Paypal Spoof Email Scam via Ebay

dougfatheruk

Hi all,

I'd like to make you aware of scam that was just attempted on me at the very least so if anybody googles the information they will find this post.

I listed a very expensive camera on to Ebay. I received a PM from the user mohamed2456 asking me to contact him directly via his email address Allen.Shin1976@outlook.com, strangely he managed to post his email address 3 times in the PM, i don't know how because email addresses are normally removed. I did email him and he promptly replied saying that he wanted the camera, could only only pay by Paypal. At this point it was obviously a scam but I decided to play along and tried to make small talk regarding photography, not interested; just wanted a final figure and my email address which I gave. A few minutes later I receive a spoof paypal payment email saying the money has been paid but will be on hold until I ship the goods.

Well, Mr Shin did get his camera sent by recorded delivery so I wanted him to believe he was receiving something and it could be tracked. It was actually a picture on a piece of paper with some coarse words appended to it.

Allen Shin
83 Bedford Road
ILFORD
IG1 1EL
London
United Kingdom
07436981525

When I looked up the source of his emails they seemed to be coming from the Charing Cross part of London. I have reported this to the MET, Action Fraud and Ebay (who have done nothing).

Caveat Emptor!

tykesi

Think you need to learn the meaning of 'Caveat Emptor'

peachyprice

Did you report the user for attempting to buy out of ebay?

TBH, most savvy ebayers, especially if selling a high value item, would have ignored the PM in the first place. It was bound to be a scam from the beginning.

knightstyle

Forward it to spoof@paypal.co.uk

theonlywayisup

This scam is nothing new.

Why on earth did you bother sending a 'signed for' item to him? Even a piece of paper would cost £1.65 to send 'signed for'.

I'm more concerned about you than the fact you think you've got one over on the scammer.

dougfatheruk

Wow, this is a tough crowd to please? There's no positivity on this thread, perhaps next time I'll just keep the info to myself. Like I said I'm posting here so this joker now shows up on google which he didn't before.

Yes, it was reported to eBay and emailed to Paypal as a spoof, but the seller is still trading and can still be PM'd.

It's not uncommon for people to want to communicate outside of Ebay but like you said it's pretty obvious when it's a scam.

So why did I waste my time and £1.65, quite simply because if they want to waste mine and other peoples time then I'm going to waste theirs. This guy genuinely thought he was receiving a 2K camera, a victory in the eyes of the numbers game scammer and all the more authentic as he was able to track it through the postal system. Only to have either waited in, or got somebody else to wait in and receive zip.

We all want to fight the good fight and report it to the correct agencies which I did but quite frankly I have been contacted by nobody. Ebay provide a platform for people like this joker and do very little to stop it despite saying they would.

I don't think I've got one over the scammer, he just hasn't got one over on me and hopefully others who aren't so web savvy can use this thread as a point of reference and not fall foul of Mr Shins antics.

takman

dougfatheruk wrote: »

I don't think I've got one over the scammer, he just hasn't got one over on me and hopefully others who aren't so web savvy can use this thread as a point of reference and not fall foul of Mr Shins antics.

I very much doubt anyone would be using a search engine to check an address they are sending an item too!. If they believe it enough to send the item this thread won't help unfortunately.

But I do remember when I was 17 and I first got one of these scam emails, I was happy to receive such a good amount for the phone I was selling. I received the email that I had been sent payment so I logged into my parents PayPal account and the money was not there!. You never forget the first time someone tries to scam you online lol.

But I have never sent an item without first logging into my PayPal account and putting the money into my bank. I'm surprised people will actually fall for this.

maninthestreet

You should have sent your letter to him in an envelope with no stamp on it.

dougfatheruk

Like your style! :T

forgotmyname

maninthestreet wrote: »

You should have sent your letter to him in an envelope with no stamp on it.

Thats exactly what i would have done, or arrange for him to have the item collect by his courier. With a courier i could have packed some heavy garden waste in a box. I would have under estimated the weight also. They may have got excess weight charges also.

bod1467

But then the recipient would have your address. (If it wasn't already known from your Ebay account). Would you want that? He's patently a crim, so it's not impossible that he'd take retribution.