Ebay Spam

As I reported yesterday, Amy and I are selling our laptop on ebay in order to pay for a smaller, more portable one. It doesn’t have any bids yet, but I’ve been getting seller questions that feel a lot like email spam:

Q: Hello,I want to get your Laptop.I want to get it for my Son who just got a job in an InfoTech firm.I got 1 for him but got Broken.since yours is kindda cheap and also like the same specification of the one that got broken.So I need to get the laptop before he resumes work on thursday.please i’ll want immediate transaction of this Laptop computer,can i go ahead with buy it now? I’ll make payment by Western Union Bidpay cause currently i dont run a Paypal #.Pls kindly send your Address so i can forward the money order to you immediately,and i will want the package shipped as soon as you confirm your money from Western Union Bidpay cause i need to have the item fisrt thing thursday morning,Pls i really need this urgently.I Have a fedex # for a pick-up or if you can overnight it to me by any means you can with your courier, i will pay you your total due,just give me the shipping cost with the price of the item ,i’ll make all the due payment ASAP I get a go ahead from u.Portland,IN 47371
A:
I understand your situation is urgent, but I did not place a “buy now” option on this auction. There are two reasons why I cannot fullfill your request. One, I would expect to get more than the starting bid for this laptop as it is worth much more. And Two, it is unfair to others who are willing to bid – this IS ebay. Also, I will only accept paypal.
Q:
hello, im very interested in your laptop. i think this is perfect as a gift to my stepson in philippines whose birthday will be on friday next week. anyway, can you be able to ship to philippines? im willing to end the deal as soon as possible and will cover all the shipping charges. pls reply asap.. thanks

A:
I am NOT willing to end the auction prematurely, but I will consider shipping outside the US to the winning bidder if all shipping charges are paid in advance. Shipping prices outside the US will be based on whatever it costs to ship from my local UPS Store. PLEASE do not bid on this item if you do not agree to these terms as I do not want to get stuck with the ebay charges for a winner who will not pay.
Q:
DEAR SELLER,I HAVE A STORE IN UNITED STATES AND AFRICA WHERE I SELL LAPTOPS AND ELECTRONICS,BUT THE DEMAND FOR THIS ITEM IN MY STORE IN AFRICA IS HIGH.SINCE YOU DO NOT SHIP TO AFRICA,I INTEND PAYING YOU VIA WESTERN UNION AUCTION PAYMENT(BIDPAY).JUST TELL ME THE AMOUNT AS A MATTER OF FACT,I SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SHIPPMENT OF THIS ITEM FROM YOUR LOCATION DOWN TO MY STORE IN AFRICA,THIS IS RISK FREE,DOESNT TAKE MUCH TIME.THIS IS HOW BIDPAY WORKS,THEY WILL SEND YOU AN EMAIL AS SOON AS I MAKE PAYMENT SAYING ORDER APPROVED ,AND THEY WILL SEND YOU ANOTHER EMAIL AFTER 24 HOURS SAYING ORDER APPROVED,THEN A MONEY ORDER WILL BE SENT TO YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS 7-10 BUSINESS DAYS AFTER PAYMENT GETS APPROVED.SINCE THIS ITEM IS NEEDED WITH URGENCY,I WOULD WANT YOU TO PROMISE ME THAT ONCE YOU RECIEVE THE CONFIRMA TION AND APPROVAL MAIL FROM WESTERN UNION,YOU WOULD RELEASE THIS ITEM FOR SHIPPMENT TO AFRICA.I AM READY TO OFFER YOU ANY AMOUNT AS IT IS URGENT

A:
First, read the other questions that I have answered. Second, PLEASE do not type in all caps. I will only accept paypal payment. I will not end the auction early. If you want this item shipped outside the US, I will consider it if it is possible through UPS and the shipping is prepaid via paypal. Thank You.

Maybe I’m being a bit pensive, but I don’t believe a single one of these half-baked requests. Are these sleazy ebay scum who are trying to get my laptop for a low price to turn around and re-sell it? Why do 2 of them want to use “Western Union Bidpay”? Why do they ALL need this item URGENTLY? It’s a laptop for crying out loud, and the auction ends in less than a week. If you need it urgently, then DON’T BUY IT ONLINE! Sheeesh. The only other possibility I can think of is that they’re email phishing. That seems like a lot of work to get an email though. Any ideas?

29 comments on “Ebay Spam

. says:

Hi Jason!
I also get mail from a person via Ebay as i was selling a high-priced article. The person was registered at Ebay Hongkong and told me to ship 2 items to Africa, he would pay using western union/bidpay. He also stated that it is URGENT, he would await my QUICK response…

I searched the internet and found the clue
(and also found your site ;-):
They sending you an faked approval for the money received, and the urgence is necessary so you are in a hurry to send the parcel immediately after receiving the faked approval.

Greetings from good old europe and Ebay Germany 🙂

That is definitely a possiblity, although I’m not sure how likely anybody would be to send an item before verifying that the money was there. Regardless, I’m glad that you found this post from Germany, and that you weren’t fooled either.

Michael Gall says:

hi
there are still on the same tip got this email today:
HELLO SELLER,
I AM FRANCIS, I BASED IN HOLLAND BUT AM AT WEST AFRICA FOR 3 MONTHS CONFERENCE AND I SAW YOUR ADVERT ON EBAY AUCTION PAGE AND AM INTERESTED IN BUYING THIS ITEM YOU WANT TO SELL. SO, GIVE ME THE REAL SELLING PRICE OF THIS ITEM WITH THE SHIPPING PRICE TO NIGERIA VIA (DHL, EMS OR FEDEX) ANYWAY I HAVE FEDEX ACCOUNT TO MAKE THE SHIPPMENT EASIER. ALSO, I WILL PAY YOU VIA BIDPAY WESTERN UNION AUCTION PAYMENT AND I WANT YOU TO GIVE ME YOUR FULL NAME AND CONTACT ADDRESS TO BE ABLE TO PROCEED TO THE PAYMENT. I NEED THIS ITEM URGENTLY SO I NEED AN URGENT RESPONSE FROM YOU. REPLY THIS MAIL. THANKS

reported it straight to the ebay security team

regards

mike

Sounds like Ebay Spam to me!

joy says:

i want to buy

You’re only about 5 months too late. 😉

Doris Roig says:

I understand that you�re so afraid with this kind of frauds, but remember, also exists potencial buyers like me and honest, i don�t have a Paypal Account because doesn�t exist in Peru, so my only way to pay is by Western Union Cash Transfer or the new Bidpay. I hate to ask and ask and ask…etc all the seller if they accept this kind of payment but all of them thinks i�m a scammer.
Anyway, think about it.
Doris.

You make a good point, Doris. While there are many legitimate people that want to buy from ebay though, it’s impossible to tell a scammer from an honest bidder. In my case, the laptop was an expensive item, so no matter what happened with the auction, I would have owed the auction fees to ebay in the end. With that money at risk, I want to be fairly positive I’m not going to get ripped off and only accepting PayPal makes it a bit less risky.

Aliya says:

Hello I just listed my laptop on ebay.I’ve recieved this email from this guy who wanst to offer $1800.00 USD for my laptop which is worth $800.00 and its seems real wierd to me but this time he wants to use Paytrust…

This is the email he sent me on ebay:
Hello,

“I am happy to come accross this your item during my internet search .I will be very glad if you can sell this item for me.due to the fact that i wanna buy it for my Boss who is on an Educational Research to west africa.i will like to know if this item is in good condition ?.Due to the urgent need of this i will like to inform you that i will make the payment through our company Via PayTrust Account(www.paytrust.com). moreso, send me your full name and address including your phone number where the money will be delivered to by PayTrust delivery agent so that i can make the payment as soon
as possible ok.

Can you please consider me with $1,800USD for this item including the shipping cost??

PLEASE GET BACK TO ME WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS OR you can also contact me directly via : woong_a2354@yahoo.com

I wait to read from you as soon as possible.

Thanks and best regards. “”
woong_a2354@yahoo.com

I just wanted to share this with you all to alert you.Thanks

OMAR says:

woong_a2354@yahoo.com he is a pice of shi… but i am wooried about other people that might be a bit naive BEWARE OF THIS KIND OF MAIL!!!

Michael Bjoern says:

woong_a2354 has also contacted me thru http://www.dba.dk, which is a Danish internet site, offering used goods, incl. computers. Here is, what he wrote to me:

> Hello,
>
> I Mr Gorce Collins will like to show my interest in
>Buying this item on (www.dba.dk) for my Boss who went for
>an Educational research in West Africa. I will like to
>know the Condition of the item before i can buy it?
>
> I will want you to know that i will be making the
>Payment through BANK TO BANK
> TRANSFER? Moreso, can you consider me with $1,800USD for
>this item including the shipping cost to West Africa?
>
> Now, i will want you to send me your Full BANK Details
>where the Money will be Transfer to by my Bank so that i
>can make the Payment asap.
>
> Wait to read from you soon
>
> Thanks

The total cost for the computer is only USD700, so I was a bit affraid for a scam.

Since the text is a nearly the same as another comment on this page, I surely won’t send this computer to whoever lives in Nigeria.

Regards,

Michael Bjoern, Denmark

James Martin says:

woong_a2354@yahoo.com

Hey Michael the exact thing acutally happened to me last week, I was also contacted via DBA.dk, and he wrote EXACTLY the same thing to me. I was so stupid i belived him and I actually sended it to him. Luckily I read this site half an hour later (just googled his mail for fun) an well.
but luckily we stopped the package before it got out of the country 😀 so I still have it now. thank god!

More people should be aware of this (excuse me) kind of shit

Malte says:

I got the mail from “Gorce collins”, and the usual indicators were all present: 1800 usd for my notebook worth usd 600, urgent shipment, prepaid, to West Africa, etc, etc.

Not going to.

Johannes Lund says:

First i would like to say thank you for this site! .

I recived a mail from the same mail today, on a danish auction/reselling page (dba.dk).
As “Malte”, he also wanted to buy my laptop for 1800 USD (worth half that) and send it to Africa,…

its a bit creepy, so thank you for this site. It confermed my suspition =)

/Johannes

Karina says:

Hello everybody

I will just say thankyou for sharing your experiences.
I have been contacted by a guy called Gorce Collins with emailadress: woong_a2354@yahoo.com . He wanted to by my Sony Ericsson phone from my add on http://www.dba.dk . He offered 800 usd. A phone I would sell for 300 usd.
Then I received an email from his “bank” (First Federal Bank of California). They wanted me to send them tracking number and then I would receive the payment. Well I don’t think so.
I’m so happy I read this. Thankyou so much.

/Karina (Denmark)

Peter says:

Hi there

I can tell the same story as Michael Bjoern, Denmark – just recived emil from “mr. Collins” today, regardig my laptop on the http://www.dba.dk !!

Best regards
Peter, Denmark

Dave says:

Just contacted me aswell… Stupid I didnt read this. I gave him my reg. nr and account nr for my bank, and nothing more. Could he do anythink with it?

Rasmus says:

Hey guys ..

I want to thank all of you..

Just experienced the same from Collins.

He wanted to by my labtop for 1.800 USD .

No he don’t want your bank account. He want you to send the stuff to the adress. I think.
Just don’t answer him.

Jack L. Mortensen says:

Hi,
Just got the same mail and since this was my first add on dba.dk i thought it was a bit fishy that i had to ship it off to west africa. What tricks me though is that mrs Collins (yes i got the mail from mr. Collins wife) wants my bank info, like somebody above me. I work in a bank so im pretty sure that they couldnt trick me, i mean if anybody is shipping anything to west africa without seeing the money first, then they have it coming …
Well just wanted to let you know ,
Thnx

Shaaaz says:

Hi everybody..

First of all, thanks a lot for this site..
Here is my experience with Mrs. Collins..

Hello,
I am happy to come across this your item during my internet search. I will like to know the present condition of the item? and i will want you to know that i will be making the payment Via Bank to Bank Transfer for security reason.

Can you consider me with $1,200USD for the item including the shipping cost via your local Post Office?

Kindly get back to me at my email address: woong_a2354@hotmail.com

Wait to read from you soon.
Thanks
woong_a2354@hotmail.com

I’m not exactly sure about if it really is a scam, but I’ve sent my banking information to him and will await the payment before any shiping from my side…

Once agaim thanks a lot.. I’m kind of excited of how it will turn out… And will clearly write the outturn of the situation her at this site.. 🙂

Nobody says:

Hi Shaaaz,

I got an almost identical email from this Collins today (Same email and all). And I wouldn’t trust this person. Nobody is willing to pay over price (really over price) across seas just because they are a doctor and don’t have time to go out and find a laptop and since the shops don’t ship to africa… Honestly how lame does that sound ? And if that was the case the person could have used the time spend on emailing me to find the laptop on some webshop and bough it from there..

Just for reference I also put my laptop on dba.dk.
And also be careful about other people as well, got another letter almost at the same time form another person. This email had some of the same kind of wording.

Any way hope this can be helpful,

Best regards,

Mr. Nobody 🙂

Ps. Do have a real name (and nick) but don’t wan’t to put it on here

Email from Gorce :
Hello,
I am happy to come across this your item during my internet
search . I will like to know the present condition of the item? and i will want you to know that i will be making the payment Via Bank to Bank Transfer for security reason.

Can you consider me with $1,200USD for the item including the shipping cost via your local Post Office?

Kindly get back to me at my email address: woong_a2354@hotmail.com

Wait to read from you soon.
Thanks
Mrs Collins

Email from Kimberly (kimbely84@hotmail.com) :

Hi,

How are you doing? I will like to know the condition of this item? I hope it would be good for a project?

I am willing to Pay $1,300USD for the item including the shipping cost via local Post office.

Kindly get back to me if you agree on this.

Thanks
Kimbely

anotherNobody says:

..anyway they can scam me given them my paypal information: name + email? – i have been contacted by one posted on here..

Isabella says:

I AM OOO GLAD I FOUND THIS!

i was planning on selling my laptop so i put an ad up online. the computer isnt even wrth $500! i got 3 replies of ppl wanting to buy it THEY ALL WANTED ME TO SEND IT TO WEST AFRICA! i was a little weirded out, it couldnt possibly be a coincidence! AND they offered me $850 $750 and $784…but they were in a real hurry to get my paypal id. does that make less harmfull?? (for that money they can buy NEW laptops that dont suck —mine sucks—)

–OH and they werent interested in knowing ANYTHING about the computer, one of them said it was for his son, the other two said it was for their nephew UMM THE COMPUTER IS PIIINKK!!! geeze

Kristian says:

hi i got a mail from Email from Kimberly (kimbely84@hotmail.com) :
Hello,

I will like to know the condition of this item? I am getting the item for my Husband for him to complete his project. I hope this will be good for a project?

I will be making the Payment Via Pay Pal for security purpose. so kindly get back to me with your PayPal account where the Money would be Transferred to.

Can you consider me with $1,300USD for the item including the shipping cost?

Kindly get back to me as soon as possible..

Thanks

it is fake right?

Anne says:

I got the exact same mail from kimbely84@hotmail.com today on a laptop at http://www.dba.dk, so I believe it’s fake!

Niels says:

I got an email from kimbely84@hotmail.com on DBA.dk who wants to buy the laptop for 1300$…haha african scammers 😀

Someone says:

Yep kimbely84@hotmail.com with ip 82.128.105.239, contacted me today through dba.dk
You would think if you wanted to commit fraud, you would change your mail once in a while.

This is a definate fraudant and you should all report this to dba.dk or where else you were contacted from. Kimberly says to come from the US, but want the item shipped to West Africa.
A funny thing is though… the ip belongs to an African country. hmm that’s strange 🙂

At least this is a complete noob.

Kragh says:

Hi,
Like you I got an e-mail from kimbely84@hotmail.com requesting to buy my laptop for $1300 through paypal. I guess “she” is a scammer. Anyone ever gotten any money? I just don’t get the scam. All “shes” got is my e-mail address to make the payment through paypal. If I don’t get any money, I don’t send anything 🙂 So whats the scam?
Regards
Lars Kragh

Kragh says:

Hi,
Like you I got an e-mail from kimbely84@hotmail.com requesting to buy my laptop for $1300 through paypal. I guess “she” is a scammer. Anyone ever gotten any money? I just don’t get the scam. All “shes” got is my e-mail address to make the payment through paypal. If I don’t get any money, I don’t send anything 🙂 So whats the scam?
Regards
Lars Kragh

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