GUMTREE - PAYPAL SCAM

Hi I got scammed by this same guy. Email address [email protected] and his name said cole Jacob.

His first email said:

Thanks for the swift response. Am really impressed in purchasing and i need to make the payment right away as i need it urgently and kindly inform if you have other items for sale as i need some stuff for my new apartment and also am not in state right now and am willing to make payment via PayPal or bank transfer to your account and as well pick up will be made by a shipping company once payment is made to your account. Kindly get back to me with your paypal email address or bank details i.e bank name, account number and bsb so i can proceed with payment and pick up can as well be made immediately. I shall be waiting on your soonest mail once you receive my message.

Thanks and please kindly inform other buyers it is already sold.

Be blessed.

I asked him to call me and gave him my
Number and I got:

Am here in Malaysia and am Am offshore and am not allow to make call or receive due to the nature of my job send me your details for the prompt payment.

I said its a cash sale only then and got:

I will be sending funds ASAP.Like i said before,i have someone (a shipping company to be precise) who will handle the pick up and paypal is organizing them as i cant be able to come for the pick up myself so i handed over this transaction to paypal and they have the address where it will be delivered to. I will be adding their charges to the total amount i will be paying you,the pick up agent head quarters is in the Malaysia and all commission payments made for pick up, from anywhere in the world is sent to their head quarters in the Malaysia and the only form of payments they accept is western union money transfer i would need you to help me transfer their charges to my shippers via western union once you get my payment confirmation.


Thanks

BE AWARE THIS GUY IS A SCAMMER. The following morning I received an email from (claiming to be paypal) saying there was a credit of $10,500 to my paypal acc. I wasn't sure what to do so I called paypal and they advised me straight away that this was a scam.
The guy was able to access my account and took $6,000 off my credit card which was linked to my paypal.

If you ever receive an email from this guy delete it!

The paypal email claimed it was from
[email protected]®
Because it had the ® after the email this means its not paypal. Also if they ask you to send money to western union it's a scam. Paypal would never do that.

I can't believe I got scammed. Other buyers on gumtree beware of this guy!

Hope it doesn't happen to you.

I just received a text re my gumtree ad, the text included the email you mentioned [email protected] - if it helps the number I received the text from is 32563338265 - international number?

Two more to look out for

[email protected] Katie Lee White
[email protected] Jacob Collins

I advertised a sofa on Gumtree and the same night received a text from 'Katie' offering me a good price for it. She claimed she was working for KLM Airlines and could not come and inspect it because of her flight schedule. She wanted to organise a courier to take it to Darwin where she was apparently moving to (I checked and KLM do not fly into Darwin!). I got more suspicious when she emailed me to say she had paid substantially more into her Paypal account to cover her courier fees. I had to do a transfer from Western Union before they would release the funds.

Not long after that I received a text from 'Jacob' wanting to know if I had a firm price for my sofa. I explained it had been sold. When I suspected 'Katie' was a scammer, I emailed 'Jacob' back to let him know that the sofa was available again and also said 'I 'nearly' succumbed to a phishing scam', he replied with 'Get the f*ck'. Charming!

Needless to say I didn't go along with their little plan!

When they tell you they're abroad be sure to tell them straight that when it comes to payment you won't Wuxfer anyone anything unless they Wuxfer you the money up front.

If they can't Wuxfer, neither can you - simples

Yeah I got the same. The first day I had 8 scammers, so I decided to play along: my reply is at the top (check out the address) ...

Great.

[email protected] is paypal address

Pick Up address is

12 Believer Road,
Drongo Pass, QLD 5678


From: [email protected]

Thank you for getting back to me. Can you assure me that i will not be
disappointed with it. I'm ready to offer you your asking price, i'm
buying this for my self. But the issue is I'm a marine biologist and i
am on sea right now. Due to my contract on the sea, there is strictly
no call due to the lack of reception on the sea area. But I'm able to
access my mail anytime as i will make use of wireless laptop.

My Mode of payment is via PayPal as as i don't have access to my bank
account online, but i have it attached to my paypal account and this
is why i insisted on using paypal to pay. I will be responsible for
all the paypal fee/charges on this transaction and i will like you to
get back to me with more pics if available, if you don't have an
account with paypal, its pretty easy, safe and secured to open
one.Just log on to www.paypal.com.au

I hope we can make the purchase as fast as possible. I have a mover
that will be coming for the pick up once payment clears and they will
be handling the title for me. So i look forward to hear from you
soon.Kindly get back to me with your:

PayPal E-Mail Address:
Your Picked Up Location Address:

Many Thank

Some more to add to the list (got dodgey replies from all of them) so sent them the usual details that they wanted (check out postal address):

Great.
[email protected] is paypal address
Pick Up address is
12 Believer Road,
Drongo Pass, QLd 5678

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

Got another one to add to the list - [email protected]

I reposted my ad for my PSP sale on Gumtree last night (Australian Site, the item was priced at $35). I woke up this morning and I had an email from 'Owen'. Message details below

'Owen' - I'm interested in your ad,how much are you willing to sell it.
Me - Ive priced it at 35 w/ extras
'Owen' - Thanks for the email, I'm highly interested in your item,am ok with the price and condition,i will be adding $150 for the shipping fee also i will be sending it to my cousin in Abroad through (EMS Postal Service),I will be sending the payment via PayPal kindly send me your PayPal payment request or email so that i can proceed with the payment ASAP.

First thing that made me suspicious is as to why he asks me the price, when it is clearly stated at the top of the ad (A lot of people that are not scammers do this, it always seems stupid to do though in my opinion. In my ad, I also have written above the email address I provide for users to contact me on "Pick Up Only")
Second was that he would 'add' $150 for the shipping fee, subsequently, paying ME $35 and then $150 for shipping... No one pays $150 to ship a Playstation Portable (PSP).

I havent bothered to reply to 'Owen' because I dont tend to reply to people who ask me to ship items to them when I have specifically stated (in the ad) that the item is pick up only. Sure am glad I found this site to confirm that he was a scammer (just by reading other' situations/stories)

Hello RenBx and welcome to Scamwarners.

I am glad you were able to see it was a scam and found yourself here.

It is best to just ignore the scammer at this point.

Allow him to continue to make mistakes and not educate him. Scammers sends 100's of email a day. They do not read the ad.

Thank you for posting the information. Yes, Please read the forum and pass on information to friends and family.

Bryon

I received a SMS message from a scammer on Gumtree Australia just now !!

Check out the message here !!

link removed - dotti

Name is 'Collins'
eMail ID : [email protected]

Admin note: link removed. We preach (and practice) internet safety around here--and this includes not clicking on unknown links that could possibly contain executables.

Welcome startex,

I am afraid I had to remove your link. We know nothing about the safety of the linked site, and cannot recommend clicking on a random link. You can simply copy and paste the contents of the text message into a post here.

My latest Gumtree scammer conversations........... scammer Jacob Collins

I`ll accept any sensible offer Jacob , the whole system cost me just over 28000euro in 2002 (35500 AUD) it has been used for one summer season of 4 months and a few days and certainly no more than 600hrs use , the vests are in very good condition no rips or tears anywhere , maybe a few rusty studs from persperation but nothing serious , can clean them for you anyway when I unpack them..

Regards Greg


Collins Jacob

4:04 PM (6 hours ago)

to me
Thanks a lot.I have actually tried to get this kind of Merchandise here earlier from here but most of the ones I got either have one fault or the other and some have even had accidents in the past while some are extremely exorbitant.As to the price, Price is Ok. So if you deem the offer good enough, If this is acceptable kindly get back to me with your paypal email address and the details below so i can proceed with the payment. I can only pay through paypal or bank transfer at the moment as i do have access to my bank account online, but i have it attached to my paypal account, and this is why i insisted on using paypal or bank transfer to pay,all i will need is your paypal email address to make the payments via PayPal and if you do not have a paypal account yet,its pretty easy to set one up at http://www.paypal.com and if you want the payment to be made via bank transfer send me your bank name,Account name,bank account, bsb for the payment..

i will be expecting your email.
I will need this following details so i can proceed with the payment right away
Are you the first owner?
What is your reason for selling it?
Your PayPal e-Mail Address :full name:
I'm sorry, just want to be sure about the sale before i proceed.
If you would like to talk more about this item, you can chat or send me an email via this yahoo id ([email protected])
Greg Arima <[email protected]>

10:30 PM (29 minutes ago)



to Collins
Iam pleased to see that you are sincerely interested , I got one more guy since yesterday from NewZealand that apparently owns a Megazone Laser Tag establishment there... he is constantly e-mailing me and trying to get the best bargain possible . I purchased the system from the UK brand new in early 2002 for just under 28,000 euro (35,500 AUD) with my partner , we spent another 40,000 euro on the premises we leased on Rhodes Island Greece . It was opened in mid-May 2002 and closed a week before the end of September , my partner sold all the contents of the business that following winter and I insisted on keeping the laser system for future business ( which never happened )..in 2009 I moved back to Australia bringing half a container of personal belongings ( including the laser system ) and Iam quite sure I will not venture into any future business with it here . I will dig up everything this weekend and see exactly whats there and make you a proper list of all items and send you that list via e-mail , I would also like to know your where-abouts so I can see how much the freight would be and possibly I will do you a better price .
I do have a paypal account but would prefer you to do a bank transaction to my account.
What insurance do you need for the transaction ? Do you want a Statutory Declaration from me ?

Talk soon .... Regards



Lets see how far he takes this now that I know he is a scammer !

Thanks to this website I now know of 2 buyers who are scammers....

the next one is Layton Weidner


Hi ,
I have 2 listings on Gumtree so Im not sure which one you are asking about , both listings canbe negotiated depending
on where you are located for shipping expenses etc.

Regards Greg.
Layton Weidner

Mar 5 (1 day ago)

to me
Oh i thought the one i saw was the only one you have...i don't know you have more than that..Kindly list them with there price so that i can know see may be i have interest in some more....Layton
Greg Arima <[email protected]>

Mar 5 (1 day ago)

to Layton
Are you talking about the laser vests ???
Layton Weidner

Mar 5 (1 day ago)

to me
yes


1:46 AM (21 hours ago)

to Layton
I`ll accept any sensible offer Layton , the whole system cost me just over 28000euro in 2002 (35500 AUD)
Layton Weidner

6:22 AM (16 hours ago)

to me
So how much are you willing to sell it
Greg Arima <[email protected]>

6:53 AM (16 hours ago)

to Layton
I think 10,000 is cheap and I wouldnt go less than 9,000 , depends on where you live and who pays the freight ? With 10,000 I would pay for the freight to anywhere in Australia or New Zealand or 9,000 and the buyer pays for his own freight ...
Layton Weidner

7:31 AM (15 hours ago)

to me
Alright it okay and fine with me so kindly get back to me with your payment details so that i can proceed
Greg Arima <[email protected]>

3:51 PM (7 hours ago)

to Layton
If you where to put money in my account you would need a StatutoryDeclaration stating.. " Once received X amount in dollars in my account I will freight the following items bla bla bla... to Layton Weidner to this address " . How will you deposit the money if you havnt got proof that I will send them ? If you want me to proceed I can get a Stat ready and post it to you so you can put money in my account...
Layton Weidner

5:53 PM (5 hours ago)

to me
Don't worried as i will arrange for the pick up after payment would have been made so kindly get back to me with your payment details
Greg Arima <[email protected]>

10:36 PM (26 minutes ago)

to Layton
I will dig up everything this weekend and see exactly whats there and make you a proper list of all items and send you that list via e-mail . You can call me after you get the list on the weekend on my mobile #0432590737 for final details ...I do have a paypal account but would prefer you to do a bank transaction to my account . What insurance do you need for the transaction ?

Talk soon .... Regards

Hey Everyone,

I did a quick search on the following email: [email protected] and was directed to this site. After reading the various posts, something has to be done about this dickhead.

I'm selling an expensive piece of equipment and he(she?) contacted me via text saying they could only reply via the above email. So who are the authorities that deal with these types of people and can anything be done?

The full history of the conversation is below:

Hi,

Thanks for your interest in the Jacob's Ladder and yes, it is still available.

Here are the full details on the machine: I purchased it 3 years ago for my own personal use (never been used in a commercial setting) but as things turn out, work and life get in the way and hence it has hardly been used. It has been sitting downstairs in the lounge room since purchase day (from the photo). The machine is in excellent condition. Along with the manual and the DVD's you get with the machine, I also have the following spare parts for it, a spare Sensor that measures distance, kilo calories etc and a spare Battery - requires recharging yearly.

The price is firm at $5800. I purchased it shipped to me at $6500. Recently a Jacobs Ladder in a VERY used condition at the Summit Fitness store in Canberra, sold for $6200, which is quite incredible. The Jacobs machine along with the Versa Climber machines do not lose value over time, they generally gain value.

I think what I'm offering is a very good deal since the spares themselves are quite expensive.

Let me know if you are still interested.
============================================

Thanks a lot.I have actually tried to get this kind of Merchandise here earlier from here but most of the ones I got either have one fault or the other and some have even had accidents in the past while some are extremely exorbitant.As to the price, Price is Ok. So if you deem the offer good enough, If this is acceptable kindly get back to me with your paypal email address and the details below so i can proceed with the payment. I can only pay through paypal or bank transfer at the moment as i do have access to my bank account online, but i have it attached to my paypal account, and this is why i insisted on using paypal or bank transfer to pay,all i will need is your paypal email address to make the payments via PayPal and if you do not have a paypal account yet,its pretty easy to set one up at http://www.paypal.com and if you want the payment to be made via bank transfer send me your bank name,Account name,bank account, bsb for the payment..

i will be expecting your email.
I will need this following details so i can proceed with the payment right away
Are you the first owner?
What is your reason for selling it?
Your PayPal e-Mail Address :full name:
I'm sorry, just want to be sure about the sale before i proceed.
If you would like to talk more about this item, you can chat or send me an email via this yahoo id ([email protected])
====================================

No worries at all. Yes, I'm the first owner and in the 3 years I've had the machine, I've probably only used it maybe 12 times of so. Just family life and other interests have got in the way which is why I haven't used it very much. Its really almost brand new. The pictures via ebay that you see are true and correct. its in excellent condition. As to the reason I'm selling it, I'm moving house, to a much smaller house and I simply don't have the space for it and in a year or so I will also be moving either interstate or overseas so it has to go to a good owner. That is pretty much it.

My bank details are below but understand that you will have to arrange transport yourself unless you want me to arrange that for you? If so, give me your address details where you will like it shipped and I will try and get a competitive rate. Let me know which way you want to go. If you would like to talk to me over the phone, just call me. My number is .
==================================

Hi,
I have just completed the Payment from my paypal account to your Bank Account and i am sure you have received the confirmation from PayPal regarding the Payment made. You can check your e-mail,spam folder and junk for confirmation of payment.a total of $6,850.00 was sent, $5,800.00 for the merchandise and the extra $950.00 for the shipper's and $100.00 for western union charges,which you will be sending to the address below via western union via western union either at the post office or online at http://www.westernunion.com.au


Ramanathan Salverinathan
38, Meranti Jaya,
City: Puchong
State: Kuala Lumpur,
Zip Code: 58200
Country: Malaysia.


All other documentations should be prepared by the Pick Up Agent. You should send the money soon so that the agent can schedule time and you would know when the Pick Up would commence, make sure you're home. I advice you to check both your inbox or junk/spam folder for the payment confirmation message..The shipper would be coming around to your area to have the merchandise picked up once you have sent the shipping charges fee to them, as i need you to let me know what time you want them to come and where (your address & phone # you can be reached on)

I will be waiting to hear from you once the money has been sent to my shipper.
Thanks.
======================================

Thank you Ramanathan.

Could you please give me the details of the Pick Up Agent? I require their telephone number and/or website so I can arrange pick up date and time.

Thanks Peter.

Sent from my Windows Phone
=======================================

Here is the shipping agent details below get the shipping fee send to the agent right away...

Ramanathan Salverinathan
38, Meranti Jaya,
City: Puchong
State: Kuala Lumpur,
Zip Code: 58200
Country: Malaysia.
+60146478460
[email protected]
============================================

[size=85]I checked my account and no funds have been deposited.

Once I confirm that you have sent the funds and deposited in my account, i will then contact the shipping agent for immediate delivery of the product.

I believe you have gotten the confirmation from PayPal and you just have to follow there rules and abide as well in order for the transaction to be completed, i had made the payment and for your account to be credited you have to send the agent fee to the agent upfront and get back to PayPal with the MTCN and sender's name so that your account can be credited before my agent come for the pick up...Get the agent fee sent right away and get back to PayPal with the required details so that your account can be credited before my agent come for the pick up and send me the details as well so i can forward it to my agent.[/size]
======================================

What you believe does not interest me. I require verification and evidence and you have not provided that.

Sorry, I will not send an agent fee. I require confirmation that the funds have been deposited first. Kindly provide me a screen capture of the transaction and time stamp that you sent the funds. Once I confirm that has been completed to my satisfaction, only then will I contact the Agent. Do you understand clearly?

============================

You did got the confirmation so what else are you talking about here as i seems not not understand you here..
==========================

No I have NOT received ANY confirmation from any source. If you will not provide me evidence or time stamp of the transaction that you supposedly did, I will contact ebay and alert them that you are a fraud.
===============================

I am reporting you as a scammer. I will also alert the authorities in Kualar Lumpar.

Thanks for the alert re LAYTON WEIDNER

He just responded to a Gumtree ad via txt from Ashong79 seeking email contact to [email protected].

Same pattern of interaction and story behind urgency etc. Didn't specify which ad (s)he was responding to which triggered my scepticism. Great to be able to check out suspicions on this site.

I placed an ad on gumtree and eBay got a so called buyer, told me he'd put the money in my account & I had to pay for shipping, something didn't seem right, he didn't haggle the price which was $15,000 Australian, he said he was out of the country, thanks to this site I realised I was being scammed.
Hope this low life scum gets caught soon,

Same scam happened today to my boyfriend trying to sell on gumtree.The person claimed he cant make it to view the 'item' but would like to pay straight away and add extra money for my boyfriend to sent to western union so the 'agent' of a shipping company to come and pick it up and before my boyfriend replied, he had done the transaction and sent the paypal confirmation emails.
I googled the name on receipts and found out about the scams..
The email name they were communicating was different, it was Wayne Mathen, [email protected], there were no scam reports for this name.
Bank and paypal got reported straight away, luckily the transfer to western union didnt occur cause thats when the accounts would had be corrupted......

****BEWARE OF THESE CONTACTS AND JUST REPORT AND DELETE THE MESSAGES EVERYONE.

Transport Company: Auto Shippers International
Name: Ramanathan Salverinathan

Address: 50, Jalan Teluk Pulai,
City: Klang
State: Selangor
Zip Code: 41100
Country: Malaysia.