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

[johndeb44679]

Thank you so much. I actually already clicked on "cancel" this morning.

I had never used paypal before but when I saw "Nigeria", my alarms started going off.

Thanks again. I really appreciate you taking the time and effort to respond.   John A

[takenhrtansol73]

I am so glad i read this!!! I got a woman wanting to by my 1phone mega pack i have on craigs list and they even bummped up the price to cover shipping and i was taken back when she gave me the address to "her son" that was in nigeria and she wanted it done NOW and i got emails saying the money was taken out of her pay pal account and put into mine and supposedly pending on mine and i cant find it anywhere. the email said once PAY PAL recived the tracking num i send them after mailing it out thru ups express i would get my money and that sounded odd.. 

[Sherhead]

I have been selling some furniture and large items on CraigsList. Some of the responses I get are from people who want my name, address and paypal address so they can send payment. First of all, I can't figure out why people would want to pay for something without first seeing it. Secondly, is this safe? What can happen to my account if I give out this information?

[7yearseller]

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@Sherhead wrote:

I have been selling some furniture and large items on CraigsList. Some of the responses I get are from people who want my name, address and paypal address so they can send payment. First of all, I can't figure out why people would want to pay for something without first seeing it. Secondly, is this safe? What can happen to my account if I give out this information?

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Anyone takes a chance when they sell from their home items that need to be picked up. If you are in doubt, then don't. You have heard of the Craig's List murderer, right? I would not be worried about your account but for your safety if you are alone.

You can get their name, address, email address an send them an invoice using Paypal. IF they pay, then they are probably legitimate. People buy from A-Z, including large furniture, all the time on the Internet websites and on eBay just from pictures and measurements. Buying sight unseen except for photos is the norm these days. But, you know less about the people buying on Craig's list or even through a local newspaper ad.  You do not ever know if a person is coming for the right reason, so I would definitely not give out your address or full name. If they want to pay wth Paypal, all they need is the email you have registered with Paypal. A genuine buyer should understand your not giving out the address until they have paid a substantial deposit.

Although mostly from my website and eBay, I also have sold furniture from my home to be picked up, but they do not have my address or first and last name until the day they will pick up. My pick up days are only when my husband or a man is here, and the furniture is outside. They do not come inside, not even into the garage. I require a non-refundable deposit only through Paypal, an amount they would not want to lose, and the balance in cash at the time of pick-up. This way they have an investment, you have a record of who they are (if they did not hack into another's Paypal account to pay the deposit), and you are allowed to take cash on pick-up items. However, pick-up at your home is not necessarily completely safe, so make sure you are in full view of the neighbors, the piece of furnitue being out in the driveway before they buyer arrives.

[Sherhead]

Thank you for your responses. They have been extremely helpful. I decided to give out my paypal address to see if people were truly interested in purchasing the item. After getting an e-mail from Paypal stating that the money was taken out of the buyers account, I checked my account. The money was not there. However, the buyer wanted me to give them their "buyers agent" fee (which of course they say they included in the purchase). They wanted me to Western Union it and send them confirmation. Then they would continue with the purchase. They even gave me the name and address of the person they're dealing with (the buyers agent). PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THIS. If the money is not in your account, do not give anyone any money! I did not fall for this, and when they asked me about the transaction, I told them the transaction has been cancelled.

In my eyes, why would anyone but you, the buyer, pay for your  fees? You should be paying your own fees! Also, shipping charges and any other charges should NOT be added to the cost of the item.  

[hunt4julie]

I have a motorcycle advertised on Craigslist and received the following scam reply.  Being suspicious of the arrangements, I cut and pasted part of the email into Google and came up with the link to Paypal's series of Oceanographer scams. Just wanted to include my encounter because it just happened:

Hi There,

    Thank you for getting back to me. Can you assure me that it's in good state and that i will not be disappointed with it.I'm ready to pay your asking price and to be honest, i wanted to buy this for my son, but the issue is i am an oceanographer and i do have a contract to go for which starts tomorrow and am leaving any moment from now.The contract is strictly no call due to the lack of reception on the sea area. But I'm able to access email anytime as we will make use of laptop so my only quickest payment option is PayPal as i can send money via PayPal anytime.Since I'm requesting this transaction to be done via PayPal, i will be responsible for all the paypal fee/charges on this transaction and if you don't have an account with paypal, its pretty easy, safe and secured to open one. Just log on to www.paypal.com. I hope we can make the purchase as fast as possible? I have a mover that will come for it once payment clears and they will take care of very necessary paper for me. So i look forward to hear from you soon. will like to see more pics.

 I need the address where the agent will meet you and your PayPal email address so i can send the money now.

[FayeGirl]

I also got one today, from a gmail account, the first email simply said:

do you still have this up for sale?

(with the item name in the subject line)

to which i replied:

Yes, it is still for sale

I then got this email:

Hello,
 
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, he 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 an hydrographer, I am at work right
now .I can only pay through pay pal at the moment as i do not have
access to my bank account online,but i have it attached to my pay pal
account, and this is why i insisted on using pay pal to pay,all i will
need is your pay pal email address to make the payments,and if you do
not have a pay pal account yet,its pretty easy to set one up at
www.paypal.com,i will be expecting your email and also get back to me
with you last price of the item and your paypal email id .I have a
pick up agent that will come for the pick up after payments has been sorted.

ARGG!!! i just want to sell this car, this is so frustrating. It's not even an item that can be shipped, so this guy is out of his fricken gourd, but i'm just so angry!

is there any reason to fear now? i will delete the emails and block the address, but he has my real email address now...

I want to email him back with a long string of swear words, and or a 'nice try, jackhole!'... but I won't.

[fire66]

This was my first time trying to sell something on craigs list.  I also was contacted by the oceanographer who was VERY eager to by my motorcycle.  He calls himself Michael <removed> and has a gmail account of the same name.

Here is is post.

Hi There,

   Thank you for getting back to me.Can you assure me that it's in
good state and that i will not be disappointed with it.I'm ready to
pay your asking price and to be honest, i wanted to buy this for my
son, but the issue is i am an oceanographer and i do have a contract
to go for which starts tomorrow and am leaving any moment from now.The
contract is strictly no call due to the lack of reception on the sea
area. But I'm able to access email anytime as we will make use of
laptop so my only quickest payment option is PayPal as i can send
money via PayPal anytime.Since I'm requesting this transaction to be
done via PayPal, i will be responsible for all the paypal fee/charges
on this transaction and if you don't have an account with paypal, its
pretty easy, safe and secured to open one. Just log on to
www.paypal.com. I hope we can make the purchase as fast as possible? I
have a mover that will come for it once payment clears and they will
take care of very necessary paper for me. So i look forward to hear
from you soon.

Many Thanks

What can I do about this? Should I be worried about the security of my personal info?

[jerry24pf]

Had the same scam today. Thought it suspicious and replied I would only accept bankers draft or transfer. Insistently this Sharon replied…

I am a woman of integrity.i am honest and dont cheat people out of

their money,awaiting your decision because i really need to pursue

this vehicle sincerely,You can get back to me with your on-line bank details so that i can make the transfer to your bank account.

Be aware, be very aware!

[Taxman3]

This is my first attempt to sell thru PayPal.  I have a buyer who claims to have funds in holding for shipping the item. Wants me to send by Western Union the cost of shipping plus fee. Total of $ 1,250.00 USD. Then  send payment confirmation to Pay Pal and $ will be released to my account. Very skeptical of this. Especially when he says my help is "highly needed" and he is a "man of God" but the e-mail is a female name!! Any helpful experience help?