Kijiji Paypal Scam

I placed an ad on Kijiji for my car which included my phone number. I was contacted by text from 1 213 394 7956 which is a long distance number.

Several texts asking me to contact by email for better communication. The email address he used is [email protected]. He asked for mt paypal email address to deposit the money. I sent the address and then felt funny about it. Who would buy such and expensive car without seeing it. He tried to pass himself off as a car dealer and said he would have someone pick up the car after the money was deposited to my paypal account.

I did a search on paypal scams and came across this site. Thank you for this information. I will cut off contact but I am concerned because they have two of my email addresses and my phone number.

Please let me know what I can do to protect myself after almost falling victim to this scam.

Hello and Welcome to Scamwarners tomorrowwill.

There is nothing the scammer could do with your phone number or email address. He may send you false threats that you have been reported to the FBI or other Law Enforcement Agencies. He will try to scare you into sending money to his agent or shipper. Do not do it. Its all fake phony threats. Just ignore him and do not write back to him. He eventually will go away.

When selling online scammers like to send fake Paypal payments with very realistic emails. However, they are using a free email provider to spoof Paypal email. In this scheme the scammer is targeting your item ( Jewelry, Laptop and small electonics ( Mobile Phones). He will want you to ship the item to him. He will tell you that Paypal is holding your money until you provide a shipping receipt. In reality he is lying again. Paypal will not hold your funds pending a scan of a Postal receipt.

The above scam works the same way with large items like furniture and Automobiles. This time he will send an over payment and want you to send money to the shipper or agent via Western Union, Money Gram or Bank Transfer.

All these scams can also be done by sending you a fake check or money order. They will look real and your bank will cash them. Weeks later your bank will inform you of the fake and you will have to repay the money back. You could also be reported to the Law Enforcement for fraud.

To better understand online selling read the top post here on this forum about it.

Bryon

Thank you Bryon1

Hey Everyone,

First time posting on this website but i figured i'd share my story. I caught the scammer before he got anything so a positive one. But it's important to share to help others. I've seen post verbatim like this before so we'll chalk it up and the added usernames and emails will be on watch.

I placed my Motorcylce on Kijiji free add site here in Canada for $3500. Same day received this text
From - 8505834064
"I saw ur ad,Am ready to offer u additional $700 to ur asking price for the bike.pls respond by email me ASAP on: [email protected]. Scott"

Right away it threw up a red flag but i've never had anyone attempt a scam like this before me being the seller.
I replied

Me

"Hey Scott

I got your text about the bike. and you have my attention.

And it is currently still available"

Scott

"Hi Mate
just thinking you might have had some buyer's interested in buying your bike and i think the best way to outbid them is by offering you additional 700 to your asking price on the ad, Well am actually purchasing it for my Brother at home to have something to move around with when am not available but i won't be available to come for the inspection my self due to where i am presently . I do have a pick-up agent that will be contacting you on where and when the pick-up will take place after have completed the payment my self .

If you don't mind can you please tell me a little bit more about the present mechanical condition,how often you do the servicing and the history ? I will be waiting for your response then if we come to an agreement i will proceed with the payment immediately."

Me

"Sure Scott

We can make arrangement

Here is my cell number.
506-2**-****
Am available now"

*note i wanted to speak with him. I received no call.

Me

"Here is the bikes history

First owner bought new. Lady owned. She had the bike lowered at purchase. She put 1400 kms on the bike. Sold the bike to me

The bike hadn't been passed its first due date for oil change. I changed oil at about 3500 kms just to have it fresh for myself and had the bike once overed by g bourque here in moncton.
A couple weeks later i purchased the oem dogbones and had it put to stock height as i didnt like the handling with it lowered.

When winter came i winterized the bike with stabilizer in the fuel and stored it in my parents house for the winter.

Its only been hand washed. I check the chain wax and tire pressure everyweek.

It has an aftermarket two brothers exhaust installed. Offers roughly 3-5 more horsepower. And sounds much better than stock.

Tire tread is still like new.

I think that about covers everything about the bike.

With your bid. I will hold off on the other offers until we come to and arragement.

Cheers
Vince"

Scott

"Good to hear from you again
Thank you for this details, Well in regards to the Bike am very much interested in buying it and paying for it right away so you don't have to look around for any other buyer for it. I'm actually buying it for my Brother at home in Ontario as a surprise, But before i can send it to him i have to make sure the Bike is in a good condition . I hope you understand my point that there is no way i come to do the inspection of the bike my self as have said earlier besides the Bike will be picked up and transported to Ontario where my Parents stays, So whatever you tell me about the good and the bad aspect of the Bike is what i will believe and also inform the Pick-up agent that will be coming over to pick the Bike

After have completed the payment the agent will contact you about where and when the pick up will take place and they will also be of assistance to do the change of ownership when they get there. but before i proceed with the Payment is there is any problem which you're yet to mention that i should know , please let me know now meanwhile can you please please take the add off online now till we complete the transaction and please send me your PayPal email and i will make the Payment right now

Regards"

Me

I will take the add down once i get home.

The only thing i can think of as "bad" is the headlight fuse burnt once. But the bike has 2 spare fuses in the box so i was able to change it right there on the spot.
I did some research and the only explanation for that happening was starting possiblu starting the bike too many times with high beams on. The bike has halogen lights which take much more amperage.
After reading this i made sure i always started the bike with low beams only and didnt have any other occurrences after that.

I will provide my paypal account once i get home"

Scott

"Sounds Good i will wait your PayPal email as promised so that i can proceed with the payment immediately."

*i gave him my paypal email.

Scott

Hi Mate
I Just want to let you know this quick. i was just about to make the payment now when the pick up agent inform me i will have to pay for the freight fee before they can schedule a pick up time with you and they are charging $600 for the pick up and delivery to Ontario and they said the payment must be sent only to their Co-Operate International Headquarter in United State and the payment must be made to them through Money Gram money transfer.

And due to the fact that i can only make a Payment only via PayPal i will add the $600 and the 2.4% that PayPal is charging you to the money am sending to you through PayPal and immediately i make the payment to you, I will contact you and please i will need you to help me send the money to my pick up agent's Hq in United State through Money Gram money transfer after i have sent you the full payment. I would have done it myself but I can't send money through that means due to my present location. I'm a little incapacitated but I'll appreciate your help here as soon as i make the Payment to you .

Please respond a.s.a.p. so that I can proceed in making all the payment to you now"

Then

Hey Mate
What am trying to make you understand is that i will add the 600 and the PayPal charges to the Money am going to send you now, so after you have receive the Payment you will help me send the 600 to them by Money Gram But please just to avoid any mistakes about this Payment am making now can you please confirm to me again with Details right now.
1,Your Full name,
2,Your PayPal email again,
3,The amount i offered you for the Bike?,
4The Freight fee
5,your Cell Phone number
6,Confirm the Total Amount

If you reply me back right now with this details i will try to make the Payment now before i leave my desk and then get back to you
Regards

i replied

1. Vinc*** Berr****
2. v_be****@hotmail.com
3. You have offered me $4200 for my 2009 Kawasaki Ninja 250R
4. Freight fee you are transferring to me to make payment for transport - $600
5. 2.4% paypal charges
6. 506-229-****
7. Total amount Paid to me of $4800 + 2.4% paypal fees.

If this is all correct please reply to confirm that we are in agreement."

I began to wonder why he wasn't planning to pay a canadian company for the delivery and why i would have to send money to the us for a domestic delivery to Ontario. so i asked

"just as a side question. couldn't i pay the charges to the company here in canada once you send me the money and avoid the cooperate international all together. since ill be making the payment from within the same country"

I don't believe his verbatim had a prepared answer here was the response.

"Thanks for the question after i made the payment and you confirmed it all information will be sent to your and the money gram can be sent from a post office or Walmart office ; so once am done with my meeting i will proceed with the payment and get back to you asap once payment is made."

He then emailed me to say the payment was made and to check my paypal email for confirmation

" Hi Vince

I will like to inform you that I have sent the payment and i expect PayPal to have contacted you by now on the email you use for PayPal, I have sent $5,200.00 and PayPal said the fund will be held and it will not be credited into your account until you have sent the money meant for pick-up and i believe you must have received a notification in regards to this. Send the pick up fee to the agent's Headquarter in United State via Money Gram money transfer in any Money Gram office closer to you or Any Walmart so that PayPal can credit all the money into your account as soon as you have sent the Money Gram details to them. I added extra $400 to cover Money Gram and the PayPal charges which shouldn't be more than $160-180 but just to be sure i added $400. and the PayPal charges Here is the pick up agent information needed for you to send the money through Money Gram money transfer:


Name: Regina Angela Brown
Address: 920 Pocahontas Rd,
City: Freeman,
State: Virginia
Country: United State.
Zip: 23847
Amount: $600.00.CAD
Question: What Colour
Answer: White

Email me the necessary details; the REF# which you will be given at the Money Gram office after you have sent the pick up fee, the name of the sender, address and the question and answer you used in sending the money so that I can forward it to PayPal or better still, you can email it to PayPal directly, that is fine with me as well so that they can credit your account with 5,200.00 . Please send me your address where the Vehicle will be picked up and also your phone number because I must forward it to the agent who will contact you immediately you have received your payment at hand and your account is credited so that a convenient pick up time can be booked. Regards

Scott"

Here is the Paypal email. it looked very legit. sent from [email protected]

Dear Removed. ~Bubbles Powered byPayPal

You have received a PayPal AUTOMOBILE Pending Payment of $5,200.00 .CAD from Scott Gordon to v_berri***@hotmail.com PayPal Account

In addition, we have placed a temporary hold on the funds and will not reflect in your PayPal Account History because it is under Pending in our database. This is a PayPal AUTOMOBILE Payment Service for a Bike purchased from you, we reserve the right to make sure this Transaction is safe and secure and to also verify the legitimacy level of this Transaction because of the high amount of funds involved.

This is to inform you that you are required to send a sum of $600.00 CAD which is meant for Pick-Up Charges to the address below via Money Gram Money Transfer and get back to us with the relevant information's which you will be provided with after the money has been sent. You are requested to give us the REF# (Money Transfer Control Number), Sender's Name, Sender's Address and Secret Question and Answer used in making the transfer before we credit the total sum of $5,200.00 .CAD into your PayPal account.

Payment Details

Description: Auto

Quantity: 1

Goods: $4,600.00 CAD

Pick-up fee: $600.00 CAD

Total: $5,200.00 CAD

Money Gram Pick-up Details

Name: Regina Angela Brown

Address: 920 Pocahontas Rd,

City: Freeman

State: Virginia

Country: United State. 23847

Amount: $600.00.CAD

Question: What Colour

Answer: White

PLEASE NOTE: This action is not a request from the Buyer that you must send the Pick-Up fee to the Pick-Up agent before we credit your account. It is a security procedure we are taking to protect both parties involved in this Transaction. The total sum above has been successfully debited from Scott Gordon the Buyer's account and is ready to be credited into your account. Due to the fact that this payment is an AUTOMOBILE purchase, we reserve the right to make sure this Transaction is safe and secure and to verify the legitimacy level of this Transaction because of the high sum of funds involved.

Note: Transaction was done via our E-mail Payment Service, all inquiries should be directed to PayPal Customer Care via Email because it is the one being used in monitoring your Transaction. This Transaction has not been directed to the Phone Service Section of our Customer Care Department.

PROTECT YOUR PASSWORD: NEVER give your password to anyone, including PayPal employees. Protect yourself against fraudulent websites by opening a new web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Firefox) and typing in the PayPal URL every time you log in to your account

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2013 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved.
PayPal Canada Pty Limited ABN 93 111 195 389 (AFSL 304962). Any general financial product advice provided in this site has not taken into account your objectives, financial situations or needs.

PayPal is located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131
PayPal Email ID PP1557 Contact : 408-660-8640



Questions? Go to the Help Centre at: https://www.paypal.com/ca/help Email : [email protected]

Thank you for using PayPal.
PayPal Team.

https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/email/im ... 101x45.jpg
Scott Thompson
President
PayPal, Inc

After seeing the last couple communications i knew something was not right. I contacted paypal by phone to check for pending transfers as I do not use paypal often. they had no such transaction. I reported the email to [email protected]
i re emailed back the potential scammer. letting him know that there would be no such transactions prior to telephone confirmation made by me to paypal.

This is where I was surprised. I actually received a call from the number. a spanish sounding man claiming to be Scott Gordon. I told him paypal said there was no such pending transfer and he told me he would call them. I have heard back since.

Hope my story helps other people.
Fortunately from my research it seems this particular scam uses verbatim emails meaning they should be very easy to spot for anyone who reads this post or other posts like it.

Cheers Removed personal information. I also combined to not have too many topics. Added quotes to provide clarity. ~Bubbles

Well who ever tried to Scam you is still at it )

But didn't get zip from me caught on to him fairly quick but the detail and wording is pretty much the same!
Like word by word he used to try and get to you.

Scott Gordon!!!! is his new name of the day so beware if you have a bone head like this that wants to pay you more then your sell price block him out and say good by!

Hello and welcome to Scamwarners Edmomd.

Thanks for the update. However, it would be helpful to others if you would post the email address and the script the scammer used with you. Just remember to remove your personal information.

Bryon

someone claiming to be interested in buying a designer purse on kijiji by the name of 'Lucy Alex' with the email [email protected]

im selling from ontario, she claimed that she lives in Vancouver and would make the payment then have someone pick the item up.
i then received an email from 'lucy' that she had made the payment and to check my email for the confirmation email from paypal. i noticed that the confirmation of payment emails from paypal were suddenly being sent to my junkmail account and this made me a little suspicious. also the amount 'pending' was significantly more than the price discussed and now suddenly she needed me to send the money to the 'transportation service' whose 'fee' was half the cost of the purse! if you are going to be a thief at the very least be a clever one, this one is just stupid. then the email supposedly from paypal stated:

Regarding your Transaction with Lucy Alex. The Funds will reflect in your PayPal account as soon as the Money Gram information is received from you. We want to notify you that a payment of $1,320.00 CAD has been deposited into our database by Lucy Alex and it is ready to be credited into your account, the money was sent through the Service Option Secure Payment making this transaction to be protected with adequate security measures for you to be able to receive the funds.

So all you have to do now is to proceed to send the sum of $450.00 CAD through Money Gram Transfer to the confirmed shipping agent address and make sure you contact us with the necessary Money Gram details so that we can verify it and then credit your account. You can send the funds via any Money Gram outlet.

You are required to send the Money Gram information to us as stated below if you don't have a scanner:

(1) Sender's Name;
(2) Receiver's Name;
(3) Reference number
(4) Amount Sent;

This email confirms that you have received an Instant payment of $1,320.00 CAD from Lucy Alex ([email protected]) via PayPal MERCHANDISE Payment Service.

Reversals : This method of payment cannot be reversed.

Status : Pending - Transport Company Awaiting Payment.

View the "NOTE" of this pending transaction below


Payment Details

Merchandise Amount: CAD $ 820.00
Transport Charges:

Money Gram Charges:
Total:

CAD $ 450.00

CAD 50.00
CAD $ 1,320.00
Transaction ID:
1Q353250MY990893Z
Quantity:
1
MERCHANDISE Title:
Goods

Transport Company: "Move It"
Address:
Receivers First name : Patrick
Receivers Last Name : Pinard
Address : 9815 Walnut Street,
Zip code: 75243
City/State allas/Texas,
Country:USA.

We assure you that this is a safe and approved transaction and your account will be credited immediately we verify the Money Gram details. You can contact us anytime if you have any question(s) about this transaction. We want you to understand that the payment can't be reversed, canceled or splitted, so we assure you that you are 100% SECURED doing this transaction.

Once again be rest assured that you will have your funds credited immediately we receive the Money Gram Information from you for verification.


Sincerely,

A. Williams,
The PayPal Team.
NOTE: This is important as a security measure to ensure safety of this transaction. As this transaction was done via our e-mail payments service, any inquiries and necessary information should be sent to us by directly replying to this message, because of the status of this transaction, it has not been passed on to our customer care phone service section and all inquiries should be directed to this e-mail address as it is the one monitored for your transaction.You can email us any time at [email protected]

*** i also notice my email says it was sent from [email protected] on behalf of [email protected]® ([email protected]) ***
*These are all the names of the scammers or their aliases!*

Hello Kijjiscam and welcome to Scamwarners.

Yes, it is a scam attempt. Thanks for posting the script used and all the email addresses used.

You did great noticing the fake PayPal email address. In this scam the scammer does not want your purse. He wants to steal your money. As you saw he lied about Paypal holding your funds. PayPal will not hold your money. Nor, will PayPal have you wire money to a third party. PayPal will never tell you that your money will be released once you provide proof of money sent by Money Gram.

I just had the exact same thing happen to me. I received the same emails, verbatim! This time from Alex Murphy.

It seemed strange, but I got to the point of giving him my details to pay me. And then I decided to search the term "kijiji paypal scam" and found this thread.

I already wrote the guy back and told him no deal. I will ignore all future correspondence from him.

Welcome to Scamwarners nbpromo,

Great job on identifying this is a scam.

Please help others by posting his email address and a couple of his initial emails to you. Please remove your personal information.

Bryon

Some guy named James Parker is currently trying to scam me from my kijiji ad for the motorcycle I have for sale. I was skeptical to begin with but reading this site has made me 100% that's what it is so I'm grateful for all your stories. He text me asking me to email me and this is his initial email:
Thanks for the swift response, I am okay with your confirm full asking price and i will like to know the condition as well, Cus i am buying this for my vacation,I would have loved to come for inspection view personally and pay cash, but i can't due to nature of my job and my location,as am a very busy type i work long hours everyday. As for my payment type,i will be paying you via the fastest and secure way to pay online(PayPal),

I have a private shipper agent that will come for the pick up..So no shipping included,You can now send me your PayPal email so I can pay in right away and also include your address in your reply. If you don't have a Paypal account, you can easily set up one...log on to www.paypal.com and sign up. its very easy, and also I will need more details as well about it ??

1:Is it Fully Registered and Insured?
2:Reason for Sale?
3:Engine Status
4:Painting or Rust Involved?
5 what is your last price ?
6;More pictures if available..

I await your reply asap.
Regards.
All too familiar hey? Here's his info:
Name- James Parker
Phone number- 408-692-7768
Email- [email protected]

Heyy All!

first i just want to say thanks for the help i just caught a scam while trying to sell my truck because it was word for word the same messages as the Scott Gordon one just a warning this scammer is going by the name David Luce!!! [email protected]. if you get an offer saying they will pay more than asking price DO NOT ACCEPT IT!!!

Welcome, saynotoscam, and thank you for adding this email address to the scam listing using this scam script. You're absolutely correct: Any "overpayment" is a clear sign of a scam. The payment will be fraudulent and the scammer will also be playing the role of the supposed third party to send the overage to.

So glad that the information posted here helped you!

Hi
I just received a similar email! I'm trying to sell my dining set. First they sent a text from 1-(770)455-5368 named Felicia that said to correspond with them by email ([email protected]) only due to the nature of their job. Then the email is as follows...

"I appreciate your prompt response, I am buying It ASAP for my cousin
residing in Ontario as a surprise. I wont be available by myself for
inspection due to the nature of my work and present location. I will
like you to email me with some close up shots of it and will arrange
for it to be picked up by a pick up agent who will be coming for the
inspection and pick up at your place once the payment clears, I will
also be paying you through Paypal which i believe is safe and secured
for both of us and I will also be responsible for the charges. All I
need from you now is to get back to me with your Paypal email and name
or send me Paypal invoice so that I can send your payment ASAP. What
is your final asking price?

Just want to be sure about the sale before i proceed and If you need
to reach me, send me an email as i Squeeze time every four-hours to
check correspondence and respond at the same time.

Thanks"

Like everyone else posting to this thread, I too just received a similar email. I'm selling my car on Kijiji. Forty five minutes after the listing went live, I received a text asking I send email confirming price and condition of vehicle, odd as this information is listed in the ad which the sender must have read to get my contact number. The text was sent from +12894343987 named Richard. The address to email was '[email protected].

Once I sent email, following is the string of responses...
"Thanks for mailing. Am ok with the price and condition, very motivated to buy it for my vacation. As I'm a Petroleum Project Engineer on(Hibernia Oil Field) my work won't permit me to come over for inspection, contact via phone would have been the easiest means to talk to you but we're currently out of calling range but can get along via e-mail. I will send my money to you via PayPal(the safe and secure way to get paid, fast and very easy to pay/use). Once my money is through into your PayPal account, my Courier Agent will contact you for the Pick-up. Kindly get back to me your PayPal details(Holder name and email address), If you don't have a PayPal account you can easily set up, just log on to www.paypal.com and sign up as its very easy/fast.
Awaiting your PayPal info."

I was suspicious as the sender's work location is in parenthesis, similar to a mail merge where text is auto-inserted but remained hopeful this was real. Our dialogue continued with sender replies as follows...
"Okay i got your paypal info, confirm your 1991 4Runner sold to me by removing the ADD list from Kijiji and consider it sold to other buyers. Get back to me when you remove the ADD list, so i can proceed with the payment asap"

The use of 'ADD' before list is also suspicious as well.

I responded as follows...
"Once the transaction shows on my PayPal account, I'll remove the ad. Do you have transportation arranged? Send me the particulars so I know who the person is when they contact me. "

Sender responded ...
"Okay, i will proceed with your Payment now and get back to you when am done. Immediately my money is through into your PayPal account, the agent will contact you in-order to handle the pickup and delivery from your location. This transaction is based on HUGE amount of trust and I expect to see this from your end as it is on mine. Thanks and nice doing business with you."

When I read sender's closing remarks which sounded premature as no business had actually been completed, I searched the web and came across this string.

I sent the following to the sender ...
"In addition to my story, take a look at this one I found on-line:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=46616

I trust this is not the same situation you and I are embarking on right now as your email language is near verbatim to what has been posted on the forum."

I have not heard from the sender .. errr, correction ... scammer since; no money has shown up in my PayPal account - no surprise there. Out of curiousity, I phoned the cell number and was forwarded to a very corporate sounding voice mail system - the in-box recording was the phone number, not the scammer's name.

It's discouraging that corporate programs orchestrated specifically to cheat honest people breed a society where it is becoming near common place to doubt rather than trust. Thankfully, we have forums such as this to bring awareness to all of us.