Craigslist Scams - Spoofed PayPal emails

This scam is a slightly different twist on most online selling/auction scams. The scammer pretends to be an interested buyer, but is trying to steal your listed item by sending you fraudulent (spoofed) emails designed to fool you into believing he has paid you through PayPal.

This scammer is responding to Craigslist ads for electronics (phones, cameras, laptops) and jewelry. He goes by the name of Mike Foster or Foley. (Those are the names I know of, but he is probably using more names...and there are LOTS of scammers pulling similar scams under other names.) He is using a number of different emails, including:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
etc.
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
etc.
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
etc.

You will get a response to your ad something like this:

Is this Item still available for sale? what is the condition? get back
to me as soon as you can.
Regards

After you respond back that the item is still for sale, you will get something like this:

Yes i'm interested in buying this item for my Spouse as a promised
gift and she is currently out of town for a project as it's her first
time traveling out of town.Since we're not going to be together this
year, so I thought I should be getting him something nice. I will be
paying you for this transaction to be concluded right away via my
Paypal account, so kindly get back to me with your paypal email
address as for me to transfer the money ASAP. I would have prefer it
if you can get the package to me in my house while I personally send
it to her but am presently in (New York) and am very much ready to
pay for shipping charges.. I will add an extra $100.00 to cover the
Shipping&Handling charges via UPS or Fedex.I will appreciate it a lot
if you can kindly help me wrap the package very well so that it will
get to her as a mode of a gift . Please don't be afraid of dealing
with me bcos am not shipping abroad. am shipping it to (New
jersey)Please be honest with me I will be waiting to read from you
soon.

Regards

Note the gender confusion - sometimes this scammer fixes these, sometimes he doesn't!

The above response is mostly to sellers of jewelry. If you are selling electronics, it will be something like this:

Yes i'm interested in buying this item for my boy as a promised gift
and he is currently out of town for a project as it's his first time
traveling out of town.Since we're not going to be together this year,
so I thought I should be getting him something nice. I will be paying
you for this transaction to be concluded right away via my Paypal
account, so kindly get back to me with your paypal email address as
for me to transfer the money ASAP. I would have prefer it if you can
ship the package to me while I personally send it to him but am
presently in (New jersey) and am very much ready to pay for shipping
charges.. I will add an extra $100.00 to cover the Shipping&Handling
charges via USPS Global Express Mail or USPS Priority Mail (EMS).I
will appreciate it a lot if you can kindly help me wrap the package
very well so that itwill get to him as a mode of a gift . Please
don't be afraid of dealing with me bcos many people are afraid of
shipping abroad. Please be honest with me I will be waiting to read
from you soon.

Regards

He will then ask you for your PayPal address, and pretend to pay you. You will receive an email that looks like this:

Payment For Your Craigslist Item
Payments by PayPal
Dear ([email protected])

Mr Foster Mike just sent you Money with PayPal

Mr Foster Mike is a Verified Buyer




Money Request Details
Total Amount Paid: $5000.00 USD



Transaction ID: 7TX95872YQ365894P
Note:
Make sure its being shipped via UPS or Fedex


Subject:


You have been paid for : Diamonds



Delivery Information
Address:

Name =William Gannon
Address = 371 south 11th street,
City= Newark
State=New jersey
zip code 07103.



Status: Confirmed



VisaMasterCardDiscover American Express eCheck



The payment made by "[email protected]" has been APPROVED but the funds can only be credited or reflect in your PayPal account after you have shipped the item and provide PayPal Customer Service Dept. the shipment details issued to you at the office of postage.

You are advised to ship the item within the next 48Hr(s) of this notification and provide the Customer Service Department: [email protected] the shipment details (Shipment Reference Number and Transaction ID) .
This new process is made effective so as to secure the Buyer and Seller from Fraudulent acts.

**PLEASE NOTE**
Once the Shipment details is Confirmed, your Funds will become operational in your PayPal account immediately and you will receive a CONFIRMATION email from PayPal informing you that the Money has been credited into your PayPal account.

We are sorry for any inconveniences we might have caused you.
Thank you for using PayPal.

Note that the email address this email will come from LOOKS like PayPal, but it really isn't! If you hit "reply", note that the NAME of the recipient is "[email protected]", but the actual email address is: <[email protected]>

PayPal does NOT use "mail2consultant.com" as its email service. That's a free email service!

The scammer will then email you something like this:

Hello
I have transfer the money to your PayPal account and am sure you've
been updated about the transaction ,i have also added the money for
the shipping and handling has for you to ship via UPS or Fedex.thanks
and i want you to get it packed very neat and ship it out to my son as
soon as possible while you get back to me with your shipment tracking
number as for me to get my son updated ....here is my son shipping
info.below..............

Name =William Gannon
Address = 371 south 11th street,
City= Newark
State=New jersey
zip code 07103.

I am going to be waiting for your shipment detail .please make sure
you ship asap and nice doing business with you .

He may also ask you to ship to an address in Staten Island, NY, or even Nigeria:

sumbo martins
No4,ayandeji street filade junction adeoyo.
Ibadan
Oyo State
Nigeria 23402.

Some important points about this scam:

1. NO PAYMENT HAS BEEN MADE! Check your actual PayPal account. You will see that the money has not been transferred, and no payments have been made. If a real payment was made, you would see this reflected in your actual PayPal account immediately, not just in an email.

2. PayPal never acts as an "escrow company," holding payments back until an item is shipped.

If you ignore this scammer, he will leave you alone. If you receive the spoofed PayPal payment, he might send you a couple of threatening emails (even saying he'll sic the FBI on you!) but if you ignore these, he'll quickly drop you.

Hi Underwater,

Good to see you back doing what you do so well

I was investigating a similiar scammer recently who was very successful, he created a new email address every couple of days and while I was able to warn off many of his victims, I could not get to them all in time

See this thread for the details on the other scammer I was investigating http://scamwarners.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1937

Very similar words and set-up as in the original post

From Vincent L <[email protected]>
to xxxxxxxxxxxx
date Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 11:07 PM
subject Re: Sony K850i for sale with a 2gb memory card - $175 (Richardson, TX)
mailed-by gmail.com

I'm interested in buying this item for my boy as a promised gift and
he is currently out of town for a project as it's his first time
traveling out of town.Since we're not going to be together this year,I
thought I should be getting him something nice. I will be paying you
for this transaction via my Paypal account,kindly get back to me with
your paypal email address as for me to deposit the money ASAP,I will
add an extra $100.00 to cover the shipping charges via USPS Register
Mail which the reference number starts from (RA).I will appreciate it
a lot if you can kindly help me wrap the package very well so that it
will get to him as a mode of a gift.I want your honesty in return to
my faithfulness to you during this transaction.Your immediate response
is really appreciated.Regards

Follow-up Fake PayPal mails are being sent by [email protected] <[email protected]>

From: Franklin Philip <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, Nov 5, 2009 at 5:53 AM
Subject: 10 Laptops For Sale - $200 (Baitersville)
To: [email protected]


** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY --- AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home
** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html


Hey....Do you still have this item foe sale?If so get back to me with the amount it will cost me.
Thanks

The scammer will send you a fake PayPal e-mail just after sending you this:-

From: Franklin Philip <[email protected]>
Date: Sat, Nov 7, 2009 at 7:58 AM
Subject: Re: 10 Laptops For Sale - $200 (Baitersville)
To: Michelle Banks


Alright,I made out the payment now check your paypal email address for the confirmation of the payment from paypal.Kindly ship out the item to the address given to you by paypal today before the post office close,Ship it out via USPS PRIORITY MAIL INTERNATIONAL and get back to me as soon as you send it out.I may not be online for some time cause i told you my internet connection i not working.
Franklin Philip.

HERE IS THE MAILING ADDRESS BELOW

Name: Yusuf Philip
Address:Block 109,Flat 3 Jakande Estate,Oke Afa.City:Isolo,
State:Lagos State.
Country:Nigeria
Zip/Postal code:23401

Hope to read from you soon.

Mike Foster is now a soldier!! I just got this variation after i was approached to buy my car that was advertised on searchcar.co.uk ....

I was just about to make payment when i received an email from the freight company (Embassy Freight Services, Malaysia) stating their policy of operation. The company says i will need to pay for the pick up before they can schedule a pick up time, they charged me £650.00 for pick up, delivery, and the handling of paper works involving the transfer. Payments for pick up effected through them is made to their corporate international headquarters which is in Malaysia and the payments is made through western union money transfer. As you know i am soldier currently deployed in Afghanistan, i don't have any means to send money through Western union here. Please i will need you to help me send the money to my Freight Company HQ in Malaysia 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 www.western union.com). The freight company's accountant info is Rohana Zaharuddin 3 Lorong Rahim, 13, 68000 Kuala Lumpor (selangor) Malaysia, i will add the £650.00 to the money i will be paying to you through pay pal now and as soon as i have made the payments, i will email you to let you know. Sorry for any inconveniences, i would have done it myself but we can’t bring some of our personal effects along so i am a little incapacitated here. Also do send me your full contact details and phone number the freight company can reach you on after i complete purchase. I will appreciate your help here and hope to hear from you soon and thanks.

--
Sgt. Luke Foster
Camp Bastion, southern province of Helmand.
Afghanistan

At the end of every dark tunnel comes the light.

I had to have a little laugh when i saw LUKE Foster in the last post.

back in April i placed an ad on LOOT, GUMTREE and a few other free car listing sites. within an hour of placing the ads i got a TEXT from Luke Foster sent from a PC without a return number asking me to contact him if the car was still for sale. at the time i had not heard of all the scams out there. so i replied to the effect the car was still for sale and awaited his reply.

later that eveningi had a call from my father saying he had a similar text in the afternoon. he read it to me and it was word for word the same. he too had replied to the text and sent a similar email to mine.

i then checked my mail and Luke foster had replied with the usual, he was in Afghanistan........ he wanted the car to go to Malaysia..... and he wanted to pay by paypal. word for word the same as the previous post.

i replied with a paypal address, he sent a reply sying that he had included the shipping fee...... just like the previous post. this was followed by two mails (spoofed) to look like paypal mails but checking they traced to an address in california.... i kept replying to his mails and then he requested the shipping fee be sent, i replied that i had not had his money yet..... after sending a fake western union tracking number the the spoofed paypal address Luke foster replied saying thet paypal had contacted him saying the tracking number was incorrect?? no surprise there then i thought. he then asked for another payment, again a fake number was sent.

after a few weeks of mailing he suggested i send a payment from myself to myself???? to try to fool paypal??? i went along with this, surprise surprise the tracking number was incorrect... he then asked me to get a friend to do another payment, i think he though i was actually spending my money on the Western union fees. after a few more weeks emailing he did not reply again my last contact with Luke foster was approx 4th june, in fact my last mail was returned as undelivered.

i would be interested to know what email address he is using know

Luke Foster is now using the name Sgt. Paul Wilkinson <[email protected]>.

He tried to get me to send money to Malasya for shipping a boat there. Same scam as above. What a jackass.
I guess some people really fall for this scam. What a shame.

Just thought I'd share this..

From: larry danny216 <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, 25 July 2011, 10:06
Subject: SYM Bonus 125cc motorbike - VND800 (Saigon)

** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY --- AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home
** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams.html


Hello,
I saw what you posted for sale on craigslist, kindly let me know if it's still available for sale. I will be waiting for your response ASAP.

On Sun, Jul 24, 2011 at 8:29 PM, MrAndy <[email protected]> wrote:

Hi there,
Yes the bike is available. Let me know if you want to arrange to see & test drive the bike
Thanks

From: larry danny216 <[email protected]>
To: MrAndy <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, 26 July 2011, 11:36
Subject: Re: SYM Bonus 125cc motorbike - VND800 (Saigon)

I am a petroleum engineer on a rig offshore,i will be paying you with
my PayPal because it's attached to my bank account,If my offer is
accepted send me your email with PayPal,(Paypal ADDY)
so i can pay in right away.Make sure you get back to me so that i can
arrange for pick up as i will like the item to be picked,so no
shipping
included.
PS:Due to the nature of my work,phone calls making and visiting of
website are restricted but i squeezed out time to check this advert
and send you an email regarding it.
I await your reply

From: MrAndy <[email protected]>
To: larry danny216 <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, 26 July 2011, 14:53
Subject: Re: SYM Bonus 125cc motorbike - VND800 (Saigon)

Ah that's great! I am so happy to do business with an engineer.
I love engines and the smell of oil.

If you like, you can just send me one barrel of oil and no money. Is that ok?

PS. Could you please tell me where the oil is from? I really like the oil from the South China Sea.

------
Currently awaiting a reply! He should really change his story a bit. What the hell can he do with a motorbike on an oil rig!

Just got this version:

Thanks for letting me know.

Well I'm interested in buying your item but i cant do this by cash due to some reason...I'm out of the country for a business which I don't really know when I'll be back.

The problem now is that i don't know if you can get this done for me as I'm buying this for a friend son on a vacation to Africa as a birthday gift. and I'm ready to pay for the item and shipping handing via PayPal cos I'm not in the country.

I recently set up a PayPal account in order to get this done so be honest with me in this cos this my first time of using PayPal.I'm ready to offer you the total sum of $450CAD for the item and shipping handing Via Canada Post Air Mail to the boy. And his name is MICHEAL.So I'll like you to get back to me now with your verified PayPal email address and you can as well get back to me with a PayPal money request at this email so that wire your fund into your PayPal account asap.You are rest assure of getting your payment done as soon as i receive that from you.

BUT DON'T RIP ME OFF COS ITS MY FIRST TIME.

let me know if u need the boy shipping info.

Thanks
Pietro

I had someone try to scam me out of item on Craigslist. Luckily I'm not stupid enough to fall for it. It seemed very suspicious from the start but I was just curious so I continued with it.

First email seemed normal;

Karen Muttey [email protected] via craigslist.org
** CRAIGSLIST ADVISORY --- AVOID SCAMS BY DEALING LOCALLY
** Avoid: wiring money, cross-border deals, work-at-home
** Beware: cashier checks, money orders, escrow, shipping
** More Info: http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams
--
Is your Posting still available for sale????????????
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I then replied that yes it was. After that reply I received another email.

Am okay with the price
Do you still have it with you???
How old is the item,?

Do you have PayPal account??Payment will be made Via My PayPal Account cos it very secure and safe to receive to receive in an online transaction.Get back to me with your PayPal email account so i can send the money into your account. Awaiting for your response
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That email kinda tipped me off and seemed kinda suspicious but I thought let me keep going with this so I replied with Yes I still have it, when I bought it and told her that yes I did have a Paypal account but didn't give any info just yet. It seemed suspicious that she would be asking for payment info before even asking when she could see it or anything. After I sent that email I received another email from her.

Alright , do get back to me with your paypal account email address for the payment..
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This email really got me because never has she asked to see the item or anything and she is very insistent on me giving her my paypal address. I wanted to stop here but I thought it might be fun to play this thru so I did give her my paypal email address as there is nothing she could do with it anyway. I even asked when she would like to see it. I later received this email from her.

Hello,

I just want you to know that i have completed the payment through
Paypal,the funds had been deducted from my Account and i believed you
have got the confirmation of my Payment in your mail Box
([email protected]) i will like you to check your spam, junk and
Inbox for the confirmation . I want you to know that i want the
package to be sent asap.I have added to the Shipping cost for posting
.So i want you to ship out the item now and send the tracking number
to Paypal.So you should be able to ship out the item first thing today
and send the Tracking Number to PayPal Member Care Department.......
Here is the Shipping Address Below :

Name: Adenuga Adedayo,
Address: 16 University Road,
City: Onipanu.
State: Lagos.
Zip-code: 23401.
Country: Nigeria.

I want the package to be sent by USPS or Register mail only because its very
cheap,secure and reliable,I will be waiting for the tracking number.I
will like to do more business with you after you have completed this
transaction by Shipping out the item.

Thanks.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I then checked my Paypal and no payment was received so I didn't ship the item of course. I still at this point had not seen the "PayPal" email as I later found out that it went straight to my SPAM folder. I later received another email from her.

"I have been waiting to read from you regarding the Tracking number that will be given to you at the post office after you might have send the item.. and its very surprising you did not reply back to my last email..I am getting worried over this..Please let me know if you have send the item and if you've not done it make sure it is done today.I will be waiting to read from you regarding the shipment information that will be given to you at the post office .Please make sure you get back to me ASAP.
Nice doing business with you."
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So I replied to her that I have not received payment and asked why this was being shipped international. I received a reply back from her;

"The money will only reflect in your account until you reply back to the confirmation email you received from PayPal by sending the shipment tracking number to paypal customer care..if you have gone through the email you received from PayPal very well regarding the payment i made...you must have been notify about all this.Advice asap."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No answer to why this was being shipped international. I then checked my spam folder and found this email from "PayPal".

"[email protected]® [email protected]
to me, bcc: me

Dear: Chris Lefebvre

This is to inform you that we are still awaiting your response concerning the SHIPMENT VERIFICATION, we want you to aware that your account will only be credited unless this is done. All you need to do is to contact the buyer for the necessaries,we will also notify the buyer on this and get your account credited.

*SHIPMENT VERIFICATION*

You can have the shipment confirmed/verified in any of the following ways:


(1). Contact us stating the tracking number of the shipment at: ([email protected])

(2). You can give the buyer of your auction item the tracking number of the shipment and once he/she verifies the shipment,he/she will notify us immediately.


Note: Like we said earlier we are informed you that this transaction is only available and can only be tracked and traced via email, so do reply back to us if you have any question about the transaction.We urge you not to call us as there are some replacements customer service attendance and to avoid any misleading.

We use proprietary technology and constantly innovate to help ensure your transactions are safe. In addition, PayPal has over 20,000 staffs worldwide dedicated to keeping PayPal accounts safe, and stopping online criminals. And we work with Internet Service Providers (ISPs) worldwide to shut off fraudulent websites as soon as possible.
PayPal's Fraud Investigation Team is highly experienced in fraud prevention. Several members of the team were former law enforcement officials with extensive experience in fighting online fraud. PayPal's fraud investigation team focuses on: Identifying and preventing fraud before it occurs, Detecting fraud in process Mitigating loss, if fraud does occur, Delivering information to law enforcement around the world to help stop those committing online fraud.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thanks you for using Paypal!

The Paypal Team!

PayPal Email ID:PP1525"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notice all the poor grammar and spelling. Also make note that nowhere in the email does it show how much was actually being paid to me. If this was real for one it would not be in my SPAM folder, and for two it would be allot better written. I hope nobody falls for this scam as it can cost them allot of money to try and get their item back or get their money. That is why I'm posting my scam artists clever attempt to let people know that this scam is still going on. Good luck to everyone.

Just to add:

Paypal does not get in the middle of transactions. They will not hold money pending shipment of an item, and if money was sent to you, you will always be able to log into paypal (don't follow a link in an email) and see the money in your account. If you don't see the money, it wasn't transferred, plain and simple.

On the rare occasion that paypal puts a hold on money (e.g. due to a dispute--again, they will never hold pending shipping of an item or making a payment to another party) it will still show in your account, but you won't be able to transfer it.

So in this scenario, even if the grammar was perfect, it would still be a scam, because the scammers have invented a process that paypal does not have.

Is there a process to report these scammers so that it can be investigated by law enforcement?

New here, but I am in the process of collecting info on a Scammer that is trying to steal a laptop I have posted on Craigslist, so far all I have are numbers and the texts between us. I knew from the begining that it was a scammer. I am just playing with them now, trying to get as much info as possible.

Phone # 682-325-9272
Looking it up its says its out of Ft Worth TX, not sure how to look up the provider.

+16823259272: What is the condition of this item? Toshiba Tecra Laptop - $250 (Algonquin or Schaumburg) 10:58 PM

Me: It's as described on Craigslist 10:59 PM

+16823259272: Thanks for your response to my previous mail and, I'm seriously interested in buying this, Am located at Texas and i will be responsible for the shipment fee via USPS by paying $100 for the shipping so get back to me with your PayPal email address and remove the ads form Craigslist and keep other buyers off so i can make the payment right now and complete this little transaction asap. Kindly send me the present picture so i can feel the condition better as well. Looking forward to read back from you shortly. Regards. 11:21 PM

Me: Current pictures are on Craigslist. PayPal is cl12.7b9@**********.net 12:00 AM

+16823259272: Paypal says the email is not registered with them 12:16 AM

Me: You can still send it, it will be a new PayPal account not tied to any of my bank accounts or cards. That way what ever kind of scam you are trying to do will not put any of my money at risk. 8:45 AM

+16823259272: not with paypal you are safe 8:47 AM

Me: That's fine, send it to the account given and when it comes in ill set up a new account 8:50 AM

+16823259272: Okay 8:52 AM

Me: I have not seen notice of payment to the email address given yet. 1:08 PM

+16823259272: Paypal says the email is not registered with them 1:49 PM

Me: Try paypay@************.net 1:54 PM

+16823259272: Okay i will make the payment now and hope you can ship it today? 2:40 PM

Me: If I get the notice that the money has been sent, I'll see if I can get it out tomorrow since by the time I get home it be too late to ship. 3:02 PM By Now I am also using "bad" english to see if they pickup anything

+16823259272: can you ship it now? 3:08 PM

Me: no, I don't have it here at work with me 3:24 PM

+16823259272: Okay i will make the payment and get back to you 3:27 PM


As of now I am still waiting for my fake Paypal email to come. I think I will tell them that I can not afford to ship the item and see if I can get them to send me some real money and then use that to ship a box of dirty diapers to them or a box of wood. You think that they would run away after I mentioned it being a scam.

I also had this attempt prior to the one above:

+18477904358: Am interested to buy your Toshiba Tecra Laptop - $250 on Craigslist. 7:30 PM

Me: I still have it, where are you located? 8:13 PM

+18477904358: Am buying it for my son as a birthday gift, He’s studying in Africa, am unhealthy to pick it up so i will be paying you through PayPal. Please send me your PayPal email payment. I will be paying you the sum of $350 USD to cover the cost and shipping to Africa.. 8:17 PM

Me: No thanks scammer 8:55 PM

No further communication from this person.

I nearly got had - again!

Got an email from PayPal - looked the real thing. I had apparently paid £39 for 3 months Skype (no - I hadn't) and if I hadn't, then I should click on the link and PayPal will sort it out. It requested my email address and password. I was halfway through adding my password (thank God I didn't send it!) when I thought - hang on - they've never contacted me before....I wonder!

I didn't send the mail, but clicked on reply to the original email address which came up as paypal.co.uk - paypal is .com!

So I've been had twice by these people - once a Nigerian Romance Scam (so embarrassing!) and most recently via eBay - campervan ostensibly being sold under ebay's Payment Protection Scheme (no such thing) via the scammer John Neale.