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

[JTeis]

If it sounds too good to be true, it is. If you read this thread, you will see that the scammers use this ruse, and there are various ways they steal your money. I almost fell for it too.

[gixxerrider07]

I wish I would have read this sooner...This just happened to me....I sent the first 700 Western Union then this Jessica *** asked to send another 900 to her shipping agent. After that I looked up the address of the "agent" and it was a UPS warehouse in TX and im pretty sure they don't ship cars or motorcycles. and the name of the company was some moving company in Brittain. I was kind of suspicious when she offered full price for a motorcycle plus the shipping with out looking at it.  Is there anyway to get that money back? and who would I go to to get it

[bugspray]

Too good to be true? After an email or two I get this. Hello, Please let me explain to you the process of this transaction and you can decide if you want to proceed or not. As I told you in my first email, I recently got divorced. I also got a new job and moved to Omaha Nebraska in order to start over. I'm in Omaha and moved to Omaha Nebraska in order to start over. I'm in Omaha Nebraska but my presence won't be necessary because I prearranged the deal with PayPal. The Suv is in Omaha at the shipping company, ready to be delivered. The deal includes free delivery and it will arrive at your address in 3 to 5 working days. You will have 5 days to test it and inspect the Suv prior to making any purchase and if by any reason you find something you don't like about it you can send it back at my expense. If you want to make this deal I need the following details from you: full name, address, and phone# Once I have your info I will forward them to PayPal to get things started. PayPal wil contact you shortly after they have the details with all the nformation that you need to complete this deal and you will also have proof that I am covered by them and a egitimate seller. Waiting for your email with the requested details. Regards

[missvicky]

I received this email:

Your account has been limited Case ID

From: "PayPal" <*****@**********>

To: undisclosed-recipients

[attached file - PP-324-9823-824.html]

PayPal

               Identity Issue Case                                         Secure Transaction

Please complete the attached form to verify your Profile information and restore your account access.

Personal Information Profile

Make sure you enter the information accurately, and according to the formats required.
Fill in all the required fields.

Dear customer ,

As part of our efforts to provide a safe and secure environment for the online community, we regularly screen account activity. Our review of your account has identified an issue regarding its safe use. We have placed a restriction on your account as a precaution.

To lift the restriction we will require some further information from you.

If, once we review your further information and we're confident that the use of your account does not present a safety risk to our service and customers, we'll be happy to reinstate your account.

We have sent you an attachment which contains all the necessary steps in order to restore your account access. Download and open it in your browser. After we have gathered the necessary information, you will regain full access to your account.

We thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Very sincerely, PayPal Review Department

(minus all the lines)( "Secure Transaction" is a hyperlink)

[24skidoo]

I received the exact email too!  I do not intend to fill out this form as I believe it to be a scam to get my personal account info.  I went out on the PayPal website and sent an email to their customer support asking them to verify and confirm that they sent this email.  I'm sure they didn't because their website says they will never ask for this type of info via emails.  You would be wise not to complete the form!!!!!

24skidoo

[tattle]

Dear PayPal Customer,

You have added xxxxxxxxxxxx as a new email address for your Paypal account.

If you did not authorize this change, check with family members and others who may have access to your account first. If you still feel that an unauthorized person has changed your email, submit the form attached to your email in order to keep your original email and restore your Paypal account.

NOTE: The form needs to be opened in a modern browser which has javascript enabled (ex: Internet Explorer 7, Firefox 3, Safari 3, Opera 9)

Please understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect you and your account. We apologize for any inconvenience.

If you choose to ignore our request, you leave us no choice but to temporary suspend your account.

Sincerely, PayPal Account Review Department.

---

Please do not reply to this e-mail. Mail sent to this address cannot be answered. For assistance, log in to your PayPal account and choose the "Help" link in the footer of any page.

Copyright © 1999-2011 PayPal. All rights reserved. 

[robin68]

i recieved the same email Sunday 4th. The attached document to fill out asks for all info including password and cc# etc.

[robin68]

the From: email address reads: PayPal notice@...(I tried to post the who;e thing but PP says that addy is not permitted to be posted in the community.

[Simonfc]

Hi, my account has been hit by fraud, some how a (Ray *******) has tranfered nearly £500 from my bank and has left me overdrawn, ive opened a case but if i get my money back will i be compensated for my bank charges?

[nittro]

Received an email identified as PayPal with subject "Attention: Your PayPal account has been limited!"

NOTE THAT THE EMAIL ADDRESS OF THE SENDER IS service "at" paypol.com

The O in paypol was a dead giveaway.

I did not open the email so I cannot provide any further details of the potential risk.

A note of caution.

nittro