Paypal Scam (via Gumtree)

alright, marybruder41 and [email protected] tried to get me too. I was laughing when I read the Western Union part . If you want to read it in chronological order, start from the bottom. Here it goes.

ps: these emoticons are fun




2012/3/28 maxwell colwell <[email protected]>

I was just about to pay when i had this problem with the pick up, my pick up agent says i will need to pay for the pick up before they can schedule a pick up time, they charged me $960 for pick up and delivery, and payments for pick up made through them is made to their corporate international headquarters which is in the united kingdom and the payments is made through western union money transfer, i will add the $960 to the money i will send through paypal as soon as i have made the payments, i will email you and let you know and please i will need you to help me send the money to my pick up agent Hq in the UK through western union money transfer, this can be done from any post office ,there is always western union money transfer section in most post offices(you can do it online as well at http://www.westernunion.com)..., i would have done it myself but as i am at sea and didnt bring my credit card aboard, i am a little incapacitated.I will appreciate your help here.


On Wed, Mar 28, 2012 at 3:33 AM, me wrote:

And please send me your phone number as well.



2012/3/28 me

Hi again!
Sounds good. I will hold the Scooter for you and take down the add as soon as I receive the down payment. Don't hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions. I am positive we will find a convenient time for the pickup.
Cheers,
Tommi


2012/3/28 maxwell colwell <[email protected]>

Hi Thomas,

All good, i will notify you as soon as the payment has been made and will also use this opportunity to contact
my pickup agent to arrange time and date for the pickup but i will like the vehicle to be delivered in my old man
residence before my arrival, thanks and get back to me asap.

Kindly remove the add off the website in order for us to finalize all the whole sales, thanx


On Tue, Mar 27, 2012 at 9:12 PM, me wrote:

Julie,
I highly recommend you check out the scooter before you make any decision about purchasing. You can call me at 0000000000 or email me to set up a time and a place to meet and inspect the scooter. Like I said the scooter is in great condition.
However, if you are keen to buy it regardless I will need a 200 Dollar down payment via paypal in the next 24 hours. My paypal account is [email protected]
As of now I don't have a home address but I am staying on Beaconsfield parade with a friend.
Please keep me updated on what you want to do.
Cheers,
Tommi


2012/3/27 maxwell colwell <[email protected]>

Thanks for the prompt response and i will love to make an instant purchase for the scooter, I have taken a close look at the advert and am completely satisfied i really need this and will appreciates that you help save this for me till the payment made as it will save me some extra cost. and i am paying for the item by PayPal service or your bank details for me to transfer the money from my paypal account to your bank account to cover the cost of the item while you hold on my behalf. Once you have this,my mover will come and pick it up at your place.I will be needing the following information to issue out the payment .

1.Name on your PayPal account
2.Home address
3.Telephone
4.Your PayPal email address
5:Final asking price

Please note that the payment for the item will be send to your PayPal account from mine asap. And also if you did not have an account with PayPal you can easily register with them at http://www.paypal.com it is fast,save,easy and secure for receiving money online

Regards
Julie


On Tue, Mar 27, 2012 at 6:08 AM, me wrote:

Hi!

Price for the Scooter is 1400 Dollars. Like I said, I will take it to get a new battery and an oil change some time this week. It is still running very well but as of now, I kickstart it which is not a big deal at all.

The Scooter is in really great shape beside those two little things. Do you want to take it for a testdrive in the next couple of days?

Cheers,

Tommi

I received two versions of the first scam reply posted in this thread (this is rather long - moderator, please edit as you see fit). This is from the first scammer, who wanted to purchase a Kate Spade bag I had listed in Gumtree Singapore and have it posted to his daughter in London.

I did spend a few emails carefully replying as the persona seemed to be that of a sweet but dim old man who didn't know how e-commerce worked, and I actually do know plenty of older folks who can't write English but have children working overseas in Anglophone countries.

Then came the fake Paypal confirmation along with a bogus address, which I recognized as such because I'd lived in London and never heard of the street in question. The Royal Mail website and Google Maps confirmed the address did not exist. After I pointed this out to the scammer and said it looked really dodgy, he went MIA and I reported it to Paypal.

I don't understand the point of this scam unless it's an elaborate prank. Even if I had been duped and mailed the rather pricey bag out, the scammer could not have received it seeing as the address is fake. Nor did any part of the correspondence ask for any financial or personal information that could have put me at risk (unless there was some keystroke-tracker or virus in the text-only email that my spyware didn't pick up.)

Enlightenment would be great as I truly don't understand why anyone would do this for no profit. I suppose the fact that his/her email is [email protected] should have been a Sign.

On Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 5:23 PM, R Dawson <[email protected]> wrote:


--
Hello how are you doing today,i want to know if this item is still
available for sale reply asap..

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Removed personal information. ~Bubbles
Date: Fri, Jan 13, 2012 at 7:35 PM
Subject: Re: NWT Kate Spade New York Gold Bon Shopper Large Leather Tote Bag
To: R Dawson <[email protected]>


Hello, it is still available and you can see more details at

http://www.ebay.com.sg/itm/NWT-Kate-Spa ... 0791912440

If you would like to purchase it but are not an Ebay member, I will send you an invoice for payment by bank transfer.

Do let me know if you have further questions and thanks for your interest!

xoxo Gail

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: R Dawson <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 12:17 AM
Subject: Re: NWT Kate Spade New York Gold Bon Shopper Large Leather Tote Bag
To: Removed personal information. ~Bubbles


Hello i am Mr R Dawson from United State Of America,how are you today
and how are your families ? hope all is good ? well i am interested in
buying the item for my daughter who is in United Kingdom (EUROPE),
because it my daughter that need it and i hope she would like it , so
kindly get to me with the total cost of the item including the
shipping cost to her address, i will prefer the shipment through Post
Office because it is more cheaper and safer,i will be making the
payment through either PayPal or Bank Transfer.I await your response
as soon as possible.

First Name :Mecky
Last Name awson
Address:flat 14 norriss road greenwich
City:London
Zip-Code:SE172BL
Country:United Kingdom

Thanks and have a blessed
day

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Removed personal information. ~Bubbles
Date: Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 1:10 AM
Subject: Re: Re: NWT Kate Spade New York Gold Bon Shopper Large Leather Tote Bag
To: R Dawson <[email protected]>


Dear Mr Dawson,

Thank you for stopping by my store!

I can definitely mail it to your daughter in London but because the bag is fairly large and needs to be shipped in a cardboard box for protection, the shipping cost will be USD 40 (inclusive of insurance and tracking). It will take about 7-12 working days to arrive. I can also wrap it for you and add a gift message for free if you like.

The cost of the bag itself will be USD250 (converted from 315 Singapore dollars), so the total will be USD290. I will send you a Paypal invoice shortly. If you are certain you would like to purchase the item, please click through the email and you will be able to pay using Paypal. If you decide not to purchase it, just let me know, there is no obligation to buy.

I will label this as a gift, but do note that as with all international packages, your daughter will be responsible for any custom fees.

Also, the address you gave me does not look complete as it has no house number. I'm also worried as I googled the zip code and there is no Norris Street listed at the zip code. If you do not mind, it will be safer if you could get your daughter to email me her street address directly (I will keep the nature of the gift as a surprise of course) -- it is too expensive a package to lose.

Do let me know if you have more questions,

Have a lovely weekend,
Gail

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: R Dawson <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 2:43 AM
Subject: Re: Re: NWT Kate Spade New York Gold Bon Shopper Large Leather Tote Bag
To: Removed personal information. ~Bubbles


Hello the address is very much correct,i guess it has problem when
checking it on Google,so do not worry about the Address..

I decided to make your Payment by Sunday and you make shipment by Monday...

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Removed personal information. ~Bubbles
Date: Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 6:02 AM
Subject: Re: Re: Re: NWT Kate Spade New York Gold Bon Shopper Large Leather Tote Bag
To: R Dawson <[email protected]>


That sounds good, I will reserve the item under your name for a week until payment is made. If you pay by Sunday I will post it on Monday.

When you check out through Paypal, please add your daughter's address as a gift address (if the destination address isn't in the Paypal system, you won't be covered under buyer protection)

Have a nice weekend!

Best,

Gail

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: R Dawson <[email protected]>
Date: Sun, Jan 15, 2012 at 6:32 PM
Subject: Re: Re: Re: NWT Kate Spade New York Gold Bon Shopper Large Leather Tote Bag
To: Removed personal information. ~Bubbles


Hello am happy to tell you that I have made the payment into your
paypal account,kindly check your email both inbox,spam and junk email
for the payment confirmation from paypal what you have to do now is
that you get the item shipped and send the Shipment receipt and
Tracking Number to paypal for verification and after paypal verify the
Shipment the money will be fully credit into your account thanks reply
asap..

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Removed personal information. ~Bubbles
Date: Sun, Jan 15, 2012 at 8:32 PM
Subject: Re: Re: Re: NWT Kate Spade New York Gold Bon Shopper Large Leather Tote Bag
To: R Dawson <[email protected]>


Hello,

I am sorry but I will not ship the item out until the funds have been transferred into my Paypal account. The "payment" you sent looks very suspicious as it is full of grammatical errors and there is no record of it in my Paypal account. I have been selling online for years and have never heard of Paypal asking for a tracking number before the seller receives payment.

Furthermore I am concerned about the address as I looked up the zip code at the Royal Mail website and there is no corresponding Norriss St for that zip code. (Check at http://www.royalmail.com/postcode-finder)

If this is a prank or scam, please stop as I am not a naive seller and will be contacting Paypal to verify the source of the payment email I received. If they confirm that this is a scam, your email address will be recorded.

But if you are a sincere buyer, please make payment using the invoice I emailed you and reconfirm the shipping address. I would hate to think that you are a scammer as you seem very nice over email.

Best,
Gail

Welcome to ScamWerners homespunthings. Congratulations on recognizing you were dealing with a scammer. Also thank you for posting this scam for others to find.

In the future, we prefer not to educate scammers on what tipped you off that it was a scam. Scaly, scammers learn from such messages and become better at scamming.

The best thing to do is to just stop all contact with the scammer and report the scam here.

Good job, homespunthings!

And thank you for sharing with us.

Hi all, I have this:

Hello i am Mr Ronald Wayne from United State Of America,   how are you today and how are your families ? hope all is good ? well i am interested in buying the item for my daughter in USA, because it my daughter that need it  and i hope she would like it , so kindly get to me with the total cost of the item including the shipping cost to her address below with post office, i pay through either Paypal or Bank transfer ok reply soon.


First Name :Tonia
Last Name :Wayne
Address:4b Raven house creek
City-Edinburg
State-Virginia
Zip-Code :22824
Country :USA


I guess should be scam also?

It is a scam.

Hi all, I have this:

Hello i am Mr Ronald Wayne from United State Of America,   how are you today and how are your families ? hope all is good ? well i am interested in buying the item for my daughter in USA, because it my daughter that need it  and i hope she would like it , so kindly get to me with the total cost of the item including the shipping cost to her address below with post office, i pay through either Paypal or Bank transfer ok reply soon.


First Name :Tonia
Last Name :Wayne
Address:4b Raven house creek
City-Edinburg
State-Virginia
Zip-Code :22824
Country :USA


I guess should be scam also?

Yes, surely a scam.

And a couple of new ones using a similar line:

[email protected]

By phone: Is your boat still for sale? please get back to me with the lowest price and condition of it. get back to me through my email address ([email protected])

ME: Hi, you left a message on my phone about the kayak. Yes, it's still for sale.

I have some photos on my camera at home, and I will email them to you this evening if you are still interested. It's in good condition - I paddled it last weekend and there are no leaks or other problems - just some minor scratches as you would expect from normal use - it has been used regularly. Obviously you'll want to look at it before making an offer, so I won't give you a price other than the one listed - it's up to you. But I see your phone number is not in Australia?

Regards,
Elaine

HIM: Thanks for mailing back.I am away at sea at the moment,i work with New Zealand Oil and Gas (NZOG) and we are presently offshore in New Zealand Taranaki Basin on kapo project.We do not have access to phone at the moment,its 15days off and 15days on,which is why I contacted you with internet messaging facility. I am buying this for my for my holiday, and i want it to be delivered before my arrival in NT . However why are you selling it.

I am already in talks with the courier that will handle the pick-up and delivery to my family . As regards the payment, I can pay you through direct bank deposit,using ppal instant bank wire transfer service, I will need your bank details.If you are not comfortable with that, you can set up a paypal account proper at www.paypal.com.au and I will make the payment through paypal, this way, all I will need is your paypal email address,so i can proceed with the payment and contact the courier agent who will come to pick it up and deliver it in my place.

Regards,
Kyle

That's when the alarm bells started ringing!!!

And the second one was:

By phone:

"Is your Ad still available for sale on Gumtree,easier to contact me on [email protected] Whats the condition and firm price."

So don't bother with [email protected] either!!!

Hello and welcome to scamwarners emba999,

Both email addresses were used by scammers. Thanks for posting and warning other who may search the email addresses.

I almost fell for a scam that I wanted to let all of you know about. I got married in September and I plan on selling my dress. I posted to a few sites on Tuesday. I received this email regarding my posting on Oncewed.com:

**Hi,How are you doing today?I just want to know if your Wedding dress still available.Kindly email me the final asking price,condition and if you can send some pictures to me.I can only pay Via PayPal OK....Get back to me asap. Thanks..... [email protected]**

I responded with the information and her response is as follows:

**kaitlin,

Good to hear from you soon,I really the dress and i am buying it for my lovely sister as a surprise on her wedding which is coming up soon. I would have loved to come check it out my self but am currently in camp as military instructor for new recruits. I won't be able to leave the base until 22nd of Jan Next year.I will be paying you with my PayPal account because it's attached to my bank account and its safe and very secure way to make payment. If my mode of payment is accepted just send me your PayPal email address,(PayPal ID)or probably send me a paypal money request so that i can pay right away. I have a private courier agent that will come for the pick up after payment has been made, so no shipping included. I'll need your name, the pickup address or location and please include your PayPal email address for the payment and send me some recent pictures if available And if you don't have a PayPal account, you can easily go to http://www.paypal.com/ and sign up,its very easy. I await your reply asap**
Because she was using PayPal I didn't think anything was fishy. Then her next email to me is as follows:
**Thanks for your mail Kaitlin,
I got all the information and it's has just been forwarded to my courier now OK.....My courier will take care of the cleaning so you don't need to bother yourself again. I also got the paypal request now,i will let you know as soon as i make the payment.....The pickup date will be first thing Monday Morning if that is ok by you kindly let me know as soon as possible.
Once again it's nice doing business with you.**
Once she had my paypal address she sent the following email:
**Hi Kaitlin,
I have just made the payments and PayPal emailed me confirming this. So please check your PayPal email address for the Pay Pal confirmation email. I included my pick up agent fee together with your payment,so you will proceed and Wire the excess which is $400 to my pick up agent to enable them make a booking for the picked up of the item.Please wire the agent fee to them via Western union Money Transfer.

So please do send $350.00 through Western union and use the remaining change of $50 as Western union charge.You can easily Walk to Western union office around you.After you have sent the money please get back to me asap with the Western union details, the MTCN Number which you will be given by Western union agent after you have sent the money as well as the sender's name and address so i can forward it back to PayPal for your money to be put through or you can email it to PayPal directly,that is alright as well.

Here is my pick up agent's info that you will need to send the money to through Western union:

Barbara Green Sproch
1502 Claremont Ave.
Pueblo, Co 80808
United State.

I will need the address where the item will be picked up,as my pick up agent will contact you to book a pick up time after they have received payments but they will have to book a time that is convenient for you.
Best Regards**
This is when I realized it was a scam. I googled wedding dress courier scam and so many posts came up. I emailed the person back stating I would like to make sure payment goes through before giving the dress to the courier. I didn't get a response (which at this point, I didn't expect) so I emailed again stating I was no longer interested.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE be careful when selling your dress. I thought since she was using PayPal everything was okay. Make sure to really do research before giving anything away.

I hope this helps someone.

Looks like yet another one. [email protected]

My question is: I did send name and address however have not had any of the paypal stuff so far. last communication was:
"I wish to let you know that I'm satisfied with the conditions and i will like to inform you that am buying the item for my Family in Thornton Heath,so i will be the one responsible for the pick up and delivery stuff.kindly get back to me with your full name and address so that i can forward it to the pick up agent to calculate the pick up fees for me."

It did sound alarm bells but I thought there was not much harm in that otherwise publicly available information.

What do you guys think? Is there anything one can do to stop them? report them? etc.

Thanks

The best thing one can do, is recognize the scam and avoid them.