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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tlandy444
Member
Member

in regards to my previous post, sorry....3rd world desert, not dessert!   Doh!

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myharley
Contributor
Contributor

I'm pretty confident that the email I received from paypal was a fake.  All of my other emails from paypal refer to me by my full name, not my email address.  And this one was addressing me with my email address.  There was even an error in the dollar amount!  Rotten people.

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cqui
Contributor
Contributor

I am sure the email "from paypal" is a fake. Our banks, credit cards, ebay and anything else we use to control our cash flow continuously remind us to always go into their website ourselves using the address bar. I have had a few of these come to me as well. Finding out the email was wrong according to my account online I contacted the company. They confirmed my suspicions. Thank goodness they cared enough to help me learn about on line security.

Never fill out the stupid form included in the email. Paypal will never ask you to give any personal information in the email they send you and any links sent  via an email are not legitimate sites. Stay safe. Good job of researching!

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dconiglio
New Community Member

I just had the same thing happen to me.  I advertised something for sale on Craigslist and the lunatic said he was buying for a relative and could not come and see it but he would pay via PayPal.  It was completely incoherent -  not sure where t "Boyd" grew up, but it was definitely not in a country where people are typically named "Boyd".  No one buys a $1,000 bed as a gift for a relative.  I didn't respond and just deleted the email.  This is the second time this has happened from a transaction on Craigslist.  Hope everyone is aware because these scams seem to be going on more and more these days.

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StingTheScammer
Contributor
Contributor

Could this actually be legit? Any safe way to find out? My spidey sense is tingling a bit.

 

Guy wants to buy something I listed on the notorious Craigslist. It's only $120. He (supposedly) lives in South Carolina and wants it sent there. (I'm in Ohio.) He sent me his name and address. I can fit the item in a padded envelope and postage wouldn't even cost $5.00 so there's no "shipping" B.S. or prob as far as I can see.

 

Initially I told him I'd only accept cash or PayPal. Then I read about the Craigslist/PayPal scams. I emailed the guy and said I'd only take cash cuz I found out using PayPal wouldn't guarantee everything was legit. This was his response:

 

"All I can tell you is I've bought,and sold items with PayPal;never had a problem.Like I said,I'll buy it.If it makes you feel better,hold item for a week until you're satisfied that everything is legitimate.Up to you."

 

What bothers me:

 

-- He lives out of state. (But at least he's not out at sea! lol)

-- He's twice referred to what I'm selling as "item" instead of calling it what it is. Kinda sounds like he doesn't even know what he's buying.

-- His emails have hints of broken English -- but he could just be saving typing time.

-- He's willing to use PayPal and I don't know how I can prevent getting **bleep**ed by doing that! If he actually sends me the money via PayPal and I withdraw it before sending him the package, is there anyway I could still get scammed? Does PayPal make sure deposits are "legit" before allowing them to be withdrawn?

 

The only thing I'd have to give him is my PayPal address. Even so what I'd do is create a new email account and add that address to my PayPal account. After the transaction, I'd remove the address from my PayPal account so it couldn't be used for another transaction. If I received any email from PayPal, I'd check my account to see if it was a legit letter.

 

Help?

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Linstwins55
Contributor
Contributor

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 repkyng with expletives-makes you feel better.

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mizziana
New Community Member

I posted a setting of wedding rings on craigslist for $500.  I immediately got a reply about my post from a Gardic **** with the e-mail address of gardic112 informing me that he would like to purchase the rings as a gift and offered me an additional $100 for shipping via UPS.  I informed him that I would only ship via FedEx and that I would need the shipping address or zip so that I can get a proper shipping quote from fedex.com that way he doesn't end up overpaying. He never replied to any of my e-mail with the shipping location but rather kept insisting on sending the paypal payment of $600.

 

Almost immediately after that, I got an e-mail from PayPal.com®" which informed an "Obed ****" that a payment has been made to my paypal account in the amount of $600 and that it would not be made available until the package is shipped and inform the buyer of the tracking information.  The e-mail address from which that e-mail was sent is what alerted me; prior to any supposed transactions, I made changes to my paypal profile and got alerts from paypal confirming the changes.  The e-mail address from which the change confirmations came from were paypal.com" and not "PayPal.com®" .  The e-mails both from the real and fake paypal came one of top of the other in my inbox which made it so obvious that PayPal.com® was trying to scam me.

 

Following the first e-mail from the scammers, I got another e-mail from"PayPal.com®" which had the subject line of: "ALART***You Are Safe And Secure With Online PayPal Transaction***".  Apparently this fake paypal doesn't know how to spell. 

 

Be alert, or in their case, ALART.

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LaddyFam
Contributor
Contributor

Wow - these scammers are everywhere.  Here are several e-mails I received from a response to Craigslist post.  WATCH OUT and NEVER send additional money the buyer says they are adding to your invoice; you'll never see your money again.  I am still waiting for PayPal to get back to me in regards to all the e-mails I received in the last few days, but after reading this forum, it seems like it's a SCAM!  I never agreed to work with the buyer in regards to setting up his pick up agent for the item being sold and he never advised me of such; he said he'd take care of all of that!

************

 

From:  Mark <removed>

Date:  Sat, Jun 18, 2011  4:35 pm

Hello Seller,

Thanks for the mail, I'm seriously interested in buying this for my son as a surprise gift and am okay with your selling price, I'm a boatswain and currently offshore i really want this as a surprise gift for my son so i won't let him know anything about this until it get delivered to him. You can mail me back with your PayPal email address so i can make the payment to you right now and if you don't have an account with PayPal you can set up an account today as it's secured and reliable visit their website on (lists paypal website)... i will be responsible for the payment fees/charges on this transaction. Do not worry about shipping or picking up as my pick up agent will come and pick it up from you once have made the payment to you and i will also need your full Name,address and phone number.

************

From:  Mark <removed>

Date:  Sun, Jun 26, 2011  2:28 pm

Ok send me the invoice so i can make the payment

************

From:  Mark <removed>

Date:  Mon, Jun 27, 2011  2:27 pm

Hello Carrot,

                I was just about to make the payment when i had this little problem with the picking up,I got an email from my agent..i taught i included that in my previous email.he said he won't come and pick up the item unless i pay him the agent commission fee first in order to be able to schedule a pick up time ,and my pick up agent head quarters is in United State and all commission payments made for pick up, from anywhere in the world is sent to their head quarters in United State  and the only form of payments they accept is western union money transfer and i tried to pay online but i will need a credit card which i didn't bring along, and there is no post office (there is usually a western union section in most post offices) or any western union agent offshore! so i have to ask you to help me with the pick up fees, i will include the $800 they charged to pick it up and take it my home(1st class treatment), to the payments i will send through PayPal. After i have made the payments and it has been confirmed by PayPal, i will need you to help me send $800 to my pick up agent through western union money transfer and $100 will be for the western union charge fee, the western union money transfer can be made at a post office near to you,there is always a western union agent in most post offices or online at(lists western union website).I will be making the payments shortly and will email you as soon as it has been done..

My Regards

************

Notification of An Instant Merchandise Payment From Mark <removed>

From:   <removed> <removed>

Date: Mon, Jun 27, 2011 2:52 pm

This email confirms that you have received an Instant payment of $4,900.00 USD from Mark <removed> Reversals : This method of payment can not be reversed.

Status : Pending - Transport Company Awaiting Payment.

************

From: <removed>

Date: Mon, Jun 27, 2011 2:55 pm

Important Information on how to complete your recent transaction

We've placed a temporary hold on the funds of this transaction

************

PAYMENT MADE GET THE MONEY SENT TO THE AGENT ASAP!!!!!!

From:   Mark <removed>

Date: Mon, Jun 27, 2011 4:03 pm

Hello Name,

I have just completed the payments just now and i expect PayPal to have  emailed by now, i sent $4,900.00 USD  in all, to (e-mail deleted) i added $800.00 USD meant for pick up and delivery and $100.00 USD for the western union fee also, they said they have emailed you to this effect, you will need to send the $800.00 USD to my pick up agent via western union money transfer,so that PayPal can credit $4,900.00 USD into your account as soon as you have emailed the western union details to them, i added extra $100.00 USD to cover the western union charges which shouldn't be more that $30-50, Here is the pick up agent info needed to get the money sent through western union money transfer:

Name: Wanda <removed>

City: Greeneville TN,

State: Tennessee

zip-code:37745

Country:United State

 

I will need the details of the transfer once you transfer the money....

 

END --------

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ihappydoc
New Community Member

I have the same issue going on right now.  I sent out an invoice through paypal for the amount owed.  I have received several emails some from paypal and from the seller and shipper.  I'm a little confused and worried this could be a hoax.  These people have sent me 1550, $500 goes to the shipper, $50 to pay for western union, and $1000 is mine for the product.  The email states that a hold has been put on the funds until I send $500 to an address in Georgia.  What?  This does not sound good at all and if you ask me it maybe the latest greatest money laundrying scam.  LOL  IDK but can someone help shed some light on what to do with this and is it normal and I just don't understand?

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carolecreate
Contributor
Contributor

I have received 2 emails in my spam email stating it is from PAYPAL REVIEW TEAM, I am assuming this is not from PayPal. If it is it would have gone to my regular email.

My question is: does PayPal send emails like this? If not, I want everyone to be aware.

I deleted the email before reading that I can send the email to PayPal. If I receive it again, I will forward it to them.

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