Nigerian PayPal Scam

In an exciting time for my wife and I, we have been doing some changes to house in preparation for the arrival of our first baby on January 6th. Like most modern tech savvy men I elected for online classifieds to sell our old furniture, in this case eBay and Craigslist.

Almost instantly there was a hype of interest for my items through Craigslist. One buyer, Mikel Boldon, in particular wanted to instantly send me money so we could arrange transport for a bed to Malaysia. Here is the first email from the potential buyer:

Thanks for getting back to me on here,i will take it for $650 including PayPal surcharges since i am interested in the immediate purchase.I just moved to the Malaysia,where this is needed and i will be making use of a shipping company to have this picked up from you and have it delivered to me.Further arrangements will be made with you in regards to the pickup once i have paid you.

I would appreciate if you email me with more pictures (if available) too since i won't be able to see this in person,what's the PayPal email to send funds to in order for me to pay you ASAP.

I hope to read from you soon.

Thanks

Mikel

I was encouraged by the swiftness and eagerness of the Mikel, but then it turned sour when I received this email:

You've got new funds!!!

Dear Scott Bales,

This email confirms that you have received an Instant payment of $1,550.00 SGD from Mikel Boldon (mmmbmm1@gmail.com) via PayPal MERCHANDISE Payment Service.

Reversals : This method of payment can not be reversed.

Status : Pending - Transport Company Awaiting Payment.

View the "NOTE" of this pending transaction below

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Payment Details

Merchandise Amount:		$650.00 SGD
Transport Charges: Taxes and Insurance: Total:		$900.00 SGD     ------- $1,550.00 SGD
Transaction:		5X472815E1267414M
Quantity:		1
Merchandise Title:		Malm Queen Bed & Mattress

 

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Transport Company: " MTR Services Sdn Bhd " Address: Name:Aaron Ramos Address:No. 73, Jalan PJS 9/18, Bandar Sunway City:Petaling Jaya State:Selangor Zipcode:46150 Country:Malaysia Address Status:  Confirmed

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NOTE:  This is to confirm to you that the said amount has been successfully transferred by the Sender and been deducted from his Account which is ready to be credited into your account, been that this Payment has been subjected to be a Payment for an MERCHANDISE purchased from you, we reserve the right to make sure this transaction is safe and secured also to verify the legitimacy level on this transaction because of the high sum of funds involved.

The above sum has Included the transport charges and taxes as we and the Transport Company quoted for the buyer (as per PayPal MERCHANDISE PAYMENT POLICY). You will receive a Message from the PayPal Customer Verification Department Shortly informing you on how to send the Transport fares and taxes to the transport company with the above details as soon as possible.

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You may contact PayPal customer service by Clicking Here or reply directly to this email by using the reply button in your Mail Box and Quote the Above Transaction ID for quick recognition of this transaction.

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Sincerely,

The PayPal Team. 

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PayPal Email ID PP307


The email almost looks legitimate, expect this scammer was unlucky enough to come across a seller with a background in Financial Crimes and the email smelt of 'phishing,' but out of curiosity I played along.

PayPal has a brilliant fraud & scam service, where you can forward any suspicious emails to spoof@paypal.com and they will investigate. While the investigation was going on, the emails from the scammer pretending to be PayPal continued:

 Dear Scott Bales,

 You have received a PayPal Payment of $1,550.00 SGD from Mikel Boldon (mmmbmm1@gmail.com).

We've placed a temporary hold on the funds of this transaction
In order to complete this transaction and get the funds approved in your account.We advice you go to nearest Western Union Money Transfer Office,and send the excess sum $900.00 SGD to the Transport Agent and send us a Scanned Copy/Photograph of your Western Union Transaction Receipt (in .JPG Format).

As mentioned in the receipt of Payment and as per New PayPal Payment policy, we have fully debited the total amount (above) from the buyer's account which included the Transport/Delivery Charges (MTR Services Sdn Bhd Logistics).

NOTE: This is important as a security measure to ensure safety of this transaction.

Please, find below the name and address of the Transport Agent where the Funds would be sent via Western Union Money Transfer.

Click Here Locate Nearest Western Union Office

Transport Company: " MTR Services Sdn Bhd "
Address:		Name:Aaron Ramos Address:No. 73, Jalan PJS 9/18, Bandar Sunway City:Petaling Jaya State:Selangor Zipcode:46150 Country:Malaysia
Address Status:		Confirmed

Your Account will be credited accordingly upon the receipt of details requested. Should either be sent in JPG format or send type details as:

(1) Sender's Name;
(2) Receiver's Name;
(3) MTCN;
(4) Amount Sent;
(5) Western Union Receipt

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You may contact PayPal customer service by Clicking Here or reply to this message directly using the reply button in your email to submit the required information and include either transaction ID or reference number (PP307) quick recognition of this transaction.

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Sincerely,

The PayPal Team

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PayPal Email ID PP307

And again:

Dear Scott Bales,

Your Pending Payment Statements

From:       mmmbmm1@gmail.com
To:           scott@starmonkey.com.au
Amount:   $1,550.00 SGD
Status:     Pending, Awaiting Approval (Western Union Money Transfer Details)

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Attachment:

Please be advised that verification of Western Union Money Transfer Details of $900.00 SGD (which must be sent as deposit to Buyer's Shipping Agent) is required to complete this "Pending" payment sent to you by Mikel Boldon. Therefore, you are mandated to complete the refunding process within 24 Hours. Your account is being monitored through PayPal Security Systems.

Upon the receipt of Western Union Money Transfer Details, your account will be credited accordingly which will include all cost charged for transfer via western union money transfer at PayPal cost.

You are require to send us the Western Union Information below for Verification:

(1) Sender's Name;
(2) Receiver's Name;
(3) MTCN;
(4) Amount Sent;
(5) Western Union Receipt

Below is the Confirmed & Verified Agent's address where you are mandated to send the money:

Name:Aaron Ramos
Address:No. 73, Jalan PJS 9/18, Bandar Sunway
City:Petaling Jaya
State:Selangor
Zipcode:46150
Country:Malaysia

Address Status:

Confirmed

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

Thanks for using PayPal.
A. Williams,
The PayPal Team.

Then in less than 24 hours PayPal's official response from the investigation came through:

Dear Scott Bales,

Thank you for contacting PayPal.

Thanks for taking an active role by reporting suspicious-looking emails.

The email you forwarded to us is a phishing email, and our security team is working to disable it.

What is a phishing email?

Phishing emails attempt to steal your identity and will often ask you to reveal your password or other personal or financial information. PayPal will never ask you for your password over the phone or in an email and will always address you by your first and last name.

Here's how you can take our Fight Phishing Challenge.

   1. Go to the PayPal website.

   2. Click "Security Center" at the bottom of the page.

   3. Click "Take the Fight Phishing Challenge!" Under What's New

You've made a difference.

Every email counts. By forwarding a suspicious-looking email to spoof@paypal.com, you've helped keep yourself and others safe from identity theft.

Sincerely,

PayPal, an eBay Company

Copyright © 1999-2010 PayPal. All rights reserved.

PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. & Cie, S.C.A.

Société en Commandite par Actions

Registered Office: 5th Floor 22-24 Boulevard Royal L-2449, Luxembourg RCS Luxembourg B 118 349

Confirmation that the guy was a scam. But again my curiosity got the better of me. I hadn't been replying to the scammer's emails, just collecting and observing. His emails got more and more aggressive, even threatening to deactivate my PayPal account. And then today he called me, stupidly he left caller ID on and from the +23 (+2348074437547) country code I instantly knew it was from Nigeria. He was very annoyed that I hadn't paid the $900 fee through Western Union for the shipping company and he reminded me that this was urgent for him as he was new to Malaysia. That's when one question from me ended the whole episode...."If your in Malaysia, why are you calling from Nigeria?" He instantly hung up.

Why did I share this? Because one thing I learn from my days in Financial Crimes is stories like these, including the real email addresses and phone numbers so that others can forward the story to others to build awareness of scams like these. So I encourage you to Tweet this blog, share it on Facebook or LinkedIn, email it to friends and family so that more people are aware.

Lastly I'd like to add that PayPal did a fantastic and swift job in investigating this incident.