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=46616I 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.