, but my husband does. I sent the buyer my Paypal email. I then received the first email pictured below, stating that the money had been pulled from the buyers account and for safety measures Paypal would not transfer the money into my account until I sent them back a postal tracking number. Makes sense I thought, fair for both sides. So I continued communication with the buyer. He wanted me to overnight the package to his cousins house because he needed it for a shoot this weekend and wasn't going to be home and didn't want the package left on his porch because it was unsafe. Again, this made sense, so I went to Fedex and processed the package.

 I then went to my car and pulled up the email from Paypal and clicked on the "CLICK HERE to submit tracking number" link. I entered the tracking information but just as I was hitting send noticed the the return email address was now a Gmail account, not PAYPAL, although it says service@paypal right above it, and alias set up through Gmail / Google.  I became very suspicious and called the number in which the buyer was texting me from. There was no answer, just a Google Voice connector. So I text the buyer and asked him to call me. About 3 min later he called. He spoke broken English and the phone sounded really strange as if being run through another program. I told him about the Gmail account the email was sent to and asked a few more questions. He reassured me by saying, "Everything should be ok, if it's correct Paypal should be sending you a confirmation soon, I just received notification that the package was shipped and given the tracking number". I then remembered that the email said the tracking number would not be given to the buyer until the money was transferred into my account, so I knew this was false as well.

He was very adamant about being sure the package had been shipped (rushing me and offering extra money for overnight shipping so that I would not take the time to figure out that I was being scammed) I immediately went back into FedEx and canceled the shipping and got my package back.  I had been checking my husbands Paypal account intermittently for some kind of sign that the money was connected to Paypal and my account. But saw nothing. In the process of of getting my package back I received another email supposedly from Paypal, confirming the money was in process to transfer to my account and would take 24-48 hours with a Paypal ID and transaction number.  I entered the transaction into my Paypal and nothing showed up.

Within seconds of receiving the Paypal confirmation email, the buyer text me and asked if I had heard anything from Paypal yet, of course he knew I had because he was really the one sending the false emails. So, I told him that I had not heard anything. He began to troubleshoot trying to get me to check junk mail, spam, etc. persistently asking If I was sure I had not received an email. We disconnected with him thinking I was sending the package and just waiting on the confirmation.

Although I was furious at how easy it was for him to scam me. I was more disappointed that we live in a society of so many liars and thief's. I decided to cut off communication and notify Paypal and others of the scam. The buyer then called me again, trying to confirm whether I had received the confirmation email from Paypal. I calmly told him that he would not be receiving the camera because I knew I would not be receiving the money. I also let him know what a low life he was and what a shame it was that he made his living by stealing from others.

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Seymour-
Frequent Contributor
Frequent Contributor

But, you never got scammed. Congratulations! Smiley Very Happy

 

Sure the world is full of low-lifes & scumbags. BUT, it's also full of straight-shooters & good people too.

'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'
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minty1
Advisor
Advisor

Hi Shouse_23

 

Genuine ppal emails:

 

Always address u as Dear full name

Never ask u to click on links/downloads/attachments

Never ask for personal info

Never ask u to click on links from private emails

 

Always log in  via official site never from your private emails

Since u have clicked on the link change your password and security questions immediately

 

Always post to the address ppal give u not anywhere else to have sellers protection in the future

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SpoiledBrat2U
Member
Member

I'm here trying to sell my car on Craiglist as I reside in California. This person from this phone number:  402-500-2789 (in Norfolk, Nebraska) asked if I was the first owner of the car (that's typical-I get that), then this person sent another text saying this:  "Do you have a PayPal account? I have a pickup agent coming for the pickup and the test drive as soon as the payment clears your paypal account. You could get back to me with your paypal email address so has to go ahead with the payment."

 

I feel this is a scam. It's a little weird that he/she would asked me for my PayPal email address, right?

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Seymour-
Frequent Contributor
Frequent Contributor

It's probably a scam.

 

The next step (on his part) if you carry on will be to inform you how much the agent's fees will be and forward you a false (though probably convincing looking) PayPal invoice.

 

Logging into your account via www.paypal.com will show you there has been no such deposit thereby revealing the scam.

'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'
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AFS811
New Community Member

Hi all -

So just today, I had absolute proof that someone out there is looking out for me. I was about to ship $100 headphones out to someone in Nigeria looking to pay $210 plus shipping and handling, but fortunately the post office had just closed. When I went home to apologize to the buyer, I realized I am an absolute moron, and of course this was a scam. My very first tip: When you receive an email from paypal asking you to email a tracking number to them in order to get your money, it's already a fishy email. Then, when the email it asks you to reply to isn't even a paypal email address, it's not real. I could go on, but instead I'll just paste in what the email looks like (minus the full names and addresses).

 

Note to seller
You haven't included a note.
The item must be ship out as soon as possible.
Shipping address - confirmed
David ***
***
Itire Surulere
Lagos State

23401
Nigeria.

Shipping details
You haven’t added any dispatch details.

 
Description   Unit price Qty Amount Beats by Dr. Dre - Diddy Beats
Item Number #191758927025‏
 
     $130.00 AUD 1 $130.00
AUD
Shipping and handling $80.00 AUD Insurance - optional ___ Total $210.00 AUD Payment $210.00 AUD      
Thanks again for using PayPal for your online auction! If you have any questions about your transaction, please email us at  ...


Issues with this transaction?
You have 45 days from the date of the transaction to open a dispute in the Resolution Center.

Below are the necessary information requested before your account will be credited.

Send tracking number to us or email us through this mail: ...and our customer service care will attend to you. As soon as you send us the shipment's tracking number to us for security purposes and the safety of the buyer and the seller,the money will be credited to your account. 

 
                                                     * *PLEASE NOTE**
Once item has been shipped out and you send the tracking number to us, 
You will receive a "CONFIRMATION EMAIL"  from PayPal® Team that your Fund has been credited. 

Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team
 
And most importantly, if the email isn't even addressed to your full name, as all other paypal emails are, it needs to be looked at further. Silly mistake, I know, but just be aware of who's out there.
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Rubette
Contributor
Contributor

I always thought that you were supposed to RECEIVE the funds first BEFORE you ship the items out, not the other way around. I used to work for a small company who did a lot of business via ebay, and we always required our customers to pay first before we shipped out the products. And when we purchased items from ebay, we paid first before the seller shipped. I also buy often online and every company I used always charges my account before shipping my items.

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BellasBoy
New Community Member

Hi, how are you doing,thank you for the mail, i am okay with the condition Likewise your asking price is quite reasonable and affordable considering others I've seen lately, I'll have it for the listed price. I'm interested and consider it sold as am buying it for my first son as a surprise christmas gift which i don't want him to know about it is until it's picked up, so can you assure me i will not be disappointed? I work with the military air-force and presently in camp serving the nation which is strictly no calls. My Mode of payment is PayPal because i don't have access to my bank account online, but i have it attached to my PayPal account. Since I'm requesting this transaction to be done via PayPal, I will be responsible for all the PayPal fees/charges on this transaction, if you don't have an account with PayPal, it's pretty easy, safe and secure to open one. Just log on to www.paypal.com. I hope we can make this transaction as fast as possible. Less I forgot, I have a Mover that will come for pickup once payment is cleared in your PayPal account and they will be handling the title for me, as i look forward to hearing from you with your PayPal information as requested below.

 

Your PayPal e-Mail Address :

Full name:

Firm Price:

Address for Pick Up:

Phone Number:

 

Awaiting your response asap..

 

Regards.

 

Thanks for the response back and would want you to know am serious about the purchase and am satisfy with your asking price, i would want you to understand you are safe and secure with PayPal they protect both buyer and seller from any fraudulent act so be rest assure we are much safe with PayPal for online payment. Kindly get back to me with your PayPal details for me to effect the payment into your account and have a deal sealed up on here. Below is the details needed for me to send the payment to your account:Your PayPal e-Mail Address :Full name:Firm Price:Address for Pick Up:Phone Number: And what i meant by Hauler means a particular person who will be coming over for pickup once payment must have been made and completed .

 

Thanks and hope to read back from you

 

 Regards ...

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Seymour-
Frequent Contributor
Frequent Contributor

I can safely say this is a scam. (same sh*t, different day). I've seen about 20 variations of this scam's "script".

 

Clues:

1. no calls (c'mon, in this day & age. pul-leese. lol) The include this because they don't want you calling them where their scam is more easily revealed.

2. Don't have access to your bank acct online? you do, if you can access PayPal.

3. Advance Fee scam? (mover coming after FAKED payment is emailed to you.)

 

100% SCAM! (don't even respond)

'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.'
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ChristianM1
New Community Member
The email is fake he it says its a PayPal email says to email the label conformation number and it says after I send the item the payment is going to be in my account
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