Gumtree UK scam

Having a digital camera for sale in gumtree.com in the UK

more than one different email accounts asked me if the item is for still sale also asking about the condition of the item which I had already stated as brand new.

"Is your item available for sale and how is the conditions of your items???? your regards Devon........."
then the next step after my reply, it was to send me the following typical for this situation email:

"Hi,Thanks for getting back to me,just to let you know that am showing my interest in buying your item,so i will want to know more about it.

I will want to know the recent condition of this item and its total amount.I 'm sending it to a Friend in West Africa as a surprise package,via Royal Mail or Parcel Force International Signed For,but unfortunately I'm not opportune to come down to get the item myself due to work transfer,so i will really appreciate if you can kindly post the item for me which i will offer you the sum of 50 for postage and packaging of the items Abroad.

I will want us to sincerely deal with each other through PayPal Online Auction,cause i believe its safe for both of us..I will love you to get back to me with all the answers and also your PayPal email and full name with the total amount plus p&p,so that payment can be made asap and i can get back to you with the postage address.

I await your quick response

God Bless You"

Having heard about the Nigerian scams before, I was alerted by the high price of the postage he was prepared to pay and the fact that he wanted to send the item in Africa.
Similar situations before this one, the next step after I gave them my details to send the money in Paypal, I received a strange letter of confirmation form paypal for receiving the funds, but when I logged on in my paypal account, there was no money there.

Little bit after, the "buyer" send me an email, saying that he had send the money and I received a paypal email!!!


I just made the payment for your item and when you have received confirmation mail from PayPal and you have posted out the item get back to me and the shipping address for the item is below:

Adewale Emmanuel
108 Akerele Street
Surulere,Lagos
23401
Nigeria.

Thanks for your support

Regards...........

"davis devon"

Mr Davis Davon, you are a big piece of pig.

The bogus Paypal email I received, was surprisingly similar to original paypal emails, but was send by hotmail :)

babalomo@hotmail.com on behalf of PayPal service (payserve_post@consultant.com)


Dear ,

You have an Instant Payment of £195.00 GBP From Davis Devon(davisdevon77@yahoo.com)

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Payment Details

Purchased From:

Transaction ID:5NS50308X5606661C

Item Number Item Title Quantity Price Subtotal Olympus 1040 digital camera 1 £195.00 £195.00

Postage & Packing via Global priority (ROYAL MAIL SIGNED FOR): (includes any seller packing fees)	£0.00
Postage Compensation (not offered):	--
Total:	£195.00

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Payment Information:

The payment for Gumtree.com item has been verified and confirmed. But due to security reasons on both sides of the buyer and the seller the status of the payment is pending. Most sellers do not ship out the exact items as they have listed on Gumtree Ad and we are keen on securing the Gumtree Ad community.

You will be required to post out the item and email us its shipment reference number (payserve_post@consultant.com). We will then verify the status and contents of the shipment within 10 minutes with the courier service its been shipped through. Once we have completed verification, your account will be credited instantly.

Should you have additional questions or need help with your PayPal account or these transaction,Please feel free to email or call our Customer Service Representatives at +4470 2408 3722 to provide the shipment reference number or for any questions contact us via: immediately with the shipment reference number so we can credit your account immediately without any delay.

Note: Do not send the shipment reference number to the buyer until we have confirmed the status of the shipment and credited your PayPal Account.

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Delivery Information Address: Adewale Emmanuel 108 Akerele Street , Surulere,Lagos, 23401 Nigeria. Address Status: Confirmed

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Thank you for using PayPal!
The PayPal Team

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Roman" >PayPal Email ID: Roman">PP315

PayPal, an eBay company

Copyright © 1999-2009 PayPal. All rights reserved.
PayPal (Europe) Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United State as an electronic money institution.
PayPal FSA Register Number

the motherfuckers send me a second email confirming the authenticity of the first! Again from hotmail! babalomo@hotmail.com


Dear ,

This is to confirm payment in the amount of £195.00 received From Davis Devon(davisdevon77@yahoo.com). The payment was made today for your item and is thereby recorded in our Database.Due to the high rate of fraudsters on the Gumtree website, we have devised a means of protecting both the buyer and the seller should in case either parties do not want to send the items paid for or send money for the item bought. The buyer pays for the item through our secured website and the transaction is recorded but the sellers account cannot be credited until he/she has shipped out the item paid for and send the details from the post office to us for verification. You can take a look at the following websites as to type of fraud recorded on eBay:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4386952.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4385956.stm

You are in no way advised to send a copy of the shipping reference to the buyer once the item has been shipped out by you. The shipping reference is to be sent to us for further verification and thereby your account will be credited immediately as soon as the shipping reference has been confirmed.
We hope you do understand our plight as we at PayPal hope to serve you better in future. All emails and Enquiries to be sent to payserve_post@consultant.com

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Thank you for using PayPal!

The PayPal Team

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Copyright © 1999-2008 PayPal. All rights reserved. PayPal (Europe) Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom as an electronic money institution. PayPal FSA Register Number: 226056

PayPal Email ID PP275

Because this has happened more than once with supposedly different buyers, other names the scammers use, are:

Ashton Batty (batty.ashton@yahoo.com)

Abiodun Lawal
9 Badaru Street
Alhaji Masha
Surulere Lagos
23401 Nigeria

and

farellino@hotmail.com on behalf of paypal service (shipping_postman@representative.com)

smithmar11@yahoo.com

djohn1380@yahoo.com

"Tom Dobrokovsky"

Actually i want you to know that i am buying this item to my pastor daughter in London as a gift. Kindly get back to me with your PayPal Email Address Or you can send me PayPal Money Requested from PayPal to my email address (holy4land@rock.com) for immediately payment.and don't forget to send me the amount of the item.payment,because they are fast and reliable and secure with no stress of all payments.I'm offering you £200 for this item plus the shipping and handling cost via Royal mail post.I would have prefer to come and pick up the item but unfortunately i have been transferred to Canada for missionary purpose and i will not be available to received the item my self.Your reply will be highly appreciated.