Car selling scam

I received a text message in response to an ad I placed on kijiji to sell a car. I received the reply below from:

Scammer used this name and emaiil address: James Fonton, [email protected]
10:54 PM (20 hours ago)

to me
Thanks for getting back,i'm cool with the price likewise the condition as described on the advert,i
work with TUCKER ENERGY SERVICES as a rig mechanic and we are presently offshore for project. We do
not have access to phone at the moment and that's why I contacted you with internet messaging
facility.Regarding the payment, i don't have access to my bank account online as am not with my credit
card details here but i have my bank account link up with my PayPal account so I will be paying you
through PayPal.Please get back to me with your paypal details so i can process the payment,but If you
don't have a PayPal account you can easily set up one just log on to (www.paypal.com) and sign up as
its very easy. I have also contacted my shipping agent who will come for pick up and deliver it to my
place in Nova Scotia after the whole fund has been cleared into your account. Also with the issue of my
details and signing of all paperwork will be done by the pick up agent so you don't have to worry about
that. Please send me your PayPal name and email so that i can proceed with the payment immediately .
Thanks....Await your reply

Hi and welcome, Toomanyscammers!
glad you saw this for the scam it is. Thanks for reporting the scammer's email address.

Follow their safety guidelines and your chances of being scammed are slim to none.

http://help.kijiji.ca/helpdesk/safety/safety-at-kijiji

Please take the following precautions while using Kijiji:

When buying or selling, you should meet in-person to inspect the product and exchange funds. Meet in a public place with many people around, such as a coffee shop.

Never send or wire money to sellers or buyers. This includes mailing a cheque or using payment services like PayPal, Amazon Payments, Google Wallet/ Checkout, Canada Post, Western Union or MoneyGram. Typically, scammers will use these services and will even falsify documents from a legitimate company. It’s best to avoid them entirely and keep things local!

Kijiji International Limited, eBay, PayPal or any other company does not offer any sort of protection programs or secure payment systems for Kijiji items. Any emails or web sites that talk about such systems are scams, even if they may have the Kijiji logo. If you receive any emails promoting these services, please forward the message to us.

Be wary of emails asking you to confirm your account or a password or email address change that was not requested. These are very often phishing emails by scammers trying to gain access to your account. Any emails we send requiring you to log in will bring you directly to our site. The Kijiji sign in page should always show up as being secure in your web browser. Click here to learn more.

Be aware of common scams. The following are more in depth articles on tips for avoiding scams while checking out the Tickets, Real Estate, Cars and Vehicles, Jobs, Services, and Pets sections. Also here are common Reply Scams that can come in response to your Ad or when you reply to an Ad.
Do not give out personal or banking information (e.g. social insurance number, bank account number) over the Internet.

Inform Kijiji of any attempted fraud or suspicious emails, Ads, or other activity by community members. In the case of fraud, file a police report and contact us.

Use common sense. If something sounds too good to be true- it probably is.

Wow I am so glad I saw this post I just received an email just like this and here is what followed up


The funds will be credited into your account as soon as they get the Reference number of the excess $395 that was paid as a pick up fee.. all u need to do is to proceed to any post office or Money gram Outlet and pay the $395...
Steps u r expected to take is this
(1) Proceed to any post office (Money gram section)
(2) Provide them with agent name and address.
(3)Provide the $395 along side a charges that shouldn't be more than $60
(4)You will be issued a 8 digit number which is the reference number.
(5)Scan the receipt of the Reference to paypal or the Reference number.
After the receipt of the Reference by paypal the fund will be credited into your paypal account. Please let me know as soon as the Reference is sent to paypal so that i can arrange the scheduling of the pick up with the agent. The fund needs to be paid via Money gram upfront before u can be reimbursed with the total amount.. as i am writing to u now, my paypal account has being debited and the fund will be remitted into your paypal account as soon as paypal gets the Reference of the over payment . after the receipt of the Reference, paypal will credit the fund into your account.. the Reference is just a security assurance to satisfy paypal that the fund is safe if transferred into your account..paypal will not reveal the Reference to me or the agent until the funds which was on hold is fully credited into ur paypal account.


I thougt something was weird and contacted paypal. I didn't receive anything back from them yet but i googled it and found this website.I'm still worried though because they have my full name and adress

Hi and welcome, MelC. Was it from the same email address ( [email protected] ) ?

If not, please list the new email address this scammer is using ( both "FROM" and "Reply to" email addresses if they are different, please).

No, it was actually from a mother claiming to buy a watch for her son. Strangely though, her e-mail addresse was a man's. At first I thought she was using her husband's adresse. Here it is : [email protected]

thanks for adding the scammer's email info, MelC. If it is the same scammer, or just one of the same gang of scammers working for the same person, only time will tell.

They often use as many as 30 or 40 different email addresses, and personalities to go with them. It all depends on the image they want to project to the potential victim. because they have so many personalities, they often forget the role they are playing with that personality and it winds up confusing us.