Scammer trying to buy my Item! What a Hide!!

So tell me,
how far do you go with them
up to the point of giving them your paypal info ?
and then stop before sending them money

Hi Borderline,

We recommend once it is determined someone is dealing with a scammer that they stop communicating with the scammer totally. Don't string them along. Don't see how far things will go. Just stop communicating with a scammer.

As David said, and I said by PM, we do not encourage messing with scammers on this site at all. You have been encouraged to check out our sister site http://www.419eater.com . There you can learn to safely mess with scammers and your questions can and will be answered.

Here we seek to expose scammers, educate victims and the public regarding scams. We warn and encourage people who have been tricked by the scammer and are stuck in a cycle of believing what the scammer has said.

Please do take a look at http://www.419eater.com.

Hi Borderline,

We recommend once it is determined someone is dealing with a scammer

So my question is:
When do you know it is a scam?
Do I provide my paypal info if asked.
CAN YOU ANSWER THAT TO HELP ME DECIDE, WHEN TO STOP.
I have been asked to provide my paypal info as buyers paying method, which is still legit busines.
DO I PROVIDE IT ?
I do not know if I am dealing with Scam, cause I was not asked to pay for anything.

Please provide more information about the transaction you are wondering about.

Did you contact the person or did they contact you?

Have you searched the email address of the person you are communicating with to see if it comes up any place as a scam?

Have you checked the headers to see where the IP leads you to?

Certainly you do not give your password to anyone, as that would give the access.

If in doubt, contact PayPal with their PayPal information too.

You should only provide information you are comfortable providing.

Dear Sir,
>
> I saw your car advert on caronlinefree.com and i was inpressed with it.
> First of all let me introduce myself to you. My name is Erika Simpson a
> Telecommunication consultant.
>
> As part of my job to move from one location to the other I have choose to
> buy your car for my nature of job which involve travelling always.
>
> Before we proceed further, I will like to ask you some few questions about
> the car;What is your final asking price? vehicle mileage? and the fuel
> efficiency problems?, maintenance of the car? can you provide full or
> partial warranties, a warranty for a certain time period? Can you allow my
> personal mechanics to inspect the car after part payment is made to you?Are
> you a direct owner or dealer?
>
> Also Advise your prefered payment method.
>
> I await your quick response.
>
> Erika Simpson.

That reads very much like a scam Borderline.

Who gives that much information about them self when they are buying a vehicle on line?

Who asks for a warranty from a private seller?

Is your ad that impressive?

Has this person's mechanic looked at your vehicle?

Where are they saying the are from?

What does your sense say?

So I replied to this lovely person, disregarding that her English is not better than mine, but since we live in USA it is common that ppl are not perfect in it (I am one of them).
My English is not good, does that makes me a scammer?

I gave her my Phone number to call, so to set up an appointment to see the car.

So far she has my email my name and my phone number.
Now she wants a copy of a car service record (that I offered to show), but with that she will also have my address.

On 11/29/11, Erika Simpson <[email protected]> wrote:
> Thanks for your reply. As part of my work to move ups and down i can't
> realy make scheldule now to see you. But with a scan service invoice i
> can make payment by check and after payment confirmation, my mechanic
> will come for pick up b'cus i which to change the wheels.
>
> On 11/29/11, Erika Simpson <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I have been so confortable by the information you gave me. Can you
>> send me one copy of the service invoice? And what is your prefered
>> mode of payment between cashier check or bank transfer.

Could this person be trying to steal your Item for Sale so they could pass it as their own? Especially if they want a copy of your car service record. Thats what it sounds like to me? For someone with a telecommunications job shes just a phone call away. I dont think id be happy to just hand over money without at least speaking to you first. Id have a mechanic to look at it first before any money is exchanged. Its most probably a fake check?

At this point, I can tell you clearly that you are dealing with a scammer.

As far as the English goes--you are absolutely correct when you point out that the US is home to a wide variety of people, including many who are originally from other parts of the world, and whose English may not be perfect.

However, in people from different areas of the world, the types of mistakes in English are usually consistent. People from western Africa typically make different mistakes from people from other areas of the world, partly because some mistakes are related to the difference between English and their own languages, and some are simply regional. Over time, you may be start to recognize those differences. I can tell you from the first email you posted that this is going to turn out to be an African, simply because of the English. I can also tell you that it is going to be a scam from that first email. That second email confirms it beyond a doubt.

Bubbles pointed out some valid questions about the email itself, all of which should make you suspicious (especially the owner/dealer question, since Craigslist separates owner from dealer ads, and anybody interested enough to reply should be paying attention to that.)

But what confirms for me that this is a scam is the scammer's own statement here:

Can you allow my personal mechanics to inspect the car after part payment is made to you?

Assuming this is not an extremely expensive car, if this person is going to take the trouble of having it inspected by a mechanic, he/she is going to do it before they pay out any money. They are not going start by sending you money.

Also note this statement, another huge red flag:

As part of my job to move from one location to the other I have choose to buy your car

You haven't answered any questions, yet this person has already decided to buy your car, sight unseen? Not going to happen. People are on Craigslist looking for deals. They are going to make sure they are getting a good deal, before they decide to spend a lot of money. If this were a legitimate person who needs a reliable car for her job, she would not even consider saying she wants the car before she had answers to a lot of questions (and it is extremely rare that any buyer would be talking about payment before having their questions answered.)

Look at the questions--are they consistent with the person actually having read and paid attention to your ad? For example, this scammer asks for mileage - was this posted in your ad already? Another thing you can do is google parts of the email, and see if you find other scams.

If the emails are clearly consistent with a scammer, just drop them and move on (you can always come here and ask if you are not sure).

I was certain at the first email that this was a scammer, but assuming you weren't sure, and you proceeded to the 2nd, it becomes even more clear.

Now notice that she has no intention of seeing the car in person before buying. BIG red flag.
Now "she" is paying for the car, sight unseen, and her mechanic is responsible for "pick up." Not going to happen.

If you really have reason to believe a particular person is legitimate, then it is not going to do a lot of harm to give your paypal email address. But be cautious with other information--make sure you have taken a good hard look at the emails from the buyer before you decide to send anything.

In answer to leagar's post (made while I was typing)--no, the scammer isn't trying to steal the car (though he may use any records he receives to help him in another scam). It's pretty clear that this is a typical attempt to get cash.

I found this thread when I googled "[email protected]". I thought I would update this to say the scammer is still operating in the same way.

I put my car up for sale on Auto Trader and I got an e-mail from "Carl England":

I'm interested in the car you have for sale,kindly get back to me with the final price,reason for sale and it present condition.

I wrote back with the answer and got:

Hi,I am very keen. How i wish i could come and view what am buying from you in person but am currently overseas at the moment and i want it picked up before i get back, though i will be back in couple of weeks. Due to my inability to make a bank deposit, I would be paying via PayPal which is safer for me. Kindly send me a paypal payment invoice or create an account at www.paypal.co.uk if you don't have one.I will also make a concrete pick up arrangement with a transport agent who will be coming over for the pick up once you receive full payment into your PayPal account. Have a nice day. P.S Few more photos will be appreciated as well.

Which immediately sent alarm bells ringing, and I googled the e-mail address. I was not at all surprised when this forum came up top of the list.

Hi
I got exactly the same today too, well it began a couple of days ago. Carl England was the name used, same emails, PayPal request, proposed car collection and would I send details and payment for Western Union to collect the car. The English used got really bad so I googled Carl England car scam and found this site. So be warned he/she/they are still about!
Thanks to whoever put in the first warning

lol funny you just mentioned 'goletmetz'
David Green ([email protected])Add to contacts 17-03-2014
To: (my name omitted)
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 $900 for pick up and delivery and also with the insurance fee, and payments for pick up made through them is made to their corporate international headquarters which is in state and the payments is made through western union money transfer, i will add the $1000 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 state 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 or at the bank. I would have done it myself but we cant bring some of our personal effects along, i am a little incapacitated.....I will appreciate your help here.
READ ON THIS GETS INTERESTING:
I have just made the payments now and i expect paypal to have emailed by now if not you can check your spam or junk folder for the confirmation, i sent $3,500 in all, to ([email protected]) i added $1,000 meant for pick up and delivery and the money gram fee also and the insurance, so you will need to send $900 to the pick up agent Headquarters via money gram money transfer, paypal said they have emailed you to this effect, i added extra $100 to cover the money gram charges which shouldn't be more than $100, so $3,500 will be credit to your account. Here is the pick up agent info needed to get the money sent through western union money transfer:


Name Rose chafee
Addres: 45 book Rd,
City: Colorado springs,
State: Colorado
Zipcode: 80910
Country: United State

I will need the details of the transfer once you have sent fund . . .
1.The MTCN number that is the 10 digits number on the Western Union receipt
2.Sender's name and address used in sending the money
3.Actual amount sent..

YIPEE DOES THAT MEAN I GET TO KEEP THE MONEY AND RUN???? (since this person is in america?) Im wondering at what stage he will 'ask for his non existant money back' oooh boy I could really mess with this person today-im bored! sent to my paypal? after asking for my account details? dang-not even the right paypal email adress! DANG! do people REALLY THINK others are THAT STUPID HERES HIS PHONE NUMBER FOR FUTURE REFERENCE : +16573334349...any russians out there bored might wanna give him a call since he doesnt like texts! bwhahahahaah

...and $1000 for freight to the US on 4 large items of furniture, lol give me a break!

Microsoft SmartScreen marked this message as junk and we'll delete it after ten days.
Wait, it's safe!|I'm not sure. Let me check



Receipt Of Payment From David Green To Your Account.
This transaction is due to appear in your account shortly.
*For any questions and other issues regarding this payment, Please reply to this email only and we will gladly help you*.


Item # Description Quantity Price Subtotal
-------------------- Furniture
1 $2,500.00
AUD
$2,500.00
AUD

Shipping and Delivery
(includes any seller handling fees):


$1,000.00
AUD

Insurance
(Including Personal Home Delivery Chargers):



-------------




Total:
$3,500.00
AUD

This Payment will appear in your account statement as "Pay Pal®_ Wire "David Green" Payment sent to account .

Receivers account details:

Account Name

Account Number

BSB Number

Mxxxxx

(account omitted for privacy)

Bank Code: xx | State code: x | Branch code: xxx
Institution Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Branch Name NSW
Street Address xxx
Suburb xxx
State NSW
Postcode xxxx



This is to inform you that you are required to send a sum of $900.00 AUD to the address below via Money Gram Money Transfer, you are requested to email us the Ref.# (Money Gram Control Number) , Sender's Name and Address used to make the transfer .
As soon as we have received these information from you, we will Credit a sum of $3,500.00 AUD to your account. Below is the address where the money is to be sent to using Money Gram Money Transfer.

Agent's Info:


Rose Chafee,
45 book Rd,
Colorado springs,
Colorado,
80910,
United State.


Address Status: Confirmed
Please note:
We wish to inform you that * David Green * has made her intentions known to Pay Pal® that she will like $900.00 AUD to be sent to the recipient's address above via Money Gram Money Transfer.
Note:
* As this transaction was done via our e-mail payments service, any inquiries and necessary information should be sent to us by directly replying to this message, because of the status of this transaction, it has not been passed on to our customer care phone service section and all inquiries should be directed to this e-mail address as it is the one monitored for your transaction.

* If there's any refusal from you to act upon the receipt of this payment notice, we will have to take a LEGAL ACTION against you as this is just a way to ensure PayPal a safer place for all our customers.

* This payment has been deducted from the buyer's account and has been "APPROVED" but will not be credited into your Commonwealth Bank of Australia account until the Ref. # is sent to us for verification, so as to secure both the buyer and the seller.


Please, understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect both the Buyer and the Seller.We apologize for the inconvenience that has caused you.
Because of the inconvenience this causes we are giving you the next two incoming transfers for free! You will pay no fees for your next two incoming transfers*.

PayPal will be responsible for any loss incurred during the course of this transaction.

With more than 147 million accounts worldwide, we are a leading online payment method you can trust!

Thank you for using PayPal®.
PayPal Security.

[b]sounds legit![/b]


David Marcus
President
PayPal, Inc.

"David Green" is still at it.

I am selling a used car and within an hour of posting it on auto trader I get a text message from (707) 403-9474:
still for sale?
this for my son as a Surprise gift so whats your final price.
Thanks for the reply, i am a marine technician and am always busys thats why i won't be able to check the item or call due to the nature of my work am buying

` pretty weird, right?

I respond:
Final price is $2000. A car is a really nice surprise gift

Green: I can only pay through PayPal at the moment due to the nature of my work, so all i will need is your PayPal email address or send me a paypal money request and if you don't have a PayPal account yet, you can set one up at http://www.paypal.com it cant take you less than 3mins to do that. I will be waiting for your PayPal
asap

~I'm a good sport, it is the tech age and some people have obsessions with particular types of car. But still..

Me: You don't want to drive it first?

Green: i wont be able to check it due to the nature f my work and my agent can only come when the payment as been made so get back to me with your paypal email and your final price so I can pay. I have a pick up agent that will come for the pick up after payment has been sorted. I will be waiting for your reply since you said the condition is good

Now I'm concerned. Buy a car without driving it first? I check the phone number and it's in the States - I'm in Canada. He sends several more texts about paypal - it's been sent, check your spam blah blah. By the time I get to my email I have two messages. The first from Green [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 $900 for pick up and delivery and also with the insurance fee, and payments for pick up made through them is made to their corporate international headquarters which is in state and the payments is made through western union money transfer, i will add the $1000 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 state 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 or at the bank. I would have done it myself but we cant bring some of our personal effects along, i am a little incapacitated.....I will appreciate your help here.

I'm like, what?

Second email:

I have just made the payments now and i expect them to have emailed by now if not you can check your gmail spam or junk folder for the confirmation, i sent $3,000 in all, to ([email protected]) i added $1,000 meant for pick up and delivery and the western union fee also and the insurance, so you will need to send $900 to the pick up agent Headquarters via western union money transfer, paypal said they have emailed you to this effect, i added extra $100 to cover the western union charges which shouldn't be more than $100, so $3,000 will be credit to your account. Here is the pick up agent info needed to get the money sent through western union money transfer:


Name Ronald Martineau
Addrres: 1137 Valley Manor Ct.,
City: Colorado springs,
State: Colorado
Zipcode: 80906
Country: United State


I will need the details of the transfer once you have sent fund . . .
1.The MTCN number that is the 10 digits number on the Western Union receipt
2.Sender's name and address used in sending the money
3.Actual amount send

So.... warning bells everywhere.

I check the faithful internet and find this, so I text him back saying I'm so sorry but the clutch just blew and the car is only useable as a parts vehicle.

Thanks to everyone who posted here to help sellers.

We're all in this together