Gumtree / Paypal Scam Update

It appears the overpayment scam is evolving. I had an email response to an advertisement, much the same as usual, but this time the "buyer" wanted to use Paypal. I strung him along for a while, and was shocked by the events that unfolded. At first view to an inexperienced seller, the emails from "Paypal" could easily seem genuine. I find it particularly worrying, given that Paypal is considered a very safe way of transferring money. Having done some research online, it would appear that many people are falling for this. Below are some, but not all of the emails. Please note, I provided the scammer with a genuine email address, but not one attached to a Paypal account.

Hi there neil, you have received a reply to your Gumtree posting "BMW ... from Mattew :

DEAR
MY TWIN BROTHER CALL ME ATTENTION ON YOUR ITEM ON GUMTREE,I WANT TO KNOW IF
YOUR ITEM IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR SALE?

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for getting back to me about this item and i can only make the
transaction Via PayPal been a secure way and my agent will handle the
title transfer and the pickup because i won't be available for the
inspecting and picking up of this item due to my Tight schedule as i
am a marine engineer and due to the nature of my work, phone calls
making are restricted,so you can send me your PayPal email account so
that i can send the payment at once.. i will be responsible for the
pick up charges

Note: i'll also include the Shipping company's fee

so kindly Get back to me with your PayPal email account so i can
proceed with the payment asap..

Thanks

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I duly forwarded him some fictitious details, and almost immediately received the following:

Notification of an Instant Payment Received From Mattew Scott on Transaction ID:(5EY44452T24691006)


Inbox

Reply
|
Service@PayPaI.co.uk
to neil

show details 6 Jan (11 days ago)

Dear neil@################,

This email confirms that you have received an Instant payment of £1,750.00 GBP from Mattew Scott (mattewscottb001@globomail.com) via PayPal Payment Service.

View the "NOTE" of this pending transaction below



Payment Details
Item Amount:
£1,300.00 GBP

Agent Charges:

Extra Charges:

Total:




£400.00 GBP


£50.00 GBP

£1,750.00 GBP

Transaction Id:
5EY44452T24691006


Quantity:

1

Unit ID:
BMW #################################################################






PICK-UP AGENT INFORMATION


Address:

Name:Lawal Nurudeen
No 24 Adeniyi Street Eleweran,
Abeokuta
Ogun State
Nigeria
100011.


Address Status:

Confirmed https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?cmd=p/pop/confirmed_address



NOTE: This is to confirm to you that the said amount has been successfully transferred by Mattew Scott and has been deducted from his PayPal account,which is ready to be credited into your account,been that this Payment has been subjected to be a Payment for an (Goods) purchased from you we reserve the right to make sure this transaction is safe and secured also to verify the legitimacy level on this transaction because of the high sum of funds involved.


The above sum has included the transport charges and taxes as we and the Transport Company quoted for the buyer (as per PayPal Policy ). You will receive a Message from the PayPal Customer Verification Department Shortly informing you on how to send the shipping charges and taxes to the transport company with the above details as soon as possible.



You may contact the PayPal Customer Verification Department and Quote the Above Transaction ID for quick recognition of this transaction at: PP30945@mail2consultant.com.
Sincerely,
PayPal



PayPal Email ID PP30945.

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When I messed him around a bit, this came through, along with some from him:

***Collaboration Complaint From PayPal To NSY **LEGAL ACTION***


Inbox
X

Reply
|
Service@PayPaI.co.uk
to neil

show details 9 Jan (8 days ago)

Dear neil@#################,



It is important we know the status of the (BMW####################################) bought otherwise, legal action may be taken against you since you have not replied with (WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER DETAILS) payment made to your account by our client Mattew Scott via PayPal.We request for the (WESTERN UNION MONEY TRANSFER DETAILS) in less than An hour and we will credit the money into your account or face the consequences of LEGAL ACTION.

We believed you entered into bidding agreement by requesting money through PayPal, and by non response to the payment confirmation made to your account you have violate 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.

Therefore, if your Money is credit into your Account before the transfer, that means the (BMW ###############################) will not be Picked. From IC3 we give you An Hour to send the Pick-Up to the Pick-Up Address given to you by your buyer, and also send the Money Transfer Tracking Number immediately to us to verify the Transfer .Immediately we confirm the transaction.You will receive a confirmation e-mail that your account has been credited.

NOTE:
Failure to respond to this means your Name and Address will be forward to the law enforcement Agency in your Country which may result to an Arrest, because you are practicing Scam, And your Account with PayPal will be BLOCKED, In order to free yourself from this'' Send the money within 5hours and send the money transfer details Tracking to PayPal for them to Verify. If you have any comment on this issue do not hesitate to contact us.If the information you wish to provide pertains to an emergency situation, . Although we check our e-mail frequently, we do not consider it to be an alternative to telephonic contact in emergency situations.Feel free to contact us directly to this mail PP30945@mail2consultant.com.



United Kingdom Field Office
METROPOLITAN POLICE

United Kingdom Field Office
METROPOLITAN POLICE


Thanks for your co-operation.
Yours sincerely.

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I ran him around some more, with fictitious Western Union details etc, then reported him to Paypal and Gumtree. I think you'll agree though, that it's all rather heavy, so be extra vigilant when advertising anything!