One of my most popular posts still seems to be “Apparently you can get scammed using PayPal and Gmail“, in which I received my first scam attempt from a Gmail address. The comments on this post typically are people who have avoided being scammed out of their goods, but a number of people recently are asking how the process actually works and why something’s a scam.
First of all, if the offer is too good to be true, there’s something wrong. Nobody in their right mind is going to willingly add an extra $100 upfront for shipping. People using Craigslist and Kijiji are universally cheap and will offer pennies on the dollar for your merchandise, or worse yet try to “trade” you. If you see an offer that comes in for more than you’re asking for, or adds an exorbitant amount for inconvenience, you’re getting greedy and stupid.
Second, nothing is ever final with PayPal. There are countless horror stories online, but let’s just be clear for people who think PayPal offers any seller peace of mind:
- If you sell an item and use PayPal for the transaction, and don’t ship with a tracking number, the buyer can just claim they never received the merchandise. PayPal will always side with the buyer and return the funds from your account to theirs.
- If you do use a tracking number, the buyer can lodge a complaint and claim that the item is not as described. Supposedly they are required to return the item to you, but PayPal will just return the funds to their account.
- In the event of any issue with the transaction, the buyer always wins.
Oh, wait, you say. But what if I immediately withdraw the funds from my account once the buyer has paid me? Then PayPal can’t do anything?
Actually, they can. PayPal will put your account into a negative balance and any funds you add or receive will first go towards that negative amount. If you keep a negative balance for over 30 days, they will send you to collections and close your account. This will eventually appear on your credit report and you will be constantly hounded to repay the negative balance. It doesn’t matter that you were scammed out of your money; you’ll have to dispute the payment and likely take the matter to court to have it resolved.
PayPal is not seller-friendly. The only reason people use it on eBay is that it’s the only allowed payment choice in many circumstances, and the high-volume sellers do a pretty good job of staying in PayPal’s good graces. If you’re selling 1000 items and 10 people defraud you, you still have a 99% success rate and it’s really just the cost of doing business. The same scenario doesn’t apply for a single seller selling a single item, especially if there are other signs of sketchy behaviour before the transaction.
wow this just saved my ass! thanks so much for posting 🙂
Sandy S. • a few seconds ago
I called PayPal on these Craigslist scams. When you get paid into your PP account be sure to 1. Get a tracking number from your shipping company (UPS, Fedex, etc.)
2. Require a signature from the buyer shipping only to his PayPal address.
3. Ship ONLY to the PayPal buyers address NEVER to his “son, brother, co-worker”
Now if the buyer claims they never received it… the tracking number and signature are proof that you did. PayPal said that the BUYER is absolutely protected IF they follow the above.
Of course nothing is 100% so do be careful!
I am going through a situation between a buyer and I. I sold him some car parts very cheep. He received the parts and claimed that one of the parts was broke which it was not. I told him if he sent the entire package back that I would return his money. He sent one small part back and PayPal gave him all of his money back. I used a tracking number. here was an 11lb difference from what I sent him and what he sent me. They did not care. I even sent them a police report they then offered me $175 out of $575 how fair is that? This has been going on for almost a years. I will never use them again. I have a stack of parts that I would like to sale, but I will never use pay pal again. now they are blowing up my phone every day. So no, a tracking number will not help you. They are an unregulated bully and they will continue to do what they want. At some point the government will step in like they did with Southwestern Bell.
I worship the devil
According to PayPal they will not return funds until the Buyer proves that they returned the item to the Seller using a tracking number. However, a determined scammer can just send back a brick in a package with a tracking number and claim they returned the item.
PayPal also looks at the “track record” of both the Buyer and Seller and attempts resolve the issue fairly.
It is incumbent on any Seller and Buyer to know who you are doing business with. Getting as much information about the person you are dealing with is your best chance not to get scammed.
Good luck.
Personally, I have bought and sold many items using PayPal and so far, have not had a problem.
Thanky you. There was someone like this too. Name Jack merry.
Thanks for your post, i will respond accordingly to the following email.
Hello,
Thanks for the mail, I’m interested in buying this item for my son and
I’m okay with the price, I’m a Petroleum Engineer and currently
offshore I want this as a surprise gift for my son so I won’t want him
to be aware until delivery. Kindly reply me with your paypal email
address for the payment should incase you do not have an account with
paypal you can easily set-up an account with them today as it’s
secured and reliable in terms of transaction arrangement. Visit the
website on http://www.paypal.com I will be responsible for the paypal
charges. My movers would come around for the pick up as soon as
possible after the payment has been made and your full address and
phone number will be needed for the freight arrangement I would love
to speak with you through the phone but due to the nature of my work
as a Petroleum Engineer i work mainly offshore and our phone is down
on the rig right now due to bad weather, We can still communicate
through the email exchange for now.
I will be looking forward to read from you in real soon with the
paypal email address and your full address including phone number for
the freight arrangement.
i have just had the basic same email for the sale of my car. i thought it sounded abit dodgy so i have cheked it out now relising it is a scam. why would any1 wana spend £2000 on a car and not come and view it. thanks this post has been a great help thank you
this is what i was sent……
It’s good to read from you, just to let you know that i’m okay with the
condition and price of this item, i’m seriously interested and ready for its
purchase. Sorry i will not be able to deal locally as im a Petroleum Engineer
once again I would have love to deal locally view what i’m buying face to face
and pay in cash but i’m always BUSY at work, so my form of payment will be by
paypal because i don’t have access to my bank account online (i also don’t have
internet banking with it), I have my bank account attached to my PayPal account,
and this is why i insisted on using PayPal to pay, all i will need to process
the money into your paypal account is your PayPal e-mail address and if you
don’t have a PayPal account yet, you can set one up at http://www.paypal.com it won’t
take you less than 5mins to do that.
I have a Private Courier Service agent ready to PICK It UP at your location and
the Courier Service money will be included in your payment to avoid delay and to
enable Courier Service to schedule an appropriate time for the pick-up at your
location after the money has been successfully been transferred into your PayPal
account This is not my first time doing this so i have everything under control.
If you also have some more pictures, might want to have a good look. Please do
get back to me with your PayPal e-mail and full name on so i can make out
payment ASAP. I want your honesty in return to my faithfulness to you during
this transaction. Your immediate response is really appreciated.
Kind regards,
Just got this for an iPhone I have on Craig’s list. Total scam. Where else can I post so others won’t be taken? :
On Oct 23, 2012, at 9:20 AM, julie corbin wrote:
Thanks for your reply,i am located in Rhode Island,i really need to
buy this and send to my son schooling outside the state, have been
trying to buy this on eBay but is very stressful buying on eBay and i
will not want to miss out on this opportunity so am making you an
offer of $400 to rap the sale off.I will be paying through PAYPAL
because i have a verified account with PayPal.So kindly get back with
your PayPal email
address so i can make payment into your PayPal account.Once payment
clears,shipment will be handled by me through my personal FedEx
account,so you don’t have to pay for shipment.Get back to me if my
approval is granted.I would like to see the pictures please. I await
your response
Thanks.
OMG! I’m so glad I took the time to look into this more…..this is the first time we have ever listed anything on craigslist and a man responded to my husband’s truck and wanted it really bad. Stated that he was out at sea at the present time and that he would be having a transport company come get the vehicle and would also pay an extra $100 to make sure the truck was his! I found it all too good to be true, but he believed it until I looked into it further and found this! The listing also didn’t have any pictures up. I had posted them but they somehow didn’t post and he asked for MORE pic’s…..hello…..RED FLAG……thanks so much for the helpful info!
I got the same kind of message, but in a text, after posting a truck for sale on Craigslist.
Thanks very much. I just got the exact same offer on my boat
I received the almost exact same email as above in response to selling a bike on E-bay … we declined the offer of opening a paypal account! So glad looked for scams before proceeding with his instructions!
They sent me this
> Thanks for getting back to me,Regarding my humble request. how about me
> sending you a payment through PayPal or money order for payment because
> am out of town.Please provide me with your PayPal e mail or your full
> name and address so i can send money order.I will pay $1650 both for
> the item, include shipping cost to my grandson address when sending
> payment.I hope he will love this as a birthday gift.Hoping to hear from
> you soon.
as i replied i will not accept anything besides cash or certified cashiers check.
and if so cashiers check. i would not send it until i cashed the check.
so they replied
**Thanks so much for your team’s ok.Yes i agree to you have demanded ok.So all i need is your full name and contact home address to enable me send you the payment First thing tomorrow ok.I will be waiting to receive your information son.
scam or no scam?
scam.
he first said it was for his son then he said it was for his grandson def a scam!!!!
I have a quick question.. I am a buyer I am trying to purchase Items from to an individual. He insisted that I use Paypal.. I am wondering if being a buyer I can be scammed, he said there is a minimum of 2 items per Paypal Purchase… I responded saying I rather buy one.. He then said it’s company policy.. How can i be scammed??
Also there is a website that I am somewhat skeptical about they have great prices, an 888 number that I contacted them on and spoke to and agent.. I wonder if it can also be a scam… this is the website: http://www.onlinediscounts.biz/.. Please advise.. I am planning on investing in some items
Great post! I put a link to this site on my own blog and posted a similar email that I had received from a craigslist scammer. Awareness is the best defense!
hey guys, i am wondering, i have an old laptop on craigslist and the person says they want me to ship it to NYC for a friend. they want my pAYPAL info immediatly, scam or no scam?
2 days ago i get scammed, I’ve posted a telly on ebay, collection in person, auction. The bidding went smoothly, higher bidder(thief) bought my tellly for 360L. On the next day we have spoke on phone and arranged what time he’ll come to collect an item. One day later, 30mins. b4 his arrival, he has sent money through paypal to my account. Instead of him(thief) someone else turned up to pick up tv, apparently his friend(thief as well), coz’ he lives too far he couldn’t turn up. Transaction was over. Then i received an email from paypal about unauthorised access to his account and my money has been held. Straight after that message I was trying to call a buyer(thief), no answer at all. Very late evening I recevied very cheerful email:(…disput has been resolved…money send back to buyer account:/
That was it, paypal ripped me off and fecking thieves got my telly. I checked his other transactions and unfortunately he has bought 2 more tvs(3 tellys in row). I have contacted the sellers to ask about transaction with this buyer and…they get scammed in the same way as me. One of them got cctv footage, maybe this will help police to catch those fecking thieves.
Sorry for broken engilsh, hopefully my story will help others to understand how internet scams works.
Wow! I am so sorry that happened to you! I really do hope they catch them! Your story helped me out a lot. Thank you and don’t worry karma will come back around to them!
i am terrably sorry about all of your bad experiences,reading these stories really saved me. its a shame when we live in a world like this, where it kills people to just be honest.
Great issues altogether, you just gained a logo new reader. What might you recommend about your put up that you just made a few days ago? Any certain?
i have a motorcycle for sale on craigslist and have found a person that wants to buy it. he says hes not in town but its a gift for his brother and wants to send the money to me via paypal. and says once the money clears he will send someone to pick it up. is there a way this could be a scam?
I used paypal to pay for something on Ebay…..I havent received the item yet and the seller never contacted me back… paypal cant seem to find the transaction but my card balance shows where they took my money!! now am out that money and Ebay wont help and says i have to use paypal resolution center.. so now i have no option?
i got ripped off by a seller on ebay.. said my item would be here yesterday.. ive tried contacting more than once and they have no response… ebay says i have to use the paypal resolutin center but cant find my transaction but my the card i used shows my transaction and that paypal took it for that item? no help….. wat do i do?
What you are describing with Tracking Number and all is relevant for eBay transaction only.
If you buy something on Kijiji for example and send money to a seller via Paypal as “gift” as it is always done when its outside eBay to avoid fees, the transaction is completed and definitive. No claim can be filled.
The mistake a lot of people do on eBay is they file the claim too late. They have 45 days. After that, its too late.
I have a lady trying to buy my car telling me to get an account with Paypal is there any way to use the PayPal account without them being able to scam you? I paid a lot of money for my car and don’t want to lose out on the car and the money what should I do?
This is my third round with pay-pal and e-bay
This time its for BIG $$$$
If you sell on e-bay or use paypal to collect funds you will be robbed !!!
And they will do absolutely nothing for you !
1st, Thanks for the thread!! I think it just saved me $600.
I (like many) thought Paypal was a safe means for transfering money. But I got a wierd responce to an ad on craigslist. The guy (based on his gmail address) was all to eager to by it. Said he wanted it shipped to his cousin, and would add $100 to cover shipping. If it’s overseas $100 isn’t outrageous for a camera kit shipping and insurance. But two emails later he is still asking for an invoice and ignored both of my requests for where to ship it (just a general idea even). As I type this msg, this comes via email.
—–
i have just sent you the payment of 600 including the postage to my
Cousin,and i belive you should have been notified by mail from
paypal,please quickly post it out to my Cousin asap VIA USPS EXPRESS
AIR MAIL and let me know the tracking number,i just wanna let you know
that i’ve paid more only to save you to postage hassle okay,and here
is the postage address below..
Sunday Taiwo
26 Ogunlana Street Off Adekulekuye.
Surulere Lagos
23401
Nigeria.
Thanks
——
Interesting, the cousins first name is Sunday…. More interesting, I got three emails from Paypal. All three were routed to the Junk mail folder. Never had that happen before with Paypal. Wonder why 😉
I guess now I’ll verify my paypal account, and call them it there was (I’m sure there wasn’t) a deposit made.
I have also gotten several messages stating the buyer is out of town an insists on using PayPal. They are also stating they have movers to come pick up the item once payment goes through. If I have them sign a contract stating they received the item so I have documentation I think that would suffice as proof correct?
im wanting to know if this a scam on ebay i have a guy asking for my bike and hes from florida wanting to use paypal and he says he will pay for shipping prices and everything i live in north carolina so this seems along ways and a ton of money for him to spend and he sounds really legit and wanting to overnight the bike to his location not sure if this is a scam let me know please would help
I got scammed on Ebay and Paypal by the Ebay id hohi2011. This guy bought 2 gold bars worth $3500 from me on Ebay and paid me through paypal but unverified funds. He paid me to ship it to Japan and I did (stupid of me). It was tracked and signature required shipment. When the guy got the shipment he put a charge back on the account and paypal is now coming after me for the $3500 I transferred to my bank account. Is ther a way to settle this in court? Thanks for the assistance.
Thank You so much,
i got a text saying that “im welling to pay what you ask for and 100 for shipping to send it to my son ill pay you with paypal”
that was to good to be true and the area code on the number was from here so they i decide to Google scams and i read your article and comments they i relied it was a scam.
Your post is great. It is so true about paypal. A Japanese guy by the name Shohaku Higashi using Ebay id HOHI2011 scammed me out of 2 gold bars worth $3700 on Ebay. He purchased it from Ebay and told me to cancel the sale and send the items to Japan. I thought he was honest and sent it to Japan via signature required tracking USPS. When he got the gold, he simply reverse the money from paypal and claimed he never authorized the purchase. Paypal refunded the money and put a negative balance on my account and now threatening to send me to collections and ruin my good standing credit. The scammer simply got away with my gold bars and paypal is the culprit.
Sellers please be careful when doing transactions if not authorized.
I just received an offer to purchase from and oceanographer at sea…same as the email here…THANK YOU
this is the second communication
Hello,
Thank you for getting back to me. Can you assure me that it’s in good state and that i will not be disappointed with it.I’m ready to pay your asking price and i will also add an extra $200 to seal the transaction..To be honest i wanted to buy this for my Dad, but the issue is i am an oceanographer and i do have a contract to go for which starts tomorrow and am leaving any moment from now.The contract is strictly no call due to the lack of reception on the sea area. But I’m able to access email anytime as we will make use of laptop so my only quickest payment option is PayPal as i can send money via PayPal anytime.Since I’m requesting this transaction to be done via PayPal, i will be responsible for all the paypal fee/charges on this transaction and if you don’t have an account with paypal, its pretty easy, safe and secured to open one.Just log on to http://www.paypal.com. I hope we can make the purchase as fast as possible? I have a mover that will come for it once payment clears and they will take care of very necessary paper for me. So i look forward to hear from you soon. will like to see more pics.
I need the address where the agent will meet you and your PayPal email
address so i can send the money now.
Ill be awaiting your response.
________________________________________
I just got an offer on a phone I’m trying to sell and the buyer says he will pay me another 100 for shipping to Nigeria. He said its for his work colleague. I thought it was a fake but then I got an e mail from what looks to be paypal saying they have the money and that I will receive it when I send them the tracking code for the shipment. Is it genuine because it actually looks like a genuine paypal e mail but I found it in my junk folder after the buyer told me to look there. Scam?
Don’t do it. It is a scam. I’ve been had by a Japanese guy even though the money was in the paypal account. The buyer will simply make a charge back (claim from paypal) and get away with the money and your stuff. I lost $3700 to a scammer on EBAY with EBAY id hohi2011 and paypal simply gave the money back to the guy.
Is there anything I can do if I the buyer was scammed? I purchased shoes from the guy, payed him over PayPal and a few days later his booth was taken down, got an email that his PayPal account was hacked and to call a number. I called the number and was asked a few too many questions. Personal ones, looking for my social security number and some other BS so I hung up. I have his personal number, but the phone no longer rings. It goes to an automated voice everytime, saying its either after business hours or they’re busy on the line. I don’t bother texting anymore because he won’t respond. I called PayPal, but they say they’ll just look into the situation. There is a claim out against him now because he’s done it to I don’t know how many other people. But because he claimed it wasn’t for a good or service, PayPal can’t do anything yet. Is there anything I can personally do to get my money back?
From: Michael(bx5txnballer23-600@yahoo.com)
Interested in your ad,Is there anything else to add ?
Re: Reply to your Ad on Kijiji December 26, 2012 8:53 PM From: Michael Burke
Ok just wanted to make sure nothing has been left out. Happy to purchase at your asking price and do you have a PayPal account,as i will be paying the with PayPal and have pick up done from your location as i am away at the moment,so email communication would do best for now as well.In the meantime,can you send me some pictures?
Regards
Re: Reply to your Ad on Kijiji December 27, 2012 11:05 AM From: Michael Burke
Alright,please do send some photos at your earliest convenience
Meanwhile,I will be needing your registered email address with PayPal for the payment, once payment has been confirmed,I will have a shipping company come for the pickup from you asap.
Regards
Before i make the payment,there is something i need you to be aware of,i just received an email from the shipping company that will be in charge of the pick up.They are saying i need to pay them their fee which is $1000 before they proceed with coming for it and the only form of payment that they accept is MoneyGram Money Transfer.The nearest MoneyGram outlet is 8hrs from where i am overseas.I don’t know if it will be ok,if i include the shipping company’s fee in the payment i will be sending you now,in addition to the agreed amount,you will remove the additional funds of $1000 and help me send it at your local MoneyGram outlet to the shipping company .Let me know if this is ok and i will proceed with the payment.
Click https://www.moneygram.com/MGI/EN/CA/Market/Market.htm?CC=CA&LC=EN to check for a MoneyGram outlet around you
SCAM! Protect yourself, report anything like this or similar. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
SCAM. Same guy tried to do the same to me. His real name is SUGUNTHAN KANNAPPAN he has a facebook page and everything. What a piece of shit.
thank you this scum is trying to scam me
is currently bad where I am overseas,so Email communication would do best for now
mike near (icu37@live.ca)
10:28 AM
Hi Mike. Can you please call me to discuss? My phone number is 780.800.4327. Where would I be shipping this to? Thanks.
Picture of mike near
Michael Burke (bx5txnballer23@gmail.com)
Add to contacts
3:48 AM
[Keep this message at the top of your inbox]
Alright,please do send some photos at your earliest convenience and do let me know once you are set up for PayPal
Picture of Michael Burke
mike near (icu37@live.ca)
11/01/2013
I have never bought or sold on pay pal so just talk tell me what i have to do. Will get a account set up some time tonight my email is icu37@live.ca and will get you the pic as soon as i can l
Michael Burke (bx5txnballer23@gmail.com)
Add to contacts
11/01/2013
[Keep this message at the top of your inbox]
Meanwhile,I will be needing your registered email address with PayPal for the payment, once payment has been confirmed,I will have a shipping company come for the pickup from you asap. Regards
Picture of Michael Burke
Michael Burke (bx5txnballer23@gmail.com)
Add to contacts
11/01/2013
[Keep this message at the top of your inbox]
Alright,please do send some photos at your earliest convenience
Picture of Michael Burke
mike near (icu37@live.ca)
11/01/2013
Good morning, i am off to work till Sunday i will get you pictures then or if i have time will try sooner.Regarding PayPal will have to set up a account i believe this will take a few days so maybe it
Picture of mike near
Michael Burke (bx5txnballer23@gmail.com)
Add to contacts
11/01/2013
[Keep this message at the top of your inbox]
Ok just wanted to make sure nothing has been left out Happy to purchase at your asking price and do you have a PayPal account,as i will be paying the with PayPal and have pick up done from your locati
Picture of Michael Burke
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mike near (icu37@live.ca)
10/01/2013
To: bx5txnballer-142@yahoo.com
Picture of mike near
is in mint shape come with custom godin case it is a professional guitar many use this same guitar including roger Walters from pink flody. if you have any question ask..
Actions
Kijiji Reply (from Dave) (post@kijiji.ca)
10/01/2013
[Keep this message at the top of your inbox]
To: icu37@live.ca
Picture of Kijiji Reply (from Dave)
Hello! The following is a reply to your “Multiac Steel Duet Ambiance” Ad on Kijiji:
From: Michael(bx5txnballer-142@yahoo.com)
Interested in your ad,Is there anything else to add ?
Exact same e-mail from Michael Burke. This happened yesterday. His final e-mail said Any problem helping me out ?
I just received an identical email from a Michael Burke. Looks like he has changed up his email address slightly. I have reported him to kijiji.
bx5txnballer23@gmail.com
I had an e-mail from bx5txnballer23@gmail.com ”Michael Burke” too. The exact same words as those sent to Nicole on December 27, 2012: .. Happy to pay your asking price but outof the country. .. add pictures..I will pay by Pay pal…I’m in Malaisia….Bla bla bla
Thank you people for all your shering. You saved me from troubles.
Any idea what we could do to stop such people? Which autority to contact?
Have ad on Kijiji for high end expensive used professional embroidery/sewing machine-big money-also got email from this guy- bx5txnballer23@gmail.com ”Michael Burke”…….saying he was away in Malaysia and would communicate by email, pay by Paypal. Gave him as laundry list of questions because things he asked made no sense-asked for pictures-there were already 8 pics of the item on Kijji. Didn’t quibble about asking price and said his shipping company would pick it up. Told him that my husband was a cop and that wouldn’t work for me, and told him “Nice Try”. Didn’t tell him his name is all over the Internet as a scammer, because I figured then he would just find another alias to use and it was better if he didn’t know because his name is already out here.
What a dumbass.
this is quite a dumb-ass you would think he would give up by now he using the same scam on me word for word not sure how i should proceed,toy him along ? try to get some info? hunt the scum down?
Thanks for having this information available, saved us from loosing $15,000NZD. We are selling a vehicle online and just had a similar email to some of the ones on here. This guy was supposedly a Marine Biologist based on an offshore rig somewhere and was willing to pay full price & wanted to pay thru paypal. We thought it sounded a bit dodgy, so did a bit of googling etc and sure enough, it was bs. I guess the old saying “if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is” is right.
Got bx5txnballer23@gmail.com
Exact same wording
Ok just wanted to make sure nothing has been left out
Happy to purchase at your asking price and do you have a PayPal account,as i will be paying the with PayPal and have pick up done from your location as i am away at the moment,so email communication would do best for now as well.In the meantime,can you send me some pictures?
Regards
Douchebag… Considered rolling with it to see what I could get out of it. But I just called him a piece of shit instead
I guess this confirms Micheal Burke is a fake. What a dumb fuck, I told him thats what he is and his name fake name is all over the internet haha.
I just got scammed im pretty sure by PayPal they asked me to western union $700 and i did of course.. Now they are askin me to western union them $900 heck no i done turned it in and now goin up to police station tomorrow to file a fraud complaint. From what i learned about PayPal they never ask for money from a seller just a buyer well thats a crock cause they asked me :/ and i bought into the scam and out of money now
I am trying to sell some furniture on craigslist and this is a message I recieved. Is it a scam?
—————————————————————————————————————————————
Hello, I will be happy to buy it and You will not be responsible for shipping and handling. My Shipping Company will come to your location for pick up. Kindly provide me with the address where it will be picked up so that i can forward it to the Shipping Company to calculate the cost of pick up for me. Please get back to me as soon as possible so that i can proceed with the payment via PayPal.
I was selling my car on Kijiji and this guy also had me send him my email address. After reading this I quickly cancelled my Paypal account. I then receive two emails saying he has sent the money from Paypal. So I don’t understand. Does he somehow get the money back? What is he after? The product? Because how can it say he sent the money and he didn’t actually? So confused.
It’s not an actual Paypal email perhaps?
Wow, Thank you very much. I am so glad I found this site before I set up a Paypal account and got ripped off. This is the e-mail that I received for an an item I listed on Craigslist:
Hi there,
Thank you for getting back to me.Can you assure me that this is in good state and that i will not be disappointed with it? I’m ready to pay your asking price and to be honest, i want to buy this for my brother as a gift for him. I am a marine engineer that works on the sea at the moment. phone calls and visiting of website are restricted but i squeezed out some time to check this advert and sent you an email regarding it. My payment mode would be PayPal as i can send money via PayPal anytime. I will be responsible for all the pay pal fee/charges on this transaction and if you don’t have an account with paypal, it is pretty easy, safe and secured to open one. Just log on to http://www.paypal.com. I hope we can make the purchase as soon as possible? I have a mover that will come for the pick up once payment clears. i look forward to hearing back from you soon.
Below are the details needed
Your PayPal e-Mail Address:
Full name:
Firm Price:
Cell Phone number
Thank You
I want to know if the buyer is not scammed last month the lady bsophia43@yahoo.com she buy my macbook for 45k pesos plus 9k for shipping she said she is in florida then sent the item to south africa for a friend i said i accept only remittance or bank transfer she said to me her money is on paypal only and ask if i havent no account in paypal can i make account thru http://www.paypal.com when i done the accnt. she ask me to request a money to her accnt name and done i check my accnt the money is pending and paypal email me to sent the tracking no. to tracking post to verified then the money credit to my accnt. I am curious maybe if i sent the item to her can’t i took the money can i know if is real or fake?
It is unfortunate that people in developed country suffers this fate. Nearlly all buyers on ebay kriijii and similar sites are nigeria scammer. Paypal is banned from nigeria so all those address shippings to nigeria is fraud. Please do yourself and others a favour by sharing this comment thank you.
What i want you all to do is this. If truly anyone is interested in your offer tell them to send bank transfer which is very legitimate but very discouraging to nigerian scammers. Please make sure to send this to friends in uk. Canada australia newzealand and us.
Just got this scam and sure am glad to have seen this thread… Hopefully this helps someone like it helped me.
Thanks for the mail. I am interested in buying the vehicle and I hope
everything is in perfect condition. I’m ready to pay your asking price
but not cash in person because I’m currently in a conference and calls
are restricted at the moment and my only quickest payment option is
PayPal, its safe fast and secure and i will be responsible for the
PayPal transaction charges so you can get your expected amount. If you
don’t have an account with PayPal, its pretty easy to open one,Just
log onto http://www.paypal.com and sign up. I hope we can make the purchase
as fast as possible? As I am buying it for my dad and I’m pretty very
sure he will love it, he’s an handy man, so if there is anything that
need to be fixed in it just let me know he will handle it. I have a
mover that will come for the pick up once payment clears in your
account and he will handle the documentations and changing of
ownership on my behalf. I’ll look forward to hearing from you with
the information below so that I can make the payment this morning as
soon as possible.
Your PayPal e-Mail Address :
Full name:
Zip code for pickup
Reply from a Craigslist Listing
From: Catherine Dyer
I’m ready to pay your asking price and to be honest, i want to buy this for my brother as a gift for him. I am a marine engineer that works on the sea at the moment. phone calls and visiting of website are restricted but i squeezed out some time to check this advert and sent you a text regarding it. My payment mode would be PayPal as i can send money via PayPal anytime. I will be responsible for all the pay pal fee/charges on this transaction and if you don’t have an account with paypal, it is pretty easy, safe and secured to open one. Just log on to http://www.paypal.com. I hope we can make the purchase as soon as possible? I have a mover that will come for the pick up once payment clears. i look forward to hearing back from you soon. Below are the details needed Your PayPal e-Mail Address: Full name: Firm Price: Cell Phone number Thank You
scam artist are so many out there.. check this out of how this person was involved in a scam but got out quickly and refunded all the paypal payments. all the money was refunded in full. evidence is shown.
scam artists are getting smarter and smarter
here is the link to the story….
http://itechjungle.com/scam-artist-exposed-how-safe-is-online-shopping/
Just received something similar through text.
Thanks for the reply i am willing to offer $800 if you can assure me, if it is in good working condition send me a PayPal payment invoice of $800 to my email luizkull101@gmail.com once i get the invoice i’ll transfer the money ASAP.
I am selling it for $700,brand new. Never been opened. Not doing PayPal. You want it you come get it or meet in a public place.
I wish i can come and pay you in cash so i can see the present condition of the item, but am currently on a primary assignment out of town.That was why i preferred PayPal only for security reasons, you can just setup a PayPal account via their website http://www.paypal.com and get back to me with the Payment invoice through your account once you setup the PayPal account.
If I wanted PayPal I would of put it on eBay. Not going to happen,try someone a little more naive.
Just want to let everyone know that if you get an e mail from some guy named Richard or maybe he uses other names claiming he is a Marine or maybe he claims some different story at every scam attempt from an email address lexy.harry92@gmail.com….stay away, it’s a scam. He attempts to purchase and saying a company is going to pick up item and he will pay through pay pal. He provided this phone number 781-474-2181 and when you call you don’t get a person just a recorder saying the person at the extension is not available. He probably just used random company number. The guy is a con artist….stay away.
I’ve received a few days back a mail just like the ones above (but in my native language, which is Portuguese).
This guy has clearly used google translate, you can see it clearly because the grammatical errors he gives are typical in the translation google makes. I thought it was too good to be true, but I thought that I would be in no danger giving him my PayPal information: if I received the money, I would send him my item; if not, no item for him. Or so I thought.
I thank this site a lot for saving me €700 + PayPal problems and for the transition being late (because I ran into this site looking for reasons why I wasn’t receiving the PayPal warning stating I have received money or why I haven’t got the transition in my account) (I think I haven’t received the transition because, and I only noticed this a few moments ago, the name I gave him is different from the one that is in my PayPal account).
I gave him my PayPal information, but thankfully, I can cancel/decline the transition if it appears in my PayPal.
Since I read all that happened to you, I searched the IP from his e-mail and his phone number (he first contacted me through a text message) and discovered he is from United States of America (how the hell did he find my add, since I only have adds in Portuguese online stores).
I believe that he is using a hacked e-mail, but, just in case, I leave here all his information.
Name: David Almeida
E-mail Address: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
Phone Number: 352 563 432
Exchanged mails + phone message(translation and comments included) (in correct order):
Phone message:
djalmeida: Qual é o preço de venda do seu telefone?Me e-mail diretamente para d.j.almeida@hotmail.com
Translation:
djalmeida: Which is the selling price of your phone? E-mail me directly to d.j.almeida@hotmail.com
Comment:
1st the message is full of errors. Portuguese (from Portugal, not Brasil) is a difficult language and it is really easy to detect errors (especially google translate errors).
2nd everywhere where I posted my add for the item the selling price was clearly stated.
1st e-mail (me):
> Subject: Telefone
> From: (my e-mail address)
> Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 20:29:05 +0000
> To: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
>
> Boa noite
>
> O preço de venda do meu telemóvel é de 700 euros.
>
> Obrigada
>
> Ana
Translation:
> Subject: Phone
> From: (my e-mail address)
> Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 20:29:05 +0000
> To: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
>
> Goodnight
>
> The selling price of my phone is 700 euros.
>
> Thank you
>
> Ana
2nd e-mail (him):
From: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
To: (my e-mail address)
Subject: RE: Telefone
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 20:41:29 +0000
Ok, estou interessado nele e estou pronto para comprá-lo agora como um presente para meu filho, estou pagando o custo de transporte e pague via Paypal, porque eu amo seu rápido e seguro e também recomendada pelo governo para fazer transações on-line. Então, vai oferecer-lhe €800,00 euros mais envio via Post Office.If interessados por favor inclua no seu próximo email com seu Paypal e-mail e nome para o pagamento…
Translation:
From: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
To: (my e-mail address)
Subject: RE: Phone
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 20:41:29 +0000
Ok, I’m interested in it and I’m ready to buy it now as a gift to my son, I’m paying the shippping cost and through Paypal, because I love it’s quick and safe and also recommended by the government to make transitions on-line. So, I’m going to give you €800,00 plus shipping through Post Office. If interested please include in your next e-mail your Paypal e-mail and name for the payment…
Comment:
Again, it is full of errors (some I’ve even managed to include in the translated version). And he says he wants to give me more €100 than what I asked for. Ok, the shipping cost between Portugal and the USA is a bit pricey, but not THAT much. And in the Portuguese language you place the currency symbol always after the number, not before as you do in the English language.
3rd e-mail (me):
From: (my e-mail address)
To: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Telefone
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 21:00:24 +0000
Estou interessada sim.
O meu e-mail do Paypal é este mesmo ( my e-mail address ) e o nome será Ana.
Para onde estaria a enviar o Iphone?
Translation:
From: (my e-mail address)
To: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Telefone
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 21:00:24 +0000
Yes, I am interested.
My PayPal e-mail is this one ( my e-mail address ) and the name is Ana.
To where am I shipping the phone?
4th e-mail (him):
From: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
To: (my e-mail address)
Subject: RE: Telefone
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 21:09:52 +0000
Olá
Obrigado para os detalhes de pagamento, agora estou providenciando o pagamento e o I-mail para você uma vez que ele foi transferido.
Brinde.
Translation:
From: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
To: (my e-mail address)
Subject: RE: Phone
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 21:09:52 +0000
Hello
Thank you for the details of payment, I am now doing the payment and the e-mail for you since it was transferred.
Cheers.
Comment:
Well, the errors are so critical, I can’t even understand very well what the hell he is trying to say (I think I have managed to pass them on through the translation – is he doing the payment or has it been already transferred?). Notice that he ignored completely my question to where I was shipping my phone to. Also, you don’t say Cheers (Brinde) in Portuguese as a form of saying goodbye. You just don’t.
5th e-mail (me):
From: (my e-mail address)
To: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Telefone
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 21:23:18 +0000
Mas para que morada irei enviar o telemóvel?
Translation:
From: (my e-mail address)
To: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Phone
Date: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 21:23:18 +0000
But which address am I shipping the phone?
Comment:
I ask him again, but with no results.
6th e-mail (me):
From: (my e-mail address)
To: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Telefone
Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2014 20:09:42 +0000
Olá
Você disse que o pagamento tinha sido transferido, mas no meu paypal não aparece nada.
Tem a certeza que transferiu para a conta certa? Ou acabou de fazer a conta de paypal e está à espera que seja verificada?
P.S.: If you prefer, we can talk in English.
Agradecia que respondesse o mais rápido possível/I would apreciate a lot if you could answer me as fast as you can.
Obrigada/Thank you
Translation:
From: (my e-mail address)
To: d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Phone
Date: Sat, 16 Mar 2014 20:09:42 +0000
Hello
You said that the money has been transferred, but my PayPal account doesn’t show anything.
Are you sure you transferred to the right account? Or did you just made PayPal account and you are waiting for it to be verified?
P.S.: If you prefer, we can talk in English.
I would apreciate a lot if you could answer me as fast as you can./I would appreciate a lot if you could answer me as fast as you can.
Thank you/Thank you
Comment:
Thank god it did not transfer! Maybe if it had, I would be €700 poorer or maybe not, since its a weekend and the post offices in my country are all closed. He still didn’t answer me, and I’ve reported him as a hacked account to hotmail.
———————————————————————————————————————————————–
I really thank you all and I hope my post helps someone before they lose money and their items.
Best wishes for everyone 🙂
Just received this e-mail xD just as you guys say, everything from Nigeria is a scam so I’m going to ignore him.
From: David Almeida (d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com)
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2014 7:01:41 AM
To: Ana (my e-mail address)
Okay,
I would want to inform you that i just sent funds into your PayPal Account,a notification of payment,i guess must have been sent to your PayPal Account,you can check your bulk mail for this….it goes in there sometimes,I would be glad if the item can be mailed out as soon as possible today via Register Post Office to the address specified in the payment notification. once again as i would want you to email me once you have the item mailed.
Name: Sunday Johnson
Address: 14 Stadium Rd
State: Oyo State
City : Ogbomosho
Zip Code: 23438
Country: Nigeria
A pleasure doing business with you.
——————————————————————————————————————–
For some reason *cough cough*, the PayPal e-mails are completely different from the ones I usually get and I went to my PayPal account before I saw the e-mails and there isn’t any new transition there.
Paypal e-mails:
From: PayPal Int’l ® (service@transferintl.com)
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2014 6:34:03 AM
To: (my e-mail address)
You’ve got new funds!
Dear Ana,
David Almeida just sent you money with PayPal.
David Almeida is a Verified Buyer.
Payment Details
Amount:
€800.00 EUR
Transaction ID:
9G329861629F3728A
Subject:
Pls Ship Before 24hours
Note:
You have been paid for your item,
Telefone
Shipping Information
Address:
Name: Sunday Johnson
Address: # 14 Stadium Rd
State: Oyo State
City : Ogbomosho
Country: Nigeria
Zip Code: 23438
Address Status:
Confirmed
This PayPal® payment has been deducted from the buyer’s account and has been “APPROVED”but will not be credited to your account until the shipment tracking number is sent to us for shipment verification so as to secure both the buyer and the seller. Below are the necessary information requested before your account will be credited. Send tracking number to us or email us through this mail service@transferintl.com and our customer service care will attend to you. As soon as you send us the shipment’s tracking number to us for security purposes and the safety of the buyer and the seller,the money will be credited to your account.
**PLEASE NOTE**
Once shipment has been verified and the tracking number sent to us, You will receive a “CONFIRMATION EMAIL ” from PayPal® informing you that the Money has been credited.
Thank you for using PayPal!
—————————— —————————— —————————-
PayPal Email ID : PP315
Protect Your Account Info
Make sure you never provide your password to fraudulent websites.
To safely and securely access the PayPal website or your account, open a new web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape) and type in the PayPal URL (https://www.paypal.com/row/) to be sure you are on the real PayPal site.
PayPal will never ask you to enter your password in an email.
For more information on protecting yourself from fraud, please review our Security Tips at https://www.paypal.com/row/ securitytips
Protect Your Password
You should never give your PayPal password to anyone, including PayPal employees.
From: PayPal Int’l ® (service@transferintl.com)
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2014 6:45:45 AM
To: (my e-mail address)
Dear Ana,
We are to let you know that the payment made by our client (David Almeida) for your item is confirmed and it has been deducted from the buyer’s account which will be credited into your account as soon as you provide us with the shipment information.
We have received the money which is pending in our database and we will like you to provide us with the following information as requested by PayPal for verification to protect their customers from fraudulent business transactions.
Kindly make the shipment progress within 24 hours in order to release the money into your account for the transaction as we can not accommodate any form of misappropriations and we have a reputation to protect and do all that is possible to increase our business relationship with the international PayPal,Worldwide. As soon as you notify us about the package shipping status, we shall deposit the said amount into your account immediately and also the address you are requested to ship the item to has been confirmed by us.
This is as a result of new safety measures that has just been adopted by us to safeguard all our customers against any internet act.Please note that you must contact us to these email service for support service@transferintl.com
Thank you for using PayPal online services,
PayPal Team
My answer to both the scammers:
From: (my e-mail address)
Sent: Monday, March 17, 2014 2:36:35 PM
To: PayPal Int’l ® (service@transferintl.com); d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com (d.j.almeida94@hotmail.com)
You can both go scam someone else.
It really pisses me off people like this. You are horrible people.
I’ve reported both of them.
I do execute the occasional purchase or sale of items on eBay. There are plenty of horror stories above. However, most buyers and sellers insist on only using PayPal with respect to these items. Likewise, PayPal has grown significantly in the past few years, allowing us to pay for groceries, gas, etc.
So my question is: if PayPal always takes the side of the buyer, how do you purchase/sell items if PayPal is the ONLY CHOICE?
I do believe that eBay and PayPal have become a monopoly and since eBay owns PayPal, any “collusion” is internal to the company, therefore, there is no collusion per se. As such, I do hope Congress steps in, and forces eBay to break off it’s PayPal subsidiary.