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

[artjunki22]

i just sold an item on ebay. i sell reguarly on etsy so i use paypal quite a bit. Now that lady who won my item emailed me and said she wanted it sent to a different address as she was buying for her brother and wanted it shipped to him in nigeria. She offered to pay me 100 over the winning bid. I admit skeptisism but i went ahead and sent her an invoice through paypal for the amount. Instead of getting a notification from paypal like i usually do i received four emails saying they were from either paypal or ebay but both were from emails that ended in usa.com. this was odd since i just sold something on etsy and received my payment notification and the email address was different.  The emails said that the money (not the amount i had written in my invoice to the lady) was taken out of her account, but being held until i provided shipping information. The email then went on to say i had better ship within 24 hours or risk losing use of my ebay account. Thats fine i usually ship in a day anyways but when i logged inot mypaypal no transaction from this lady is listed. wouldnt if this scenario was legit i would at least have the transaction listed but with a notification that the money was being held? I dont want to ruin this sale if its legit but i also dont want to be forced to ship my item falsley if this is just a scam. 

[chad-mcquality]

I sold something on craiglist and when they sent the payment over paypal they said that i wont recieve the money tell i provide a tracking number for paypal??????

Is this something paypal does or was this just a big scam. i need to know asap thanks

[shelwiley]

I'm in a situation with paypal where apparently they've decided to withhold my money just because they can. You can access your money a lot faster if you supply a tracking number for the package that you sent tho. Their theory is that it guarantees that you sent it and they can confirm it so the buyer can't say they didn't receive it...then they make you wait at least 3 days after they can confirm delivery to make sure that the buyer doesn't have any problems with the item/purchase. Even then, there is no guarantee that they will release the payment after 3 days.

[C139586B]

To start off, this is the first email i got....

   --
Hi

i will like to know may be your item still available for sale and in good
condition

Thanks

I replied and said that it is in good condition and that there are only a few minor scratches on the car.

The next email from them said...

   Thanks for the response, i will be using PayPal surcharges since i am
interested in the immediate purchase for my Son.he just moved out of
state,where this is needed and i will be making use of a shipping
company to have this picked up from you and have it delivered to him
.Further arrangements will be made with you in regards to the pick up
once i have paid you.I am ready to buying it now for my Son and i am
at sea at the moment as i am an expatriates and due to the nature of
my work, phone calls making and visiting of website are restricted but
i squeezed out time to check this advert and send you an email
regarding it. I really want the goods to be a surprise for Son so i
wont let him know anything about the goods until it gets delivered to
him, i am sure he will be more than happy with the Product. I insisted
on paypal because i don't have access to my bank account online as i
don't have internet banking, but i can pay from my paypal account, as
i have my bank a/c attached to it, i will need you to give me your
paypal email address and the price so i can make the payments asap for
the goods and pls if you don't have paypal account yet, it is very
easy to set up, go to www.paypal.com and get it set up, after you have
set it up i will only need the e-mail address you use for registration
with paypal so as to put the money through. have a pick up agent that
will come and pick the goods up after i have made the payments...
Thanks

I replied that it sounds good and that I would be doing some minot things to make it look better.

Then they sent me this last email

ok i will like to have your paypal email address for the payment asap

Is it just me or does this seem fishy??

If I give them my account name and they wire money to me can I take it out and be safe?

Does this look like a scam?

What should I do, or what can I do to protect myself in this case????

Thanks,

[Phreak]

This is a scam, do NOT ship your vehicle. The 'buyer' does not intend on paying for the car with his own funds.

[AmyHMK]

I am selling a motorcycle on Craigslist and was contacted by someone with almost the same email, after responding with details of the condition this is what was sent back to me-

Thanks for the prompt response.. I am ready to buy it now for my son
and i am not in town at the moment as i am a Military been in camp in
for some time and due to the nature of my work, It hard to make a
phone calls and visiting of website are restricted but i squeezed out
time to check this advert and send you an email regarding it.
insisted on PayPal because i don't have access to my bank account
online as i don't have internet banking, but i can pay from my PayPal
account, as i have my bank a/c attached to it, i will need you to give
me your PayPal email address and the price so i can make the payments
asap for it and please if you don't have PayPal account yet, it is
very easy to set up, go to www.paypal.com  and get it set up, after
you have set it up i will only need the e-mail address you use for
registration with PayPal so as to put the money through. I have a pick
up agent that will come and pick it after i have made the payments..

I think this is definitely a scam and after reading your post I don't intend to have any further contact with this person.  Thanks!

[shaunalynn90]

He asked me for some more pics and then asked what the minimum i would sell the car for and i said 400 dollars less than my asking price and he responded with this::

"Thanks for the prompt response and the pics , am happy to hear back from you , am serious and ready to buy it from you for your listed price, but i insist on paying through paypal cos thats the only means i can do for now as am in the camp at the moment busy with my platoon replacing the troops scheduled to go home.I was serving in Naval Base Point Loma, in San Diego, CA ,before been deployed to Joint Base Balad ,70 miles north of Baghdad. I just want it as a surprise for my dad at home and am sure he will be glad when he receive it .
Kindly send me an invoice from paypal or create an account with Paypal and send me an invoice or money request from paypal for the payment . I will also take care of the shipping and the pick up as am arranging with one at the moment . I hope its still in good condition as am trusting you on this .More pics will be appreciated too
Thanks and God Bless"

i dont want to make any mistakes and get scammed.

[PayPal_Andy]

Hey All, I merged a couple of threads together since they're all somewhat similar...which is strange...almost like it's one person or group of people all working off of the same basic script to try and defraud people...hmmmm... 😉

I'm glad that everyone's paranoia sense was tingling in this instance, because I would have to agree with Phreak that this is more than likely a scam.  For one thing, if they want to arrange shipping or pick-up, you're basically voiding any possibility of Seller Protection you would have...beyond the fact that PayPal actually doesn't cover motor vehicles in the first place.  So if you want to use PayPal to accept a payment for a car or whatnot, you're doing it somewhat at your own risk anyway.

This scam usually works by them sending you official looking emails from "PayPal" that the money's available once you provide a tracking number or the item has been picked up.  Of course if you log into your account the money is strangely absent...and at that point you have no money and car.  And we certainly don't want that for anyone.

Hope this helps!

Andy

[INKMAN]

Thanks,am really interested in buying it, and i want you to withdraw
the advert from the CL and count it sold to me. I don`t mind adding
extra $25 for you to do that so that i can be rest assured that the
item is held for me. I will contact my secretary to issue the payment
to you via Bank Certified check due to the distance i am right now and
it will be delivered to you via UPS courier services. I will need the
following information to mail the check to you asap.

[Your full name to be on the check, Full Physical address (NOT PO
BOX), City, State and Zip Code including your phone# to reach you]

NOTE, you will not be responsible for shipping i will have my mover to
come over as soon as you got the check..  Get back to me
asap...regards

Then:

I would have loved to talk to you on phone but i am a petroleum
engineer I work mainly offshore, our phone is down on the rig right
now due to bad weather, we can only communicate with our base for now,
Please contact my shipper agent who will come for the pick up at your
residence after payment is made, here is the **removed** ask them
about pick up arrangement they we response to you. also you can email
me back if you have any question with me i will immediately response
back. Thank you

Then: 

Hi There,
 Thanks for your usual response and i really need you to do me a favor,i just got a message from headquarters of the shipping company that will come for the pickup for me which is here in US, that i need to pay a total commission of about $650 to them before the pickup can be registered and it should be paid via western union ONLY and there is no western union outlet at my present location to send the money to them over here as I'm presently off-shore,so all i need from you is the permission to include the said amount to the payment i will be transferring into your PayPal account and you will help me wire the money to them for the pickup as soon as you get it, PayPal will be informed about this process as well.Sorry to put this on you but without the pickup, the purchase cant hold.And I'm just asking about it to make sure its in good condition so can you assure me i will not be disappointed.Do you mind emailing me with more pictures too since i won't be seeing this in person ?

Thanks for your help

Yeah Right!!!!!!!!!!!

I am not laundering $650.00 For you.

[carvizu333]

i just had the same guy try  and do the same thing he said he is a marine engineer and he is buying his son a suprise gift and needs a pay pal acct to send payment