PayPal scam

I helped out a friend of mine by listing his bike for sale on gumtree.
He got a very quick response from someone sounding really keen to buy it as a present for his son. He claimed to work offshore and had no access to Internet banking so insisted on paying by PayPal. Even offering extra money to take the bike off sale straight away.
He said he would organise a 'pick up agent' to collect the bike. All he needed was the email address to send PayPal payment.
My mate sent him the email address and today got an email stating he had new funds from PayPal with the additional funds to cover delivery, or so he thought...
The potential buyer then came up with some story that his pick up agent didn't have PayPal and needed to be paid via western union from the post office. Asking if my mate would transfer some of the money to the delivery agent. However on checking his PayPal account directly it showed no recent transactions! No money had actually been transferred and the PayPal email was fake.
Be careful folks. They're out to get you by any means possible. If my mate hadn't checked his PayPal account directly he may have thought the funds were there.

Just goes to show if it seems too good to be true it probably is!

I advertised my bandit to see if I could lure the scammer in.. it worked!


In order

Started off with a text asking me to contact him via email..

Hello, kindly get back to me on harveyeric220@yahoo.co.uk with your firm price and present condition if you still have the Bike for sale.Cheers

My email reply,

Hi,
Thanks for your reply.
The bike is still for sale. I need as close to the asking price as possible to put towards a house deposit.
The condition is fair for its age. It polishes up well and looks good but there are a few scratches here and there. The tyres are very good condition. Only 1000 miles covered.

Thanks for mailing back..I will like to know the following details.


1)Why are you selling ?     
2)Re-confirm asking price?


As I am a petroleum Engineer and I am on RIG right now...I am buying it for personal use. .I can only pay through paypal at the moment as I don't have access to my bank account online,but I have it attached to my paypal account and this is why I will like to pay using paypal,all I will need is your paypal email address to make the payment,if you don't have a paypal account yet,set up one at www.paypal.co.uk,  I will be expecting your email regarding it.I have a pick up agent who will come for the pick up after I might have sorted out the payment..Cheers

As I said in my last email, I need the money for a house deposit. 
The asking price is £3500. 

PayPal will be fine for payment but please send as a gift so that I don't get charges for receiving funds. 


I am ok with your price,kindly get back to me with your paypal details and yes it will be sent as gift..Cheers


Please send payment to ******@co.uk
Then we can arrange collection. 
Thanks. 

PAYMENT HAS BEEN MADE...PLS ACT FAST AND GET BACK TO ME ASAP‏
To see messages related to this one, group messages by conversation.


Eric Harvey (harveyeric220@yahoo.co.uk)
Add to contacts
27/03/2013

To: ***@live.co.uk







From:
Eric Harvey (harveyeric220@yahoo.co.uk)
Sent:
27 March 2013 17:25:07
To:
***@live.co.uk



I just want to inform you that I have just completed the payment and I hope you must have been notified in your email about the payment I made through PayPal, you can check your in-box and your Junk for confirmation of payment from paypal, I have just made the payment of £4,000.00 GBP,I had to add the amount of £500.00 GBP, So I want you to help me wire the sum of £400.00 GBP to my agent via Money Gram so he can be able to come for the pick up and also PayPal said they won't release the funds until they get the Money Gram information from you due to the fact that I emailed them about the excess payment I made..I will need you to send the £400.00 GBP to my pick up agent Headquarters where they normally confirm any commission payment to via Money Gram money transfer(this can be done from the post office,or at a store as they usually have a Money Gram outlet there,I added extra 100.00 GBP to cover the Money Gram charges which shouldn't be more that  £100.00 GBP but just to be sure I added £100.00 GBP,Here is my pick up agent Headquarter info needed to get the money sent through Money Gram money transfer

Name: Robert Mckay
Country:United Kingdom

Please kindly email the necessary details to PayPal :The Reference which you will be given at the Money Gram after the £400.00 GBP has been sent as well as the sender's name and address used to send the money through Money Gram,so I can forward it to PayPal or better still you can email it to PayPal directly......

Thanks.
==================================================================
Notification of An Instant Merchandise Payment Received from Eric Harvey (Transaction ID:2P008163Q9157140X)‏


service@paypal.co.uk© (payteam@secureroot.com)
Schedule clean-up
27/03/2013

To: ****@.co.uk







From:
mikelmorgan101@gmail.com on behalf of service@paypal.co.uk© (payteam@secureroot.com) Microsoft SmartScreen classified this message as junk.
Sent:
27 March 2013 17:18:47
To:
***@.co.uk


Microsoft SmartScreen marked this message as junk and we'll delete it after ten days.
Wait, it's safe!|I'm not sure. Let me check




 
Hello ***@l.co.uk,

This email confirms that you have received an Instant payment of £4,000.00 GBP from Eric Harvey (harveyeric220@uahoo.co.uk) via PayPal MERCHANDISE Payment Service. 
 
View the details of this Transaction here:

Payment Details

 

 
 
 
               


 




   Item #
  Item Title
Quantity
Price
Subtotal
   N/A
    Bike
1
£3,500.00 GBP
£3,500.00 GBP 


Pick-up & Delivery: 
(includes any pick-up delivery fees)     
£500.00 GBP
 
 


Shipping Insurance:
(optional)    
£0.00
 GBP

Total:
£4,000.00 GBP

 


This is to inform you that you are required to send a sum of £500.00 GBP to the address below via Money Gram Transfer and get back to us with the relevant information's which you will be provided with after the money has been sent. You are requested to give us the MTCN# (Money Transfer Control Number) and the Sender's Name and Address used in making the transfer after which we will then credit the total sum of £4,000.00 GBP into your PayPal account. Below is the Address where the money is to be sent using Money Gram Transfer.

 
Agent's Info:

Name:.Robert Mckay
Country: United Kingdom


 

Address Status:

Confirmed 

 

Please note:
  We wish to inform you that Eric Harvey has made his intentions known to PayPal that he will like £500.00 GBP to be sent to the recipient's address above via MoneyGram Transfer. 
 

Note:As this transaction was done via our e-mail payments service, any inquiries and necessary information should be sent to us by directly replying to this message, because of the status of this transaction, it has not been passed on to our customer care phone service section,and all inquiries should be directed to this e-mail address as it is the one monitored for your transaction.
 
This payment has been deducted from the buyer's account and has been " APPROVED" but will not be credited into your account until the MTCN # is sent to us for verification, so as to secure both the buyer and the seller. Below are the relevant information required before your account will be credited.


All you have to do is to reply directly to this email with the MTCN and the Sender's Name and Address used when sending the money through MoneyGram Transfer. You will receive a "Confirmation Email" from PayPal Service informing you that your PayPal account has been credited with £4,000.00 GBP as soon as the above information's has been received and Verified by us.

------------------------------ ------------------------------ ------------------------------ ---------

Please, understand that this is a security measure intended to help protect both the Buyer and the Seller.We apologize for the inconvenience that has caused you.
 
Because of the inconvenience this causes we are giving you the next two incoming transfers for free! You will pay no fees for your next two incoming transfers*. 
 
PayPal will be responsible for any loss incurred during the course of this transaction.

With more than 147 million accounts worldwide, we are a leading online payment method you can trust!

Thank you for using PayPal.
PayPal Team.
 

Scott Thompson
President
PayPal, Inc


PayPal Email ID PP307

Copyright© 1999-2013 PayPal. All rights reserved. PayPal (Worldwide) Limited is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the United State of America as an electronic money institution. PayPal FSA Register Number: 226056.

PayPal Email ID PP307

===================================================================
Message From PayPal***Please Follow Procedure***‏


service@paypal.co.uk© (payteam@secureroot.com)
Schedule clean-up
27/03/2013

To: ***@co.uk







From:
mikelmorgan101@gmail.com on behalf of service@paypal.co.uk© (payteam@secureroot.com) Microsoft SmartScreen classified this message as junk.
Sent:
27 March 2013 17:19:28
To:
***@co.uk



Microsoft SmartScreen marked this message as junk and we'll delete it after ten days.
Wait, it's safe!|I'm not sure. Let me check







Dear ***@co.uk,

    This email is sent to you to get you informed that a payment has been made for (Bike) from one of our clients "Eric Harvey". So we request that you wire the Money in the next 24 hours and send the MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number) ,Sender's name and Address used to make the transfer and the secret question and answer to us so that we can verify  that the  money has been sent,as fund will be credited into your account and any effort not to do so will cause the stoppage of your money  until we verified  you have sent the money to the address provided.
This is just to make sure that both the buyer and seller are satisfied and to protect them from been fraudulent transaction.
This PayPal® payment has been deducted from the buyer's account  and has been "APPROVED" but will not be credited to your account until the (Money Transfer Control Number) , sender's name and address used to make the transfer and the secret question and answer is sent to us for Wire verification so as to secure both the buyer and the seller. Below are the necessary information requested before your account will be credited. Send MTCN number and the receipt given to you at the western union office to us or email us through this mail:payteam@secureroot.com
our customer service care representative will attend to you. As soon as you send us the MTCN number to us for security purposes and the safety of the buyer and the seller,the money will be credited to your account.
 
                                     **PLEASE NOTE** 
Once Money has been verified  and the MTCN number send to us, You will receive a "CONFIRMATION EMAIL"  from PayPal® informing you that the Money has been credited.
 
------------------------------ --------------------------------------------
PROTECT YOUR PASSWORD 

Never give your password to anyone, including PayPal employees. Protect yourself against fraudulent websites by opening a new web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer or Netscape) and typing in the PayPal URL every time you log in to your account.

Thank you for using PayPal!
Duly at your service.
The PayPal Team.

======================================================

Hi,
The transfer is not showing on my PayPal balance. I am not able to transfer your pick up agent fees until they are in my account. Please either clear the entire amount for payment into my account or at least clear the pick up fees to allow me to transfer them first and then send bike money after. 
Thanks. 

I am sure you have gotten the confirmation from paypal,the money has been deducted from already so you need to go and send the money and get back to paypal with the details so the money can be remitted into your account immediately..Cheers.

I did get the notification. But I can't transfer funds I don't have. You must send the pick up agent fees first so that I can transfer them. 

He didn't reply after that.