BEWARE! eBay listing scam!

Recently I became the victim of a scam, by applying for a job on Freelancer, listing electronics on eBay and other auction sites. They want you to list the items and once sold you report back with the Paypal payment and purchase order (all fees deducted + your comission percentage).

They send you tracking numbers of the parcels and get back to you with an invoice.

At first I got a poorly written invoice with their logo and bank transfer info.

This is how it went:

Me asking for more info:

"Goodmorning Charlene,
I've recieved some questions about the items:
Where in The UK are they shipped from?
Is there any VAT?
What specifics are there regarding the warranty of the products?
Do you have any genuine pic's of the boxes with the seal showing?
Is this Camera model free from light leakage issues?
How well is it packed (is it secure from damage while in transit)?

Best Regards, Me"

NO REPLY

Next series of mails:

SCAMMER

"Good morning Me,
Today i am preparing to send the packages.I'm glad the business is going well in S***n.
Have a nice day,
Regards,
Charlene"

SCAMMER
"Hi Me,
The packages are already dispatched for delivery . Our agent will start the delivery tomorrow morning with Parcelforce Worldwide and we will provide the tracking numbers in the morning. Please try to get the money from PayPal to your bank account and have them ready. We prefer to be paid to the business bank account because we don't pay again taxes and fees.

Best Regards,
Charlene"

ME

"Hello,
Ok, I thought PayPal was the preferred payment/transfer method. If I transfer the money on to my bank acct and then make a payment to an international bank acct additional fees will apply. Wouldn't it be better if I transfered your part through PayPal?
Also for the buyer's protection I'd like to be verified that they've recieved the item as described before transfering any money. In case anything should go wrong, I want to be able to reverse the payment to the buyer.
I don't want to risk a negative feedback on either eBay nor T**a or be reported as a scammer.

Regards, Me"

Continued:

SCAMMER

"Hi Me,
If you prefer to make payment via PayPal i can give PayPal account after you receive tracking number.Not be worried that we are serious people and i want to do long term business.Tomorrow i will give the details of the first two parcels..

Regards,
Charlene"

ME
"Hello Charlene,
Could I still ask if I could make the payment of your invoice via Paypal. As I said earlier a bank transaction from my acct will take longer:
First I have to transfer money from Paypal to my *national* bank acct (takes 1-2 days) and then making a payment from my acct to yours will cost extra with additional fees and take even more time before visible to you.

Avoiding all that hazzle just by using Paypal would be my preferred method.

Regards, Me"

SCAMMER
"Hello ,

You are right. Please use our PayPal account: [email protected]


Thank you"

SCAMMER
"Hi Me,
I will send you the invoice tomorrow morning from office. We will fix this problem together , don`t worry.

Regards,
Charlene"

SCAMMER
"Address: 44 UPPER BELGRAVE ROAD CLIFTON BRISTOL BS8 2XN

Dear Me,

Your invoice is attached. Please contact PayPal staff immediately to unlock the payments.

Thank you for your business - we appreciate it very much.

Sincerely,
ON-LINE SALES & PROMOTIONS LIMITED

Company Registration No.:06771922
Address: 44 UPPER BELGRAVE ROAD CLIFTON BRISTOL BS8 2XN

------------------------ Invoice Summary --------------------------
Invoice No. : 1001
Invoice Date: 27/06/2013
Due Date: 27/07/2013
Terms: Net 30
Amount Due: £4,366.00"

ME
"Hello Charlene,
I have faxed in all documents to PayPal's Customer Service: invoices, tracking number's, my passport info, Taxinfo and such to prove that the sales are authentic and real. Hopefully they will soon release the restrictions. Since payment already has gone through for the first 2 items of £1,940, Should I deduct that sum from the recent invoice?"

SCAMMER
"Yes , you can deduct them, We have the same problem for the moment with PayPal. Please use the bank account in the future to avoid these problems.

Regards,
Charlene"

SCAMMER
"We sent the packages , we don`t get paid and you write on forums that we are scammers?
Why you did that?"

SCAMMER
[quote]Tomorrow i will stop all packages and i will refund your money after my paypal account will be unlocked.Say you was scammed but I think you have scammed us.Complete with lies and mind your own business"
ME
"WHO ARE YOU!!?? Thanks to you my Paypal acct got frozen/closed due to security reasons, my eBay acct has a selling restriction. None of the buyer's have reported back about the products.
You send me documents/invoices that contain different email addresses, a Paypal acct ([email protected]) that has nothing to do with your company.
Now tell me, is that what a serious business/dropshipper does that claims to be in business for 8 years???"

SCAMMER
"I am a serious person not like you a liar.I kept my promises.Tomorrow you will be sued by my lawyers."

Of course, having been impersonating a UK company, they can't sue you.

As well as that, even if they were who they said they were, it would cost a fortune to sue you in the USA and to suggest that they could sue you so quickly is pure stupidity.

They're ignorant, stupid and criminal. A unique combination of characteristics which, together with their revealed level of incompetence will ensure they're a failure as criminals and anything else they put their shrivelled minds to.

Your insight in to how they operate is invaluable vivvi75. The shame is the harm and misery they've brought to you.

Do not get involved with this sort of transaction as this is the result.

Of course, if the criminal sticks to his story, the fact is that the only way to discharge indebtedness of A to B is a transfer of funds to B. Transferring funds to a third party - C doesn't work, which is where the multiple identity impersonation trick falls on its face. They'll have to get on a plane and go to a UK bank and open an account, which won't work anyway.

The scammer really hasn't bothered to work this fraud out properly and he's going to do a lot of damage without ever earning a cent.

This is what the freelancer.co.za website says

WARNING: Be extremely careful when freelancing in this area. We have in the past detected scammers operating in this section. It is important that you validate the identity of the employer for eBay projects, as well as the origin and authenticity of the goods being sold (including receipts or invoices). You freelance at your own risk in this area, make sure you don't leave yourself exposed to fraud! It has been recommend that the employer to ship the goods first to customers and to provide you with tracking numbers. Once the customer verifies that they have received the goods, then send the funds to the employer. Please notify our staff immediately if you see any suspicious projects by clicking "Report Violation", particularly those that have contact details posted.

NOTICE: Buying or selling of eBay accounts is strictly prohibited and we will close the accounts of any users participating in this activity.

The rule is not to get involved in this sort of arrangement but, if you are already in this situation, never ever pass on any money until the buyer has confirmed receipt of the goods through your Ebay mail system, not by separate e-mail.

ON-LINE SALES & PROMOTIONS LTD fake website recently got taken down by shopify.com after me and sony22 reported that the people behind were scammers.

This Charlene person can still post job listings on Freelancer even though me and sony22 has warned them.

Charlene86 (profile name on freelancer.com) just recently posted a job searching for someone who could help them build a new website/store!!

https://www.freelancer.com/projects/PHP-Website-Design/need-build-website.4687039.html?utm_campaign=notify_follower&utm_medium=email&utm_source=freelancer&utm_content=projectName

we need professional websites design
I need someone to help me make a website online
I want something professional

Can something be done to stop this profile from operating on Freelancer??

Whether you're a bank, an advert site, an employment site or a company, if you give space to fraudsters to use and abuse your services, you won't stay in business long. Not that I'm saying that dinosaurs got hooked in with scammers, but when you offer services that the public lose trust in, you'll go the same way. It's the nature of natural selection.

Forgive the 'smarty pants' comment but it's the same rule that applies to fast food chains if they supply food that makes the customers ill. Any organisation that puts short term gain ahead of long term credibility is making a fundamental mistake and they are investing in their own demise.

It's in their interests.