by phishtaco
Fri Oct 11, 2013 8:03 pm
Before I tell the story of what happened to me, I want to say that I do feel really stupid that I fell for a scam like this. I'm usually not gullible or over-trustworthy, but this was my first time selling something on ebay and I know that is why I was targeted. I wanted to share my story in hopes that it might help someone else.
I listed a watch on ebay on October 3rd. I had it starting at 50 dollars, with a buy it now option of $350. To my surprise, on Saturday the 5th of October I received an email from ebay saying that my item had sold. Granted, I was a little surprised as I expected to maybe have one bidder at most. However, I was excited at the prospect of getting the amount I had asked for. I then emailed an invoice to the buyer (through the legitimate email that ebay sends you), and waited for their payment. Instead of hearing anything through ebay, the person contacted me via email on Saturday night asking me how I would like them to pay. I found this a little odd, and looking back I realize that this is when the first red flag should have gone up. However, I answered them back stating that I would like to be paid through Paypal and to check the invoice I had sent them.
Things then went silent until Monday morning, when I woke up to 3 emails. The first was from ebay stating that the person's ebay account had been suspended due to unauthorized activity on their account. The next email was from the buyer, apologizing for this "mixup", saying that they were on vacation and had signed into their account on a device they didn't usually use. They then said they were trying to resolve things with ebay. The third email - which actually turned out to be a fake, which I unfortunately didn't realize until days later - was from "ebay" claiming that the issue with the person's account had been resolved. As I said before, I'm new to the whole ebay selling scene, so I didn't realize that this message should have also been in my ebay inbox. Looking back, this is when I should have cut things off. The buyer still had yet to pay me, so I emailed her again asking to be paid through paypal as soon as possible in order to ship her the item.
This is where things get messy. On Tuesday, I received a fake email from both ebay and paypal, saying that this bidder had paid for the item. Interestingly, the person emailed me again asking if I had received the email confirming that they had paid...and to check my spam folder. They also said this:
I have paid for the item and i want it shipped via Local Post or FedEx International Sign For Delivery to the following address below:
Name: Nicholas Patrick,
Address: 31 Aborishade Road
Lawanson, Surulere,
Lagos, 23401
Nigeria
I actually received 2 emails - the first from "paypal", saying a payment had been made through paypal with the total amount I had asked for plus shipping. There turned out to be another "paypal" email that went to my spam folder - which I didn't look at until later - which said the person had paid $350 plus $200 extra for "Fedex Priority Shipping".
Now, stupid me, I didn't listen to my intuition flaring up and saying something wasn't right. This address wasn't listed on their ebay account and wasn't confirmed. So, I proceeded to go to the post office and ship the package, paying $47. When I got home, I started looking at the emails on my computer, and realized they were not legitimate. I forwarded them to the spoof email addresses of both ebay and paypal and they responded to me by confirming these were phishing emails. I then called Canada Post to open an investigation and intercept my package, which thankfully hadn't left the country. The next day I also called the Canadian Fraud Agency and filed a complaint. Luckily for Nicholas Patrick, if that is his actual name, they have his full address.
I was also refunded from ebay for my seller fees, and they cancelled the transaction. I am really thankful that things didn't go farther than they did, because I know the next step they would have taken would have been asking me to refund them the "extra shipping" they "paid" me. I have since gotten a few more fake emails from "ebay" and "paypal", all which I have forwarded, as well as an email from the person asking for the tracking number, which I thankfully never gave them.
Hopefully I can get the package returned to me. I feel badly for the poor person whose ebay and email account was hacked, and for the people whom this person has probably scammed in the past. I hope that this story of mine helps even one person.
I listed a watch on ebay on October 3rd. I had it starting at 50 dollars, with a buy it now option of $350. To my surprise, on Saturday the 5th of October I received an email from ebay saying that my item had sold. Granted, I was a little surprised as I expected to maybe have one bidder at most. However, I was excited at the prospect of getting the amount I had asked for. I then emailed an invoice to the buyer (through the legitimate email that ebay sends you), and waited for their payment. Instead of hearing anything through ebay, the person contacted me via email on Saturday night asking me how I would like them to pay. I found this a little odd, and looking back I realize that this is when the first red flag should have gone up. However, I answered them back stating that I would like to be paid through Paypal and to check the invoice I had sent them.
Things then went silent until Monday morning, when I woke up to 3 emails. The first was from ebay stating that the person's ebay account had been suspended due to unauthorized activity on their account. The next email was from the buyer, apologizing for this "mixup", saying that they were on vacation and had signed into their account on a device they didn't usually use. They then said they were trying to resolve things with ebay. The third email - which actually turned out to be a fake, which I unfortunately didn't realize until days later - was from "ebay" claiming that the issue with the person's account had been resolved. As I said before, I'm new to the whole ebay selling scene, so I didn't realize that this message should have also been in my ebay inbox. Looking back, this is when I should have cut things off. The buyer still had yet to pay me, so I emailed her again asking to be paid through paypal as soon as possible in order to ship her the item.
This is where things get messy. On Tuesday, I received a fake email from both ebay and paypal, saying that this bidder had paid for the item. Interestingly, the person emailed me again asking if I had received the email confirming that they had paid...and to check my spam folder. They also said this:
I have paid for the item and i want it shipped via Local Post or FedEx International Sign For Delivery to the following address below:
Name: Nicholas Patrick,
Address: 31 Aborishade Road
Lawanson, Surulere,
Lagos, 23401
Nigeria
I actually received 2 emails - the first from "paypal", saying a payment had been made through paypal with the total amount I had asked for plus shipping. There turned out to be another "paypal" email that went to my spam folder - which I didn't look at until later - which said the person had paid $350 plus $200 extra for "Fedex Priority Shipping".
Now, stupid me, I didn't listen to my intuition flaring up and saying something wasn't right. This address wasn't listed on their ebay account and wasn't confirmed. So, I proceeded to go to the post office and ship the package, paying $47. When I got home, I started looking at the emails on my computer, and realized they were not legitimate. I forwarded them to the spoof email addresses of both ebay and paypal and they responded to me by confirming these were phishing emails. I then called Canada Post to open an investigation and intercept my package, which thankfully hadn't left the country. The next day I also called the Canadian Fraud Agency and filed a complaint. Luckily for Nicholas Patrick, if that is his actual name, they have his full address.
I was also refunded from ebay for my seller fees, and they cancelled the transaction. I am really thankful that things didn't go farther than they did, because I know the next step they would have taken would have been asking me to refund them the "extra shipping" they "paid" me. I have since gotten a few more fake emails from "ebay" and "paypal", all which I have forwarded, as well as an email from the person asking for the tracking number, which I thankfully never gave them.
Hopefully I can get the package returned to me. I feel badly for the poor person whose ebay and email account was hacked, and for the people whom this person has probably scammed in the past. I hope that this story of mine helps even one person.
