FRAUD

[Paullewis]

After advertising my car on Gumtree within 20 mins i received an email of guy Murphy Smith saying he was interested in car only way he could pay was through paypal as he was a royal marine engineer, he said he would transfer funds as soon as i forwarded my paypal details this is the email below i received when i had given him my details :

There is no way i will be paying £400 to agent as I beleive this to be a scam very frightening how real this email looks and many people would be out of pocket.

Dear WAS MY EMAIL ADDRESS

                   Hi my name is Mary is my pleasure to help you out concerning the funds transfer from Murphy Smith business' account to your  bank account. We are giving you our 100% assurance and guarantee that the total pending funds will be release to your account immediately when you email the Western Union details to us. You are to pay the agent fees from your pocket and we understand your concerned but this transaction is safe and secure and you need to find a way to make the transfer of the "PICK UP FEE" £400.00 to the agent name and address given to you from your pocket as this is the only way we can complete the accreditation process of the total pending funds of £3,300.00 to your account. You are safe and protected to continue with this transaction as its been monitored and secured.

Note - that this payment is irreversible and we are responsible for any Damage or Loss in any Legal transaction like this. You are Safe and Protected with PayPal.

Thank you for using PayPal.
PayPal Team.

David Marcus
President
PayPal, Inc

PayPal Email ID PP307

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[kernowlass]

Yes you are right.

 
Car Scam.

Be VERY careful selling cars/large items if the buyer is keen to use paypal and states they are working abroad or sending to a friend etc and need a shipping agent to pick it up..

You then get a FAKE paypal email saying you have been paid extra so you can pay the shipping agent for them via western union and the payment is released to you after you have done that.

It is a scam to get that western union payment, they don't want your car and the shipping agent is just a scam to get that payment.

They are nearly always in Nigeria and can't even own a paypal account.

Also any emails from paypal will always address you by your full name eg Dear John Smith.

[mummalowe]

I have just had the same fraud attemp regarding my car advertised on Gumtree, it is very scary indeed the only difference is that they were requesting i pay £800 fees to someone in Italy, I have now had messages threatening FBI if I do not pay which I obviously have no intention of doing the name of the so called buyer is LOGAN HENDERSON and he also stated that he is working away at sea etc.......each paypal message regarding this has shown up in my junk mail box but they also addressing me by my first and last name!!!!!!

[saramcmanus73]

Hi i received same but from Eric Smith wanting to buy my car on gumtree this was 3rd email i got

Thank you for getting back to me..I'm quite satisfied with the condition and price. I will be paying the PayPal charges from my account and i will be paying directly into your PayPal account without any delay,and i hope you have a PayPal account. If you have one already, just send me the address to send it to, which is the email address you use for it or you can send me a PayPal money request, so once i receive the details i will go ahead with the payment through PayPal and then i will contact my shipping company after you get the payment. I will need your home address for it to be Picked Up by the Shipping Company..i will like to look forward from you soon

Do people really think you are buttoned up the back we need to sort this out paypal you are gauranteeing our safety and this is happeneing

[kernowlass]

But its got nothing to do with paypal so how can they sort it out??

The transaction is not done via the paypal site........the emails are FAKES from scammers.

They NEVER pay you anything via paypal so how can paypal do anything??

[Cooperage]

Hi,  Just to update on this thread - it's still doing the rounds.

Have just had the same scenario around payment for a boat.  This guy was claiming to be based at Maindy Barracks in Wales and couldn't get time to view the boat, but would cover all fees, etc.   

Fortunately there were some giveaway errors in the emails, but they were a pretty good attempt.  Also, the guy was very pushy in trying to get the "purchase" concluded - emailing several times a day.

[iain6677]

Here was the email I received, identical in concept to yours, just a different 'scumbag' trying to extort money from me.

"I am glad to inform you that I have made the payment to your PayPal account and you ought to have received the payment confirmation from PayPal by now. Kindly remove the ads and check your PayPal email address for the payment receipt. I had a little problem with the mover they said they can only schedule the pick up date and time after they receive their money for the pick up fee via Money gram Money transfer or Money Gram in there head office in  Indianapolis,IN. So l included $1,000.00 USD that they charge for the pick up and $100 for the Money Gram charges. Making total payment of $17,600.00 USD PayPal will instruct you on how to get the money sent to my mover. The Money gram agent might ask you purpose of sending money at Money Gram office, tell him or her you are sending it to a well known friend or family, because Money Gram charges for friends and family is lower than the one for business or services. I hope you understand that, to avoid additional  Money gram charges.The payment has been made and the money has been deducted from my account. Kindly get the shipping fee sent to the name and address below and send the details to PayPal email customer care for your total funds to be credited. I believe that since payment has been made, the advert should be taken off the site and please do let me know your free date and time so that I can give it to my mover for them to schedule the date and time they will be coming for the pick up in your location.

Pickup Agent details:

Name: Alicia Lonner

address: 155 Moller Rd

City: Indianapolis

State: IN

Zip code: 46224

Country:  USA"

Be very careful as it all seems very believable...

[jjvicfer]

this is the email I have receive just 5 min after to put an advert in gumtree to sell my car: DO NOT REPLY, IT'S A FRAUD.

Thanks for getting back to me, i just want to make sure nothing has been left out and just so you know i am buying it as a gift. I will be buying this for the price you have listed it for. Payment will be sent using PayPal and i will handle the PayPal surcharge as well. I will arrange with a shipping company to have this picked up at your location once i have paid as i am out of town at the moment. Am a marine engineer and due to the nature of my work, phone calls is restricted and i can ONLY DEAL VIA PAYPAL,so you can send me your PayPal email account so i can send the money at once and its easy to sign up for one just log on to paypal.com Note: i'll also include the Shipping company's fee to the money am sending you and you will pay them on my behalf, so kindly Get back to me with your PayPal email account so i can proceed with the payment thanks

SENT BY <removed>

[PayPal_Emilia]

Hi Paullewis,

welcome to our community and thanks for reaching out to us 🙂

In addition to what has been already said I'd like to make a suggestion, you can forward any fake emails to spoof@paypal.co.uk if you are not sure.

Emilia

[cricketer]

How long does it take "spoof@paypal" to respond to a request to let me know if emails sent to them are in fact spoof/fraudulent emails?