Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Beware of scam artists/ spoof emails when using ebay or craigslist.

So I'm using ebay for the first time to sell an item and the winner was a user in Nigeria. I did some research before agreeing to send anything and the emails are all fakes. Here are two of many that I have received from the winning bidder. Be careful out there. Spelling errors usually are a sign that they're not real.

Spoof email # 1


Dear john.hayato,
      
         We are to let you know that the payment made by our client ,for your eBay 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 transfer 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 transfer progress within 48 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.
         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. 

 
Thank you for using PayPal online services,

PayPal Team.        

Spoof email #2

Dear john.hayato ,

     It is important we know the status of the item bought otherwise, legal action may be taken against you since you refused to ship out the item bought from you from eBay by the buyer over time.

    We believed you entered into agreement by confirming the payment made to you by your buyer through PayPal, and by non response to the payment confirmation made to your account you have violate the eBay and PayPal agreement. However the buyer has already contacted us in other to make report about your non response.We are ensuring to make PayPal a safer place, therefore we need to set confidence on our users.
 
    We want you to get the item shipped in the next 2 days  and forward the Shipment Tracking Number to us for verification and we will release the money to your account immediately ... If we do not received the  Shipment requirement within the specific time limit, We will have to Suspended and Vold your Paypal account and   forward your PayPal Registration Name and Address to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  for legal action to be taken .

    We request for the valid shipment info and the Tracking Number to prove postage of the item in less than 48 hours and we will fund the money into your account or face the consequences of LEGAL ACTION.

     This is done in other to protect both the seller and buyer.

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Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team
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PayPal page.
PayPal Email ID: PP304