Auction site scammer after your goods

I received an email from Richardson Cole asking me to send Lakers jerseys to Nigeria (note the same address as previously posted). Here's the emails:

"Hi,
I WAS REALLY EXCITED WHEN I SEES A RUGBY JERSEY WITH A FRIEND OF MINE LAST WEEK,AND HE TOLD ME THAT HE BOUGHT IT FROM YOU...I WILL LIKE TO BUY 2 PAIRS OF THE JERSEY WITH A LARGE SIZE...SO PLEASE GET BACK TO ME WITH THE PRICE AND I WILL BE SENDING A BANK CERTIFIED CHECK FOR MY PAYMENT...I ALREADY HAVE YOUR ADDRESS ...SO LET ME KNOW THE PRICE AND AM SENDING THE CHECK RIGHT AWAY.....
HOPE TO READ FROM YOU SOON
BEST REGARDS
RICHARDSON"

"Hello noelle,how r u today?a certified bank check of 3500usd will be delivered to u by tomorrow,pls get it cashed at the cashing point and deduct the payment of 3 lakers jersey with there shipping charges,and proceed to the shipping via the address given to you previously by my friend coz i wl be sending tru the same address to my son in nigeria,you wil do me a favour by sending the rest of the fund via the same address by western union.there is no need of you personalising it again,just go and send them via EMS POSTAL SERVICE.i will be waiting to read 4rm you.
Here is the address once again,
Name-AKINSEYE SUNDAY
Address-No 23 osupa street
City-Ogbomoso
State-Oyo
zip code-23402
Best Regards
Richardson"

I find out that this guy knows the receipient (at one point refers to receipient as "my son"....of the first jersey I sent and was scammed...never got payment , so I tell him that I have a case opened with the FBI for fraud against his son so I need to get paid to drop it. Here's his email:

"THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING ME...I WILL LIKE YOU TO CLOSE THE CASE WITH THE FBI....COS I CAN SORT YOU OUT WITH THE MONEY MYSELF......HOW MANY LAKERS JERSEY CAN U GET FOR ME?? COS I CAN ALSO BE BUYING MORE THAT 3 PAIRS IF I FOUND OUT THAT THE MERCHANDIZE ARE ALRIGHT....AND ONE MORE THING,MAYBE U CAN SEND ME A SAMPLE SO THAT I CAN KNOW HOW QUALITY ARE THEY...."

I received a fake cashier's check sent from Syracuse,NY with no return address. It was drawn on a Bright Start Credit Union, Lauderdale, FL. I called the credit union and faxed the check. Bright Star Credit Union verified that the check was a fraud...parts of the check was handwritten. Fake Cashier's Check had 1) The word "DATE" typed but the actual date handwritten and postdated (NEVER happens for bank issued cashier's checks). 2) My name was handwritten 3) Dollar amount handwritten "$3,500" and spelled out by handwriting not printer "THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED". 4) PAY TO THE ORDER OF spanned the entire space of the name and spelled out dollar amount (never seen that). There was even a stamped signature.

When I told him I called the credit union and faxed a copy to him he said, "OMG, you didn't need to do that! Why would you do that? " He then said he called the credit union and they said for me to just put it in my bank. When I refused, he started insisting that he will have his client wire funds to me so I need to go open a Bank of America account and give him the account number. I keep saying to send money via PayPal or Western Union but will not address those options, just keeps insisting for me to trust him and give him my account information. Here's the emails:

"I WILL SO MUCH APPRECIATE IF YOU CAN GET A BANK OF AMERICAN ACCOUNT SO THAT I CAN TELL MY CLIENT TO GET THE MONEY WIRED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE...THANKS'

"OH XXXXX,BELEIVE ME YOUR ACCOUNT DETAILS IS SAVE WITH ME...AND I PROMISE TO KEEP IT ALSO AND NOT DISCLOSING IT TO ANY OTHER PERSON AFTER THE TRANSFER....AM TRYING ALL THESE MEANS FOR YOU NOT TO THINK THAT MAYBE AM NOT SERIOUS WITH BUYING FROM YOU...."

Giovanni Gibson sent me an email in response to an aquarium listed on Craigslist. He sent me a check drawn on a Bank of America account from Willard Intercontinental Hotel. He told me to take the check to a cashing point and after it clears to send the excess money via money gram to his shipping company to arrange for pick up of the item from my house.

The Fed Ex package was sent from:
Clifford Williams
36098 Hwy 1055
Mount Hermom, LA 70450
(763) 219-0876

The Bank of America and Willard Intercontineal Hotel addresses are both in Washington D.C.

The shipping company he told me to send the excess funds to:
Aaron Deherrera
9197 Cypress Drive
thornton, Co 80229

Here are the emails I received:

"Dear XXXXXXX,

You 've got the check? Get it deposited to your account when you get the check,all you need to do after the check deposited and clears is to get the item ready to be shipped out and as arranged ealier that you are to deduct your money and send the excess fund to the shipper asap via money gram so he can start the picked up after check clears in your account for pickup arrangement so get back to me with the MoneyGram Reference Number asap.You will get a money gram at any walmart store or you check online on www.moneygram.com and look for nearest location close to you.It will cost you $95 to send the money which you re to deduct from the money you re sending.
Here is the shipper info to send the money below :

Aaron Deherrera
9197 Cypress Drive
thornton, Co 80229

Get back to me with MoneyGram Reference Number Today

Thanks get back."

"Okay as soon as you get the check cashed all you need to do is just to deduct your fund of $550 from $2800 sent to you and send excess fund of $2250 to my shipper through MoneyGram Money Transfer and get back to me asap with the MoneyGram Reference Number and location where my shipper needs to come for the pick up the aquarium. You will get a money gram at any walmart store or you check online on www.moneygram.com and look for nearest location close to you.It will cost you $95 to send the money which you re to deduct from the money you re sending.
Here is the shipper info to send the money below :

Aaron Deherrera
9197 Cypress Drive
thornton, Co 80229

Get back to me with MoneyGram Reference Number

Thanks get back."

"Hello,
Good Morning to you, Have you deposited the check into your account?? Check will only take 1-2days to clears so as soon as the check clears, deduct your fund of $400 from the $2500 and send the excess fund OF 2100$ to my shipper via Money Gram Money Transfer only and get back to me asap with the Money Gram details such as Money Gram Reference Number, Total amount Sent and sender`s name and address.You will get a money gram at any walmart store or you check online on www.moneygram.com and look for nearest location close to you.It will cost you $95 to send the money which you re to deduct from the money you re sending. Is that okay with you??

Here is my Shipper Information to send the money to

Aaron Deherrera
9197 Cypress Drive
thornton, Co 80229

I will be waiting for MoneyGram Reference Number.
Thanks"

Almost identical emails with slight changes (like the dollar amount I get to keep went down. The original email has an amount that was higher than my asking price - never heard of!)

Thank you for posting this scam xmas.

The information will alert others to delete and ignore this scammer. Well Done.

Note - Giovanni Gibson: email address: [email protected]

9197 Cypress Dr Thornton, CO 80229 Given as Shipping address is a residential property in Colorado and most likely the home of an innocent third party and was recently advertised for sale

Note this site;

http://www.cohomefinder.com/p/80229/676403.htm

Hi Xmas

I have done a lot of research on the scammer posted at the top of the thread and as you can see by the original post they are prolific at creating new email accounts, updated information is essential to help others so thank you.

just reading the scammers emails it is obvious they cant spell nor do they know proper English..DS

In most cases you are correct, their spelling and grammar in general is quite lacking, but the problem is that the bad spelling and grammar alone are not obvious enough signs for many.

There is also the occasional scammer who can write English, these ones can be quite successful

Another point worthy of consideration is that many victims do not have English as a first language.

It is also the case that many members here have other languages being their "Mother Tongue".

I have just received information that this scammer is back in business,

I have also received information which I have passed onto several victims of this scam

I will update with the latest information as I sort it out

Here is an email supposedly from ebay telling you that you must send the item

Dear victims name.


For the safety and integrity of the eBay community.

You were the seller of an ebay item Item description... bought off you by our reliable customer (Vin Jones) and he has informed eBay that postage for the item has still not been done, As a result, you have received an Unposted Item strike.

Furthermore, you will lost feedback privileges for this transaction if the posting of the item is not done as soon as possible.

If the item is not posted within 24hrs of this warning suspension of this account will take place and be advised that you will be prohibited from using eBay in any way.

This includes the registering of a new account if the item bought by (Vin Jones) has not posted as agreed.Please note that any seller fees due to eBay will immediately become due and payable.

SHIPMENT ADDRESS:


Vincent Venegas
7432 carnelian st
Rancho Cucamonga ca
91730


eBay will charge any amounts you have not previously disputed to the billing method currently on file.

Regards,
Safeharbor Department
eBay, Inc.

And here is another one, the same scammer pretending to be Ebay and hoping it will scare you into sending your goods

Dear Victims name,


WE ARE INFORMING YOU ON BEHALF OF A RELIABLE EBAY MEMBER REGARDING THE ITEM BOUGHT FROM YOU STATED # Item and description
WE ARE PLEASED TO LET YOU KNOW THAT A COMPLAINT HAS BEEN FILED AND YOUR FULL NAME AND ADDRESS HAS BEEN FORWARDED TO US FOR PROPER INVESTIGATION.


YOU WILL BE SUMMONDED TO COURT AS YOU HAVE FAILED TO THE EBAY AUTHORITY LISTEN. UNDER THE SUB SECTION AND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ACT 1863.

YOU WILL HAVE TO APPEAR AT THE COURT AND WE WILL SEND YOU THE DATE OF YOUR APPEAL. OR YOU GET THE ITEM SHIP AND FORWARD THE SHIPMENT TRACKING NUMBER TO US IN THE NEXT 48HRS

SHIPMENT ADDRESS:


Name: Adelakun-Poju
Address:35 Idera Street,Oworonsoki Kosofe
City: Lagos-State
Country:Nigeria.
Zipcode:23401

WE AWAIT TO READ BACK FROM YOU IN THE NEXT 48HRS.

EBAY LAWYER AND SOLICITORS .

Here another one showing how persistent they are

Dear victims name .


For the safety and integrity of the eBay community.

You were the seller of an ebay item Item descriptionbought off you by our reliable customer (tilm_s45756875) and he has informed eBay that postage for the item has still not been done, As a result, you have received an Unposted Item strike.

Furthermore, you will lost feedback privileges for this transaction if the posting of the item is not done as soon as possible.

If the item is not posted within 24hrs of this warning suspension of this account will take place and be advised that you will be prohibited from using eBay in any way.

This includes the registering of a new account if the item bought by (tilm_s45756875) has not posted as agreed.Please note that any seller fees due to eBay will immediately become due and payable.

SHIPMENT ADDRESS:


Name: Adelakun-Poju
Address:35 Idera Street,Oworonsoki Kosofe
City: Lagos-State
Country:Nigeria.
Zipcode:23401


eBay will charge any amounts you have not previously disputed to the billing method currently on file.

Regards,
Safeharbor Department
eBay, Inc.

Here is yet another variation

eBay sent this message to Sue Shepherd ( brunobear2004 ).
Your registered name is included to show this message originated from eBay.
eBay Unposted Item Strike Received for Item (# 260449415684)




Hello Valued Customer,


We want you to know that we totally understand all that you have written...

We recieved some complains that you have not sent out the Item after payment.We will want you to also know that PayPal has creditied your accont and also they have a little process now before you can get your money.All you have to do now is to send the Item via Royal Mail,Then get back to Us with the verification code that you have sent the item to the rightful buyer,Then we can confirm your money from PayPal ourselves and credit your account as soon as possible.


We hope we have been able to serve you well and we will also want you to know that we will always br for our customers anytime of the day.

We await your respond with the Verification Code so we know what nest to do on this transaction.

If the item is not posted within 6hrs of this warning suspension of this account will take place and be advised that you will be prohibited from using eBay in any way.

SHIPMENT ADDRESS:

Name: Adelakun-Poju
Address:35 Idera Street,Oworonsoki Kosofe
City: Lagos-State
Country:Nigeria.
Zipcode:23401


eBay will charge any amounts you have not previously disputed to the billing method currently on file.

Regards,
Safeharbor Department
eBay, Inc.

It is quite ironic, this scammer has been suspended from Ebay more times than just about anybody, yet here is he, threatening to have your ebay account suspended.

If only Ebay would block certain IP ranges from using Ebay they could greatly reduce the effectiveness of this scam.

It is such a shame they refuse to listen to me, if I was an Ebay member I would cancel my membership in protest at their inability to fix this ongoing problem

This email is supposedly from Paypal, it comes complete with paypal logos and links and on first glance looks quite authentic

Dear Victims name,

We are using this medium to inform you that our client Miss Sandra Tilm has contacted us in respect of your money for the package bought from you on Ebay and the money is right now on our Desk ready to be transfered into your PayPal account and we should inform you that your payment has been 100% approved off and is waiting to be transfered into your Personal PayPal Account as soon as we are able to receive the shipment tracking number of ROYAL MAIL SIGN FOR INTERNATIONAL DELIVERY for the verification of shipment.

Moreover, we want you to know that the money has been deducted from the Personal PayPal Account of the Buyer and it will be transfered into your Personal PayPal Account as soon as we receive the shipment tracking number from you and we are doing this to prevent any Frudulent Activities between the Buyer and the Seller.

SHIPMENT ADDRESS BELOW

Name : Adelakun Poju
Address: 35 Idera Street
City : Oworonsoki Kosofe
State: Lagos State
Country: Nigeria
Zip-Code:23401.

Thank you for using PayPal®. We are online to serve you better and we look forward to your Response.

Sorry for bumping an old thread, this has just happened to me, was set out like a paypal email asking for the item to be sent before payment could come through, noticed one use of bad grammar and no clickable links that should work. ive been charged by ebay a closing fee, and ive asked the item im selling to have the transaction cancelled...assuming this will give me my closing fee back. Ive also reported the emails to spoof@ebay address.

Is there any other direct way of telling ebay that this is an obvious scammer.

Dear y,

Send Us Prove of Shipping.

At PayPal confirmation. We would like to inform you again that the payment sent from Jason Joseph has not reflected in your PayPal account due to our terms and policy to confirm shipping from you before transaction.
----------------------------------------------------
Details of Transaction
----------------------------------------------------
Seller's ID: ******

Seller's Email: *******
Transaction Date: June 28, 2010
Transaction ID: 6D694274EY338930K
Transaction Amount: £99.99 GBP
Case #: PP-091-962-222
----------------------------------------------------
What to Do Next
----------------------------------------------------
You are to send shipping tracking number to us for verification, so as to secure Buyers purchase as well as you. Fund has been deducted from:([email protected]) and shall be credited into your PayPal account: (******) immediately after shipment is confirmed by our management as eBay/PayPal terms to verify Int. shipping before transaction, due to Buyer's non-delivery reports. Below are requested shipping details.
Name /Shipping Address:
Item Number:
Name Of Courier Service:
Tracking Number:
------------------------------ -----
Buyer's Shipping Address:
------------------------------ -----
Mary Joseph
Block 45, Flat 12,
Abesan, Ipaja,
Lagos State,
23401,
Nigeria.

Welcome Matt,

Glad you caught the scam before you wasted too much time. Paypal and ebay are the same company, and paypal has no program in which they hold a payment pending shipping, so a quick forward of emails received should be enough to show eBay that the buyer was a scammer. Hopefully they will quickly close the scammer's account (or alert the owner and take appropriate action if it is a phished account), and I would think they would probably just want to relist the item.

Removed quote of above post - Ralph

Thanks Dotti,

Ebay have taken action against this buyer, and i have recieved further emails from them pretending to be ebay threatening to close my ebay account, again i have forwarded this one. many thanks to all who have posted in this thread

Hi Matt and a belated welcome to Scamwarners.

Scammers are very persistent, regardless of what ebay do to this scammer, he will be back and operating under a new name and new ebay profile within a few minutes, as i stated earlier in this thread, I did try to get Ebay to take more action to prevent these people from reregistering under a new often hardly any different username, as you have been able to tell they have done little to answer my requests.

All they seemed to be interested in at the time was my ebay details which were completely irrelevant, despite the information I had, they still took no action.

As for the scammers, please just ignore them, if you like, you could post their emails and email addresses here which may help to prevent others from being scammed.

If you have any questions please dont hesitate to ask

email used - [email protected]

Thank you