Scammer probably using a stolen identity - international - what now?

TonyLoon
Contributor
Contributor

Hello, hope this is the right board, correct me if I'm wrong - I'm new here! So, I am very sure a person with the number <removed> is trying to scam me: They wanted to buy something off me, they are based in the UK, I am in Germany, and wanted it to be shipped to a relative in Germany as a gift. I gave them my paypal and asked for the address. ... and then asked me to buy steam giftcards to surprise the relative (Yeah, sure.) They claimed to already have payed the fitting amount, but of course, the payment didn't show up on my account. They adviced me to message <removed> to get a confirmation... (I'm pretty sure paypal doesn't use @ aol.com mail-addresses, but an additional confirmation on that would be great.) The main problem is, after I pointed that out, they sent me a picture of an ID to prove they are real and not a scammer. As far as I know, that crosses from scamming territory to identity theft. How should I proceed? I only have a phone number and that ID photo, along the shady conversation. I'm pretty sure I found the owner of the ID on fb and messaged him, but got no answer so far. Should I write to a police station where he lives based on the ID? Should I alerr paypal and they handle it? Any advice would help as I want tobmake the guy aware and maybe help to stop the scammer! Thanks in advance!

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1 REPLY 1

PayPal_Meghan
Moderator
Moderator

Hello @TonyLoon

Thanks for visiting the Community! 

I understand your concern with this situation. Based on the information you've provided, I'm inclined to believe the ID may have been fake. However, it wouldn't hurt to report the potential ID theft to the local authorities. In regards to everything else, you are correct; the email you mentioned is not a PayPal email. Regrettably, I have heard of similar situations to the one you've described, and it doesn't sound legitimate to me. You can learn more about common scams and how to spot them on our Help Center. It sounds like you haven't sent anything to the potential buyer, and I'm happy to hear that. Unless you are able to confirm you've received the payment within your PayPal account, we do not recommend shipping any items.

I hope this helps! 

- Meghan 


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