Another 'Mr Neale' scam!

Hello everyone,

Just found this forum via google after searching for '[email protected]'.

Basically on the 27th March my girlfriends father found a catering trailer for sale on eBay. He started asking a few questions and almost immediately the auction got pulled and communication started via e-mail instead. As I work in IT I got asked by my g/f's dad to take a look as he wanted to know whether it all looked 'ok'. Immediately I realised it was a scam, a near new, roughly £12,000 trailer being offered for £2,900 for a 'quick sale' through the 'eBay Buyer Protection Scheme'!!

So, I immediately mailed the scammer straight back and asked him to start mailing me (pretending that the address he had been mailing was infact my g/f's (dad's daughter)) and I have been busily wasting his time, round and round in circles for the past week onwards.

As a heads up I shall post what he sent to me so others can see...

Once he thought he had got a victim, two e-mails came through, first one (header first)...

Delivered-To: XXX
Received: by 10.182.0.104 with SMTP id 8csp148574obd;
Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:07:58 -0700 (PDT)
Received: by 10.68.225.229 with SMTP id rn5mr8082308pbc.115.1332954477917;
Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:07:57 -0700 (PDT)
Return-Path: <[email protected]>
Received: from smtp11.hushmail.com (smtp11.hushmail.com. [65.39.178.133])
by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id j10si4964842pbd.294.2012.03.28.10.07.57
(version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=OTHER);
Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:07:57 -0700 (PDT)
Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of [email protected] designates 65.39.178.133 as permitted sender) client-ip=65.39.178.133;
Authentication-Results: mx.google.com; spf=pass (google.com: domain of [email protected] designates 65.39.178.133 as permitted sender) [email protected]
Received: from smtp11.hushmail.com (localhost.localdomain [127.0.0.1])
by smtp11.hushmail.com (Postfix) with SMTP id 1438B1CBE68
for <XXX>; Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:07:57 +0000 (UTC)
Received: from smtp.hushmail.com (w4.hushmail.com [65.39.178.50])
by smtp11.hushmail.com (Postfix) with ESMTP
for <XXX>; Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:07:56 +0000 (UTC)
Received: by smtp.hushmail.com (Postfix, from userid 99)
id A280E10E2DB; Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:07:56 +0000 (UTC)
MIME-Version: 1.0
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:07:56 +0100
To: XXX
Subject: Your invoice for eBay purchases - item #320873920529 - catering trailer refrigerated counters 25ft long v.g.c allready for your busines
From: "eBay" <[email protected]>
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="=_1c38f7bcf59cac2c579d3d3651e6086c"
Message-Id: <[email protected]>

****************************************************************************************************

eBay sent this message to XXX.
Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay.


Your invoice for eBay purchases - catering trailer refrigerated counters 25ft long v.g.c allready for your busines


Invoice for VPP Transaction Case ID #15CP3WBM3 between John Neale, as the Seller and XXX, as the Buyer.Please follow our instructions to complete the transaction safely.


Seller:
Name: John Neale
Address: 19 Grange Road
Dundee, Angus
DD5 4LU
Scotland


Buyer:
Name: XXX
Address: The Old Station
The Mounts
Northampton
Northamptonshire
NN1 3EL
United Kingdom


Transaction Details:
Case ID: #15CP3WBM3
Date: 28.03.2012
Status: Payment Pending
Item titled: catering trailer refrigerated counters 25ft long v.g.c allready for your busines
Buy It Now Price £2,900.00
Quantity Sold: 1
Insurance: YES

Delivery: Delivery details will be provided by seller after payment.
Shipping to*: XXX
The Old Station
The Mounts
Northampton
Northamptonshire
NN1 3EL
United Kingdom

*Please check the details for an accurate delivery in order to avoid delays.

Payment must be submitted via Bank Transfer to the eBay Financing Center Agent Bank account in charge of this transaction. The payment will be secured until the Buyer receives, inspects and accepts the vehicle. Or, if it will be the case a full refund is given to the Buyer.

eBay Financing Center Agent*:
Beneficiary: D. Dragoi
Bank Name: Barclays
Account no: 73303136
Sort Code: 20-35-93
City: London
Country: United Kingdom

*The Bank Wire transfer will be sent using this name and address.


Payment:
Invoice #15CP3WBM3

Subtotal: £2,900.00
Shipping(Free): £0.00

Deposit: £0.00
Total: £2,900.00


How to make the payment
Send the payment using eBay Financing Center Agent's bank account (found below) as payment details.
E-mail us*

the following payment information:
- Case ID or Invoice #
- Copy of the bank receipt
Fax* the Bank transfer payment receipt to eBay Financing Center Department at:

+44 (0)207 504 8111

*We strongly recommend that you confirm the payment by e-mail or fax to avoid any delays.

Important Notice
For security reasons please DO NOT release the payment details to the Seller or any other unauthorized person.


All the transaction, payment and personal information is considered confidential and will not be released under any circumstances.
Vehicle Purchase Protection program security measures are constantly reviewed and modified given evolving circumstances globally.
Our main and constant priority is the safety of our customers.
Bank Wire transfers can be submitted with the help of your banking institution. To send a wire transfer, you need to have the following information:

- Beneficiary (person to whom the wire is being sent)
- The receiving bank's Sort Code and name of the bank
- Account number of beneficiary
- Location of the receiving bank.

When payment is received, it will be verified and secured into a non-interest bearing trust account. Payment verification process usually takes less than 24 hours. After payment is secured, the Seller is authorized to deliver the vehicle.The Seller has 3 business days to send the Buyer and eBay Motors Customer Support the tracking number of the shipment. If no tracking number is provided, a full refund is immediately sent to the Buyer.

The Buyer receives the vehicle and has 5 business days to inspect it. If it is complete and as described, the Buyer should accept the vehicle. If he refuses the vehicle, the Buyer must ship the vehicle back to the Seller within 3 business days.

After the inspection period is over, the Buyer must contact eBay Financing Center Customer Support with the result of the inspection. If the Buyer refuses the vehicle, the refund will be sent to the Buyer after the tracking number for the returned shipment is verified. If the vehicle is accepted, eBay Financing Center Department submits the payment directly to the Seller within 3 business days.

As I have a weird sense of humour and I was bored, the address is actually that of a police station, which, if the idiot had half a brain, he would of realised, but decided not to check out!

The second e-mail said...

Delivered-To: XXX
Received: by 10.182.0.104 with SMTP id 8csp148581obd;
Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:08:14 -0700 (PDT)
Received: by 10.68.224.99 with SMTP id rb3mr7270682pbc.79.1332954493990;
Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:08:13 -0700 (PDT)
Return-Path: <[email protected]>
Received: from smtp11.hushmail.com (smtp11.hushmail.com. [65.39.178.133])
by mx.google.com with ESMTPS id e6si4956428pbj.330.2012.03.28.10.08.13
(version=TLSv1/SSLv3 cipher=OTHER);
Wed, 28 Mar 2012 10:08:13 -0700 (PDT)
Received-SPF: pass (google.com: domain of [email protected] designates 65.39.178.133 as permitted sender) client-ip=65.39.178.133;
Authentication-Results: mx.google.com; spf=pass (google.com: domain of [email protected] designates 65.39.178.133 as permitted sender) [email protected]
Received: from smtp11.hushmail.com (localhost.localdomain [127.0.0.1])
by smtp11.hushmail.com (Postfix) with SMTP id B811E1CBB4B
for <XXX>; Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:08:10 +0000 (UTC)
Received: from smtp.hushmail.com (w4.hushmail.com [65.39.178.50])
by smtp11.hushmail.com (Postfix) with ESMTP
for <XXX>; Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:08:10 +0000 (UTC)
Received: by smtp.hushmail.com (Postfix, from userid 99)
id 76C4210E2D8; Wed, 28 Mar 2012 17:08:10 +0000 (UTC)
MIME-Version: 1.0
Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:08:10 +0100
To: XXX
Subject: eBay Buyer Protection Case ID: 15CP3WBM3
From: "eBay" <[email protected]>
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="=_a00a9a19a9e6e10a1c0354616ff4f6fd"
Message-Id: <[email protected]>

*********************************************************************************************

eBay sent this message to XXX
Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay.
eBay Buyer Protection Case ID: 15CP3WBM3


eBay Motors member John Neale, as the Seller, initiated a new transaction through eBay Buyer Protection program and registered XXX, as the Buyer.
We verified all the details of this transaction and we concluded that they are accurate and the transaction is approved. Please follow our instructions to complete the transaction safely. Your vehicle purchase is protected for up to £50,000.00 or the vehicle purchase price, whichever is lower.

Complete the transaction in 5 easy steps:

Buyer and Seller agree on the transaction terms and a selling price. Seller contacts eBay Customer Support with the transaction details;
eBay Customer Support accepts the transaction and offers purchase protection to the Buyer (if the transaction is declined, no further action is required from neither Buyer or Seller);
The Buyer receives an invoice and sends the payment to eBay Customer Support. After the payment is verified by eBay Customer Support, the Seller will initiate the shipping.
The Buyer receives the vehicle and has five (5) business days to inspect it. If it is as described and as agreed, the Buyer should accept the vehicle. If he refuses it, the Buyer must ship the vehicle back to the Seller expense;
After the inspection period is over (5 business days), the Buyer must contact eBay Customer Support with the result of the inspection. If the Buyer accepts the vehicle, the payment will be sent to the Seller within three (3) business days.

eBay Buyer Protection

Case ID: 15CP3WBM3

Item titled: catering trailer refrigerated counters 25ft long v.g.c allready for your busines

Item number: 320873920529

Amount Insured: £2,900.00


Seller Verified Profile
Registered e-mail address: [email protected]
Identity and Contact Information Verified.
Continues to meet strict Membership Criteria.
Committed to Dispute Resolution and Mediation.
Purchase Protection Coverage up to £50,000.00

eBay Buyer Protection Overview
Buy with confidence on eBay Motors! The eBay Buyer Protection program protects your vehicle purchase against fraud and material misrepresentation. This program is provided by eBay Motors for FREE on all eligible vehicle transactions completed on eBay Motors. There's no sign-up, opt-in, or registration necessary.
The following types of fraud and material misrepresentation are covered:


Paying for a vehicle and never receiving it;


Sending a deposit for a vehicle and never receiving the vehicle;


Paying for and receiving a vehicle:


That was a stolen vehicle at the time of the transaction;


With an undisclosed or unknown lien against its title;


Of a make and/or model that is different than what was described in the seller's listing;


Without receiving the title for that vehicle from the seller, if it is impossible for you to obtain a title from the appropriate Department of Motor Vehicles;


Whose title is subject to an undisclosed salvage, rebuilt, reconstructed, scrapped/destroyed, junk, lemon, manufacturer buyback, or water damage title brand at the time of the sale;


With a model year that is different than the model year described in the seller's listing;


With an odometer reading that is different than the odometer reading described in the seller's listing.
Your vehicle purchase is protected for up to £50,000.00 or the vehicle purchase price, whichever is lower. The program covers Cars, Trucks,Commercial Trucks, Motorhomes, Campers, Caravans, Motorcycles, ATVs, Go-Karts, Scooters, Mopeds, Personal Watercraft, Snowmobiles, Boats, Buses, Race Cars, Trailers.
What happened to PayPal Buyer Protection?
PayPal Buyer Protection on eBay existed only for eBay customers who paid for their purchases through a PayPal account. Now purchase protection and issue resolution for your eBay purchases will be managed by eBay, for all eligible payment methods.

With eBay Buyer Protection, buyers will receive coverage for the purchase price of the item, plus original shipping. eBay Buyer Protection also introduces a new, streamlined process for customer service, so you can get help quickly either on the phone or online.
Help

How can I contact Customer Support?
We want your eBay experience to be great, and that means making sure you get the help you need as quickly as possible.
Contact Customer Support
If you're looking for more help or have a question to ask, please Contact us
To get help or contact customer support:
Click Contact us and enter your question or tell us about your issue. Be as specific and concise as possible.
We’ll save records of all of our communications with you to prevent duplicate responses, and to keep track of your questions in case you need to refer to them later.

Thank you,
eBay Customer Support
eBay Buyer Protection Program

...so, realising this guy thought he had someone to scam I began wasting his time, first of all saying I had received no details from him, then saying I went to pay and my bank manager thought it was a scam and I should not go through with it, which was quite funny as it got this response from him...

XXX the banks dont know how eBay operates now with the buyer protection program, you just have to tell the bank manager that you want to pay into the assigned account its a genuine eBay sale

...I then let him know the next afternoon I had tried to pay again but got told by the bank the account I was trying to pay had been put on 'stop' which then got me this response...

Its a simple payment it should be done easy should I ask eBay to assign another bank account ?

...which then got another e-mail like the first one with the following bank details...

Beneficiary: F. Marandiuc
Bank Name: Barclays
Account no: 43351939
Sort Code: 20-95-61
City: London
Country: United Kingdom

...I was then getting a 'bit worried' and started asking for a phone number before making any further attempt at a transfer, which got me...

You dont have problems XXX, you just go to your bank and tell the man you have to do a transfer into the account that you have on the purchase invoice, you are the owner of the account, not the bank.

You can take your decisions.

...touchyyyyyy! Onwards I went pushing and pushing and pushing, trying to get a phone number out of him, or, to let me collect in person, some of the e-mails I got back were as follows...

Its a simple payment it should be done easy should I ask eBay to assign another bank account ?

Collection is not an option should I have the purchase invoice resent ?

Invoice resent, use email as contact please. personal work restrictions, I can only sell it with eBay and will deliver it.

You do not need my number XXX I dont use it for internet deals and wont make an exception, use email as contact.

ME...
John,

I am now about to goto the bank. Can you provide me with a telephone
number incase of problems please.

If you can't I don't feel as though I will be able to go ahead with
this purchase as I am worried that I haven't been able to get any
contact number from yourself incase of problems.

Thanks

No. I dont want to give my number

He then stopped replying for a couple of days so I just kep e-mailing him whenever I had a spare few mins during my days and eventually got back...

Yes XXX you must pay without my phone no.

...and so I sent back some more rubbish this evening...

ME...
John,

As you know I need this trailer and as such I tried to make a payment
this evening via my online banking service. Yet again, when I tried
to make the payment the message came back on screen saying...

UNABLE TO COMPLETE PAYMENT - RECEIVING ACCOUNT DECLINED TRANSFER -
CONTACT US ON .....

...is there another problem with the account??

I am coming up to Scotland next week, can I not just bring the cash,
we can meet in a pub somewhere, have a pint and we can complete the
sale that way?? I will then take the trailer with me when I leave.

Also, can you please send me your phone number, I know you say you
have work commitments but I will not ring unless absolutely needed,
which, as you can see by the problem I have had this evening, would be
useful!

Thanks

...so I shall wait to see what he comes back with now.

Any suggestions of rubbish I can keep him engaged with?? I only hope that by me wasting his time just a small ammount it might save some other poor bugger from being scammed out of lots of £££.

-scambaiter x

My Husband and I have been scammed in the last week by the so-called 'John Neale'. We are gutted to say the least. He has had £4,200 from us. My husband believed the emails that he was receiving were from ebay and it all seemed real. Only after having paid the Money stuuuuuupidly!!!!??? and waiting for a vehicle to arrive from Scotland ( same address in Dundee as on your emails) did I look at the emails more thoroughly and realise they were not from ebay at all. The emails came from '[email protected]' . When I googled the email address I came upon this site and realised devastatingly what had happened to us.

The bank account beneficiary is the same F. Marandiuc / Barclays / sort code 20-95-61/Acc. 43351939.

I have been to my bank, there is nothing they can do. We went to our local police station who told us that we need to wait longer for the goods to be delivered as there has been snow in Scotland. WHAT A JOKE?? We were trying to convince the police that we were victims of a serious Fraud and we needed help and they have told us to come back after Easter!!?? I am absolutely devastated by this.

We came home and phoned Action Fraud. We now have a crime reference number. So what?

Ebay cant help us as the listing was pulled so quick my husband cant remember what user id the seller used, so ebay told me today that it will be like trying to find a needle in a haystack!

How is it possible that so many people on here are getting scammed or nearly getting scammed, we all have the same details and who ever it is, is still getting away with it despite us reporting it. I cannot believe it.

Barclays Bank wouldn't even let me give their fraud department details of this account that we paid the money to.


I cant sleep these last few nights because of the money we've lost, because we feel so stupid for allowing this to happen to us. I did say to my Husband at the time that we should pay by Paypal or cash on delivery, but My Husband seemed so assured by the 'Buyer protection' Garb that had been sent through. I Didn't realise that my Husband was getting private emails that wern't through ebay, so just didn't take much notice. Aaaaarrggh!!
What a mess!!! Whoever they are even have our address!!! Thank Goodness we are moving.

Hi
John neale's ebay user name was 9169brendan hope this is of help to you he was using this user name in march and april of this year

Hi, Thanks for that information. I did manage to find on my 'sent messages' through the ebay site, the message that My Husband originally sent asking for more pictures of the vehicle to be sent to his email address. The User I.D was 'danni1703'. This account/user when you look up their profile and read feedback seems to not have been in use for a year or so either buying or selling? These people I think are somehow using other peoples User I.D to do this??

Ebay are not interested.

Sorry I didn't reply sooner to this - have been away.

The eBay user ID my g/f's father responded to was 'sheeba123louise'.

There is nothing for sale under that ID any more so it look like he/she/they move from one username to the next.

Sorry to hear about your loss too victscamkel73

Lastly, I think John Neale also finally got fed up of me running him round in circles as he e-mailed me this while I was away...

I just sold the catering trailer good luck on another.

...after various e-mails back to try and get him to communicate again I have heard nothing so I assume he has got fed up with me not paying anything up.

Hopefully this thread may help people in future however!

-scambaiter x

Thanks for your reply.

Yeah I pretty much guessed that they are using loads of different user I.D's. Probably innocent peoples.
We found the user I.D in this case, as I did see a message my Husband sent (through ebay) asking for more pictures. It Was danni1703. However buying and selling feedback shows inactive for a year or more.

We were thinking of reporting to watchdog?

However, you need enough people to make it worth while.

I just don't want anyone else to go through this. x

Hi
We have been in touch with barclays bank and they are looking into it you need to get in touch with the police and get a crime number and then get in touch with the police in london and tell them as we did they are going to look in to it so the more people that get in touch with them about this hopefully it will stop it happening to some one else.
They are now advertising on Motorcycle Supermarket.com and Bikez.biz, this has got to stop before more people get scammed by them.

A friend of mine rang me yesterday for advice as he was going to buy a Case CX16b mini excavator and plant trailer for £4000 he had seen on ebay but again the listing was pulled off ebay as soon as he enquired. He was being asked by Sarah Neale [email protected] at the same Dundee address and same story as everyone else.

Thankfully I use ebay a lot and told him I had never heard of the buyer protection story and it sounded suspicious. I did a google search on Sarah Neale etc and found this website thankfully before he paid anything. Unfortunately it does appear many people have paid up before realising it is a scam.

The upsetting thing is that ebay, the police and the banks appear to care little and take no action. Barclays who appear to be the bank of choice are no doubt sitting of frozen funds yet won't return these to the victims. No wonder they can pay big bonuses to the fat cats at the top!

I have listed this info in case it assist anyone else searching to avoid being scammed. There seem to be several threads running on this site related to this very same scam, not all have been done in the name Neale but all work the same and are obviously being done by the same people.

PW64, just because the same script is used doesn't mean it is the same scammer. Scammers often share or steal scripts from other scammers. The police ARE interested in scams, they have limited jurisdiction and limited resources to chase scammers to West Africa or Malaysia or any other "foreign" country.

I hope you will aim your anger at scammers and post up more information from your friend. We need more than the name the scammer uses. Please ask your friend to share, or you can share, the email address the scammer is using.

Thank you.

Hi Bubbles,

Again, I did give the email address the scammer was using in my report above ( [email protected] ). I did not list the rest of the wording as it is identical to that already given on your site.

I have given a much fuller reply against your thread entitled 'ebay seller using Neale as surname'

Hi Victscamkel 7
What date did you get in touch with the bank

To, Blossom

I contacted Barclays Bank on the phone last week, Thursday I believe. Why?

Hi Blossom again,

Also, as per your last post, thank you. We do have a crime ref number given to us by 'Action Fraud', however could you tell me which Police Station you contacted in London?

Many Thanks
x

I will find out which one it is give me 10 mins