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

[dreinagel]

perfect_liberty  It is a scam. happened to me and lost my tablet.

God Bless, Dan

[LoveMrsLaws]

IF THEY START WITH A TEXT THAT GIVES WAAAY TOO MUCH INFO, IT'S A SCAM.

A real buyer sends stuff like, "Still got it?"

A scammer sends "Hi, my name is Mike and I'm a US Marine deployed in Iraq. I'll be discharged in a couple of weeks but I want your item waiting for me. I will paypal you the money and my brother will pick up your item. I can't wait til I can enjoy ..."

Just delete these without replying! You have nothing to lose but your peace of mind.  🙂

[mufflermansep]

i got atxt the person wants me to wire money for transport fees then they will release my money?

[minty1]

Hi mufflermansep It's a SCAM NEVER pay anyone or anything when u are selling something. They aren't interested in your item just free money probably via western union. Type scams in the search box and see stories similar to your own.

[lhull]

Yes.  I received one just as you describe. This person claimed to be a Marine and spends most of his time at sea. 

He didn't call the pick up person a courier, rather called him/her a "pickup agent".  

[blackbike]

yes, just did get an email from overseas, district of Sabari, navy.. protecting his country.. wanted text only..said he'd pay the price of the bike in full, send him the paypal account and name..he'd make the full price of bike and have an agent w/truck to come by to pick it up and take care of the tittle. he was buying it for his dad as a surprise and was hoping for a fast reply.. We have the bike listed on Craigs list.. were sure it's a scam.. 

[cono1]

We received a message from Annie, who claimed to be on a ship then "in camp." She was to buy our 2011 Mustang and said she would send extra to pay the fees.  Then she asked that we send $1000 by "an agent" so we would have a receipt to send to Paypal so they could deposit the rest of the money.  Just didn't sound right to me.  I'm glad I checked with Paypal, who said it was not the way things go and it was probably a scam.  I still have her number and also told her I was onto her.  Haven't heard back.

[bobm2817]

I received a text message from a Thompson. agreed to purchase price, and would transfer funds when I cancel add in Creigslist, "MY shipper will be available as soon as payment is made". He is requesting my Pay Pal account # to transferr payment.He has not returned my text messages when I was hesitant to use PayPaltransfer funds.

[sharpmama]

I just received an email from a Thompson as well...here is the text of the first email. 

Good, Do you have the extra keys, Do you have the spare tire, Where did you get your car serviced, Have you ever had any transmission repairs and Is there any rust on the vehicle? I'm ready to pay your asking price but not cash in person because I am serving in the US army and currently been deploy to NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Germany and calls are restricted at the moment and my only quickest payment option is PayPal, its safe fast and secure and i will be responsible for the PayPal transaction charges so you can get your expected amount. If you don't have an account with PayPal, its pretty easy to open one, Just log onto www.paypal.com and sign up. I hope we can make the purchase as fast as possible? As I am buying the vehicle for my dad and I'm very sure he will love this vehicle, his a mechanic and a handy man, so if there is anything that need to be fixed in it just let me know he will handle it. I have a mover that will come for the pick up once payment clears in your account and he will handle the  title for me. I look forward to hear from you with the information below.

Your PayPal e-Mail Address :

Full name:

Firm Price:

Zip code for pickup:

Cheers,

Mark. 

I called Paypal to see how I can walk this out and protect myself at the same time in case it is a scam.  They gave EXCELLENT advice.  Told me not to give out any information to this guy....but to ask him for his email address that is linked to HIS paypal account so I can create an invoice for him and send via Paypal.  I asked what the transaction fees were and let him know in advance that the amount would be added to the invoice.  I am waiting for his response.  My guess is he won't respond.....Glad I didn't have to get burned to learn a lesson.

[perfect_liberty]

I just had a similar situation but the guy actually did send me his email address associated with Paypal (supposedly) and he actually did send me the $7000 i was asking for my item after i sent him an invoice from Paypal.  The funds are pending but i still think it's a scam.  I feel pretty safe considering that i didn't log into any fake paypal accounts.  I legitimately signed in and sent him an invoice.  We'll see what happens...