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01/10/2012 10:59:39 AM · #1
i put one of lenses on craiglist and after no hits i put it up on ebay. i got an interesting email the other day and here is the chain. it got got fishy with the latest email.

him: I will like to know if this is available?. Reply immediately

me:

It's up on ebay now. (link)

if you win you can do local pickup and save the shipping.

him:

Sorry, I will like to buy directly from you for the fast transaction.

me:

> I am able to end the auction and sell it to you, however i must do it
> before a certain time.
>
> If you want me to end the auction and sell the lens to you, we must
> complete the transaction before this Friday morning (ebay rules). I
> will not end the auction until our transaction is complete.
>
> If you want to purchase the lens I am asking $275. You can call me at
> xxx-xxx-xxxx if you prefer.

him:

> You will need to send me paypal money request on here or the email
> address that you do link up with your paypal account so I can be able
> to proceed with the payment as soon as possible okay.

me:

> if you prefer, are you picking the lens up or am i shipping it to you?
>
> just wondering because you can bring cash if you plan to pick it up.

him:

You will have to ship it directly to my son via USPS and I will pay
> for the shipping charges

me:

Ok, tell me where you want it shipped to and how fast you need it
> there and I'll send you shipping quote. Also do you want insurance?

him:

Below is my son address that you will ship too:

Name: Adegoke Michael
Address: 80, Samonda Road
City: Ibadan
State: Oyo
Zip code: 23402
Country: Nigeria

Hope to hear from you soon, so you can be able to get the camera ship off today.


Obviously this is some sort of scam. I really had no clue until i saw the address, he used the name Michael Barton. Luckily i decided to ask where i am shipping to before i gave my paypal address and blindly provided a shipping quote.

So, what i do do with this guy. I'm thinking i want to string him along a little more.

also how does this scam work?

Message edited by author 2012-01-10 11:00:34.
01/10/2012 11:15:34 AM · #2
They make a fake payment through paypal. It goes through & you ship, only to have paypal take the money from your account when it comes back that it's not a real payment. I believe there are ways to avoid this, such as only taking paypal from bank account linked accounts. You could contact paypal to verify how it works. In the end, you would probably end up with your money back eventually, but paypal would be dealing with a loss.

eta: To make things easier on ebay, you could specify you only ship to USA and that you only take verified paypal accounts with positive feedback.

Message edited by author 2012-01-10 11:17:22.
01/10/2012 11:21:04 AM · #3
that's what i was wondering. on ebay the listing is USA only, this email came from craigslist.

01/10/2012 11:24:29 AM · #4
PayPal on Craigslist is a huge red flag. Those should always be in person and in cash only.
01/10/2012 11:25:29 AM · #5
Send a box of fish guts to that address.
01/10/2012 11:39:29 AM · #6
Originally posted by adigitalromance:

Send a box of fish guts to that address.


i was thinking about sending him something but can i make it so he pays for shipping (and duty fees) on his end when he picks it up?
01/10/2012 11:40:39 AM · #7
an ex casual acquaintance of mine had this with a HTC sent it before she told me and i could tell her it was a scam, payment refused phone on way, she was down £450 ouch

01/10/2012 11:52:27 AM · #8
a few recent emails:

me:

>>> The zip you provided is invalid and usps website can not give me a
>>> shipping quote. We need to get this done today if I am to pull the
>>> ebay listing, please provide a zip code so that I can get you a shipping
>> quote

him:

>> The zip code is correct okay......you don't neew to be worry yourself
>> I will add $150 for you I belive this will be okay to for the
>> shipping....get thepaypal money request send to me now of the email
>> address that you link up to your paypal account.

me:

>> That's very generous of you, but I would feel bad taking so much
>> extra money. How about we say $30 for shipping. Do you want insurance
>> on the lens?

him:
I just want you to get it ship off today let's asume $50 is okay
I don't want a situation when you take it to the post office and tell you that the money woun't be okay for the shipping


Message edited by author 2012-01-10 11:54:36.
01/10/2012 11:52:32 AM · #9
Fill a sock with sand and weight it about the same as the lens, then mark it as very expensive regarding value! Check the USPS website for rules, but then I think they have to pay duty on it entering the country. I don't think it costs you extra...but I don't think you can send without paying the shipping. I don't know for sure, but I don't believe you can ship it like UPS with payment required. There is always someone trying to dupe the other guy....he deserves a little annoyance, lol. Good luck!
01/10/2012 11:56:33 AM · #10
Originally posted by mike_311:

Originally posted by adigitalromance:

Send a box of fish guts to that address.


i was thinking about sending him something but can i make it so he pays for shipping (and duty fees) on his end when he picks it up?


Yes. Clearly, you need to be schooled in the art of the P-P-P-POWERBOOK!. This is perhaps one of the best pranks I've seen, with great crowdsourcing :)
01/10/2012 11:57:17 AM · #11
yes i remember reading that a few years ago... i have to re-read to get some ideas.
01/10/2012 04:39:39 PM · #12
Yep, definitely a scam...if you want to string him along though, don't do it from your email address you are currently talking to him. And if you want advice/kill time/mess with scammers, check out 419eater.com. I was a part of that site for a while. Great fun, and you waste scammers time/money. They have a whole support network with advice on safety to maximum pain for them. Caution!!! It's addicting and lots of fun. Haven't been there in a while though since I got off third shift and my spare time to do that dropped off.
01/10/2012 04:56:03 PM · #13
yup, 419eater.com took the best part of 2 years of my life - an loved every minute of it.

sage advice above, don't be going into the scambaiting lark unarmed and go read up at 419eater for some safety advice.
01/10/2012 05:56:38 PM · #14
i think he gave up... :(
01/10/2012 06:07:21 PM · #15
Understand the name and address is all fake all they need is your pay pal information and your email address to complete the scam.
Do not waste your time shipping anything as it will only cost you in the end. I would recommend reporting it to pay pal and ebay.
01/10/2012 06:39:01 PM · #16
Julie... ? .... where are you, Julie... ? ... :'''-(
01/10/2012 08:27:20 PM · #17
I really hate these people that steal
01/11/2012 01:29:33 PM · #18
report to spoof@paypal.com
01/11/2012 03:01:13 PM · #19
i thought i got him back... i gave him a fake paypal account this morning and haven't heard back...

01/13/2012 02:08:30 PM · #20
an update:

I've been trying to keep this guy on the hook, i sent him a made up paypayl ID. Soon after i got email confirmations that money was in my PayPal account. Interesting since i never gave him MY paypal ID which is linked to my email, just one I created on the fly, and my account is still showing a $0 balance.

So that's how it works I guess, they send you bogus emails telling you the payment was received and where to ship the lens to, but if you actually go to your account, there is nothing there.

i sent him an email telling him even though i got the confirmation my account has no money, i'll keep trying to string him along but i haven't heard anything new.

Message edited by author 2012-01-13 14:08:44.
01/13/2012 02:31:33 PM · #21
Hmmm... maybe you could have some fun by confusing him a bit. Tell him you GOT the money in your account, but have decided it isn't enough, and want an extra $100 before you send the lens. He can keep sending you bogus payment notices, you can keep thanking him politely and raising the price. See how much pretend money he's willing to spend.

ETA... and send him a nude pic of yourself.

Message edited by author 2012-01-13 14:32:23.
01/13/2012 03:09:57 PM · #22
scamorama.com for some interesting and very funny examples of counter-scamming.
This said, what has been said above is correct. These people are potentially dangerous, I read of cases where people were scammed into meeting them (they often have connections out of Africa) for some dodgy proposal, and got beaten up and robbed.

If you get back to them from an ad-hoc email address and don't want to get involced in anything long, just insult them the right way.
Tell them they are a shame for their nation, exploiting people including their own, that people think Africa is a pile of rubbish because of people like them, what they tell their mum they do after all she did for them. That normally strikes home pretty well because most swindlers tell lies in first place to themselves, that if it wasn't them it would be someone else, that it's either scamming or being scammed, and all that rubbish.
01/13/2012 05:01:57 PM · #23
he responded and said he was notified himself a hold and that i had to click the link in the email.

i like slippys idea im gonna raise the price.

01/13/2012 08:19:34 PM · #24
Originally posted by mike_311:

he responded and said he was notified himself a hold and that i had to click the link in the email.

i like slippys idea im gonna raise the price.

Oh yeeeah, bring it ooooon! :-D
01/17/2012 03:05:54 PM · #25
I had a camera system listed on craigslist and "Amanda Hoffman" (amandahoffman009@gmail.com) was interested in buying the system IMMEDIATELY! She was "busy with work" and couldn't meet. She asked what email address was associated with my PayPal account and she would send the money directly there. Then I should ship it to her husband overseas at THE SAME ADDRESS that you posted, to the SAME person (Michael Adegoke). I changed my PayPlas password and address. I also sent the 3 fake PayPal emails to PayPal complaints. They confirmed that the emails were not real! Gotta give them credit though...they sure did look real! I just thought it was weird that funds were not in my PayPal account and the emails said that I needed to put in the shipping confirmation number and THEN the payment would be released. Not how it has ever occurred in the past.
I say we DO send them things like fish guts!
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