A PayPal scammer

[ICIT2LOL]

Juts posted this in the local forum and thought it might be of interest to everyone as it happened here in Australia doesn't limit this scumbag to here.
I just want to let everyone who might see this thread that I have just had an attempt to scam me of a lot of money -$850 to be precise by a character using PayPal as a method of buying my item for sale.
Please make note of the individual's supposed ID and the address below to which funds are to be sent.
It goes -
You have a fairly large ticket item for sale – mine was my tractor for $5500. This character who calls him (or her) self Allister Fraser contacts you saying he or she is really interested. But as he/she is working at a nickel mine in the desert only has PayPal as a method of payment.
You say ok and agree to sell it for what you asked for it – odd thing in itself but it gets better.
He/she then says that to ship the sale item tractor, caravan, car – whatever he needs to use a shipping agent and that would you be willing to send money to the shipping agent for him via Western Union if he sends the money via PP in addition to the amount you have agreed on for your sale item.
You then say ok and as soon as the funds clear you will do that – thinking that you will get cash out of your PP account via the linked bank account.
Subsequently you then get an "invoice" to all intents and purposes a genuine PP one with a very small disclaimer added to the effect that before PP will release the bulk of the funds you need to send the $850 to an address in London UK.
That address for anyone who reads this thread is
Bradley James,
85a Great Portland Street, London, W1W 7JR.
UK.
Now I Googled this address and went to street view and low and behold it turns out to be a shop called TEDDY – clothes / toy etc shop?
In hindsight there were some inconsistencies such as grammar – not a lot but more than I would expect allowing for the odd mistake. An immediate acceptance of the asking price for the item. The supposed situation where he/she could not access net banking. The request that I send money to his/her shipping agent. The fact that he/she was prepared to pay the PP fee for my selling the tractor and add another little extra for the Western Union transaction fee.
The clincher for me was that address in London and that there was no money deposited or even in my PP account to be accessed after I had done what was asked. Plus again that proviso I send money to that "agent".
I have reported this to PP and my local police who I thought were a little less than helpful and I consider reporting this as the responsible thing to do.
But anyway I just wanted to let everyone know of this ratbag / scum as I could have been an old age pensioner who was not that savvy to pick up on a few things and now be $850 poorer for the experience .
SO PLEASE TAKE CARE with this one as the PP invoice looks the real deal!!

 

[COMPUTIAC]

Thank's for the warning.
I keep a real close eye on PayPal. When buying on-line,I only use a PP debit MasterCard,so even when a site doesn't accept PP,they do accept MasterCard and my purchases are covered.

Also, there are some very real looking PP "Fake" documents which have been sent to me as well. I hope to have enough experience to continually spot them. I have stopped sending them into PP as I do not receive any response at all.
This way my "Real" banking info. is never given out, and on the 'net at all.

When someone mentions using Western Union for any purpose in a transaction, it is a immediate "Red Flag".

I'm glad you did not lose any money to these lowlifes.

You are very right about "Senior Citizens" not always being able to see the "Red Flags" in time to save themselves from disaster.

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Thanks Computiac and welcome to SF yeah mate this one was so real and I am sort of savvy enough to pick them and it wasn't until I found nothing in the PP account that I knew it really was a scam - it did feel odd from the word go but...

I just feel for those who are not so savvy like some of the older generation who would be none the wiser.

I do hope the police or my brother in the UK get hold of him/her.

 

[smarteyeball]

When someone mentions using Western Union for any purpose in a transaction, it is a immediate "Red Flag".

Yep.

 

[Slartybart]

$5500 for a tractor? Sounds fair to me, Can I send you the money via Paypal?

Thanks for the scam alert.

 

[DanRex]

Thanks for the scam alert!

 

[ICIT2LOL]

Everyone welcome it was a novel approach and if he/she were not so greedy too would have made it easier for the scammer.