Today I saw on gumtree.com a Mac Air for £300 pounds. Really strange right? But since I like a good laugh, I contacted the seller.
A few emails back and forward, and then he tells me that ebay is going to send an invoice so that I can pay the price.
First, I didn’t know that ebay had bought the domain security-center-protection.com. I mean, if you want to scam someone, at least learn how to send fake emails.
Second, I would have guess that ebay would use a spell check. English is not my primary language, so I still make a lot of mistakes, but ebay? Come on!
Third, this: “Our seller use MoneyGram Money Transfer due the fact is not able to use PayPal ,Escrow , Credit Card as a method of payment for the moment .” Geez, I wonder why?
Then more rubbish on how to try to scam. Below you can find a text only version of the “nice” email I received.
Well, better luck next time. By the way, this is the email the scammer used: nick_thomson48@yahoo.co.uk. So if you receive emails from this guy, don’t fall for it, as it is 99.9% a scam for sure.
Email (I wont even spell check this):
Dear Oscar Olim, Good news ! The following Gumtree item on which you expressed interested is now available for purchase :
MacBook Air with complete wireless system 64GB
(Item #25983006)
Your Price :
GBP £300.00
Date :
July-08-08
Don’t let this get away!
Instructions : (please read carefully)
Complete your eBay transaction in 5 easy steps :
Thebuyer and the seller agree on the transaction terms and a selling price. Seller contacts eBay with the transaction details ; eBay accepts thetransaction and offers purchase protection to the buyer (if thetransaction is declined , no further action is required from either thebuyer or the seller) ; The buyer sends payment and the sellerreceives it . After the payment cleared , the seller must notify eBay .Buyer will send the payment details directly to the seller emailaddress . The seller has three business days to send the buyer and eBaythe tracking number of the shipment . If no tracking number is provided, a full refund is immediately sent to the buyer ; Buyerreceives the merchandise and has five days to inspect it . If it iscomplete and as described , the buyer should accept the merchandise .If he refuses the merchandise , the buyer must ship the merchandiseback to the seller within three business days . After the inspectionperiod is over , the buyer must contact eBay with the result of theinspection . If the buyer refuses the merchandise , the refund will besent to the buyer after the tracking number for the returned shipmentis verified . To enjoy the purchase protection , you must send thepayment by the insured payment method below .
Attention : Sending the payment by any other method will void this transaction and your right to refund . Details and instructions of this transaction :
Item insurance policy:
The following item(s) are clear for eBay’s item insurance policy:
MacBook Air with complete wireless system 64GB
Seller’s verified payment address :
Nick Thomson
139A High Street,London,SE20 7DSUnited Kingdom
Item Number : 25983006Amount insured : GBP £300.00
Payment must be sent by MoneyGram Money Transfer Next step to be taken : The buyer must send the payment to the seller.
Payment instructions :
Our seller use MoneyGram Money Transfer due the fact is not able to use PayPal ,Escrow , Credit Card as a method of payment for the moment .
To submit the payment with MoneyGram Money Transfer , you have the following option : Pay with cash from a local MoneyGram agent .
Click here to locate the agents in your area :
http://www.moneygram.com/servlet/DefaultApplyXSL?xslURL=/Display/temgweb.xsl&URL=/Apps/AgentLocator/AgentSearch.jsp
MoneyGram Money Transfer is the onlyservice that has ultimate authentication of the identity of thereceiver of funds . Several IDs and utility bills are required beforethe funds are paid . Therefore , no one else but your seller can pickup the money . Your payments cannot be lost in the mail , like moneyorders or checks .However , MoneyGram Money Transfer is designed mainlyfor sending cash to friends and family in need , so telling them youare sending the money to an eBay seller will prevent your moneytransfer to go through and you will be unable to complete thistransaction . Because the fee to send a MoneyGram Money Transfer ishigh , compared to other methods of payment , we have arranged with theseller to compensate for half of this fee (i.e. : if it costs you $100to send the payment , take $50 from the amount insured and send thebalance) . Once the payment was sent, email the seller the following information: 1) Reference Number (MoneyGram 8 Digit Number) ;2) Exact sender’s name on file with MoneyGram ;3) Your street address on file with MoneyGram ; 4) City and country where you sent the money from ; 5) Amount sent ; 6)Give an email to the seller at nick_thomson48@yahoo.co.uk and send him all the information from steps 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5
Then wait for the confirmation thepayment was received . Within 3 business days , you will receive thetracking number for your merchandise .
Purchase protection and refund : *****************************************Currently,this seller has a GBP 3400.00 deposit in an eBay managed purchase protection account . Transactions with this eBay seller are covered bypurchase protection against fraud and description errors . Foryour safety , this account was locked today , for 30 days time . Theseller is unable to withdraw any money from it , within this period .Should you need a refund for this transaction , the insured amount willbe taken from the seller’s purchase protection account and sent to you. The refund is sent to your bank account , or by check or money order.The way you are refunded is at your choice . You have 30 days fromthe above verification date to request a refund . Refund requests areprocessed within 3 days . The insurer of this transaction is eBayInc. , located at 2145 Hamilton Avenue , San Jose , CA , 95125 , UnitedStates of America . The account is managed by eBay’s Square Trade center . This transaction is supervised by eBay’s Safe Harbor team . ***CONDITIONS TO BE MET BEFORE YOU MAY ASK FOR A REFUNDHere are the situations suitable for a refund request : 1) If the item doesn’t arrive and/or the seller stops communications after the payment was received ; 2) If the merchandise you receive has different specifications than the ones you agreed on ; 3)If your merchandise arrives in a much longer period than the one youagreed on (more than 15 days from the payment clearance day) ; For cases 2) and 3) you have to send back the merchandise to the sellerprior to ask for your refund. If you did not pay the seller by therequired payment method , your refund request would be declined . Important Usage Guidelines : ******************************************1. The contact information should only be used for resolving matters related to eBay . Any other use is strictly prohibited . 2. This transaction is protected by eBay services such as insurance , feedback and dispute resolution . 3. You may buy and sell with confidence in all transactions with this eBay member . 4.If you need to dispute this transaction , keep the transaction numberat hand when contacting eBay . Any complaints must be filed within 30days from the verification date . This e-mail message was sent to you from eBay SafeHarbor team , with the full support of the SquareTrade center . Theseller was informed about this transaction being started and isawaiting your payment . It is recommended to send the payment as soonas possible , because your purchase protection is valid for 30 daysonly . If you encounter any problems with this transaction , pleasecontact us . When contacting our support team , use the replyfeature so that all previous correspondences are included in your email. Otherwise , we will not be able to process your request . To ask for a refund , simply reply to this notification and enter in the subject line : Refund request for eBay Transaction #25983006
