Friday, March 31, 2006

Counterfeit Travelers Express (MoneyGram) Money Orders Showing Up in Internet Scams

Got a comment on an old post today about a reader being scammed by cashing counterfeit Travelers Express money orders. The reader was duped into thinking they were working as a Secret Shopper and has lost $7,000.00. Here is the previous post, I am referring to:

Secret Shoppers Scammed

Did a little checking via some of my sources and found that counterfeit Travelers Express money orders are showing up in all sorts of internet scams in the past week.

Thus far, these money orders are showing up mostly in Advance fee fraud (419) scams.

The Advance Fee scam is where a ruse is used to get a victim to send them money (nowadays normally wire-transfer) in anticipation of riches (or sometimes love) to come. The best known is the "Nigerian Letter," but the activity has mutated into romance, lottery, auction, check cashing, work at home and reshipping (as mentioned below) scams.

In a lot of the more recent Advance Fee activity, the victim is tricked into involving themselves in criminal activity, whether it be forwarding stolen merchandise, or negotiating bogus financial transactions and sending the funds elsewhere.

Please note that cashing counterfeit items is illegal and people have been arrested for passing them.

Here is information on how to verify Travelers Express Money Orders from their site:

"If you have retained your money order number, MoneyGram offers 24-hour automated money order status information by calling 1-800-542-3590. MoneyGram customer service representatives are also available from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. CST Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-5 p.m. CST Saturdays."

There is more information on their site, which can be viewed by clicking on the title of this post.

Please note that automated systems aren't always accurate and that money orders are notoriously high risk instruments. Most money order companies leave themselves with an "out" in case the instrument is later discovered to be bad.

The old saying is "Caveat emptor," or "let the buyer beware." If it seems to good to be true, it probably isn't.

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just had a similar experience with a posted ad for my hot tub gazebo in a local newspaper online. Three people emailed immediately and offered to pay with money orders or cashiers checks and would pay me an additional amount with the extra to be wired to a shipping company. I checked the same 800 number for Travelers Express 800-542-3590 and they were all cashed in July of 2006. It is October 2006 now. I tried repeatedly to get the contact details for shawncassey2006@yahoo.com but he would not give them. He also gave me an address of someone in Nigeria to send the $3200 difference to. My bank would have cashed them so not sure how long it takes them to figure out they are fake, or why my bank did not use the same 800 verification number.

Anonymous said...

Sadly enough - in most instances - the banks don't verify very much. When they come back as fraud - they go after the person who deposited them.

* Eskimo Mongoose said...

Thanks for this article! It made it so that, when this 'roommate' from England sent over rent in the form of a MoneyGram, I figured it out in less than half an hour.
*hugs*
Now i feel so very clever for catching it before I lost any money. (But now i really need a new roommate!)

Anonymous said...

I recently recieved 6 $850 MoneyGram Money Orders from a "Robin Taylor" whom I have never met or spoke to. I called MoneyGram and they said the check numbers were for orders they issued in may/june of 2006...these money orders with the same numbers were purchased on 2/22/07... they said they were fraudulent. Indicated that thier security seal should be red and that you could rub off the ink and it would then come back, indicating it was real. these money orders REALLY look realistic, but the seal is greenish/yellow and the seals dont rub off.

Looks like a turd, smells like a turd... is a turd.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for writing this article. I am a wedding photographer and was called to book a wedding that was out of state. All seemed pretty ligit (aside from serious spelling problems) until I received the money orders. My cost was $700 but the lady "Candy Anderson" sent me $3800 in four money orders. This started to make me wonder. Then she e-mailed me repeatedly giving me Western Union instructions to send the difference to a cultural dancer in Nigeria. Something didn't seem right about this so I did a search for Travellers Express money oders and found your article, I called the number you provided in your article and sure enough, the money orders were fake. Thank you for this post, you saved me a lot of money and time. Keep up the great work.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and the real money orders were all cashed in Jan., very similiar to the person with the horse.

Anonymous said...

Thank you I received one for a roommate from
London as well. this site helped a lot!

Anonymous said...

Alan Sallas contacted me via email offering me a job too good to be true.this is the email
Greetings,

I am Alan Sallas, I am from Helsinki, Finland now based in China. I
got an office in China and finland .I am a Tourism Consultant and have
many clients in Europe,Usa and Canada. I need representatives in the
USA and Canada to work from home and get paid and maybe a Visit to
China or Europe as well.

JOB DESCRIPTION?

1. Receive payment from Clients

2. Cash Payments at your Bank

3. Deduct 10% which will be your percentage/pay on Payment
processed.

4. Forward balance after deduction of percentage/pay to any of the
offices you will be contacted to send payment to(Payment is to be
forwarded either by Money Gram,Western Union Money Transfer or Bank
Transfer).

HOW MUCH WILL YOU EARN?

At the beginning your commission will equal 10%, later it will
increase up to 12%

ADVANTAGES
You do not have to go out as you will work as an independent
contractor right from your home office. If you are interested in
this offer, please respond with the following details in order for us
to reach you:


NAME:
CONTACT ADDRESS:
CITY:
STATE:
ZIP CODE:
PHONE NUMBERS:
AGE:
SEX:
OCCUPATION :


Alan Sallas

------------end of email------------

I replyed to his email with my contact information,age and gender.I recived a reply vaugely explaining the company how it is a travel agency and my job was to transfer money from the clients to the travel agents internaionaly because it was faster that way.He also stated in this reply that somone would be contacting me soon about the job for an interview and that In the near future somone from his "working team" would be paying me a vist that would directly impact my future.This seemed odd to me bacause the email did not sound like a direct response to mine Also i was very afraid of the "vist" i was going to recive from his "working team" because he had my home address.So I began research on "Alan Sallas" and discovered that the email address he was using was from a free site called exite.com.I also read other peoples complaints on diffrent forums about "Alan Sallas".I Then emailed "Alan Sallas" asking for information on his company his liscence number and various other questions i knew he could not answer.Today 06/27/07 i recived a Fed EX package form "John Colemen" "310 sunset blv" "CA" "91355" containing six money orders in the amount of $720 each (total of $4392) And an email from "Alan Sallas" (whom i havent heard from in almost a month)this is the email:Greetings
I have given instruction to one of our clients to have payment released to you,in his response,I was told the payment has been mailed to you. Th payment was sent out via fedex courier.I have this email subjected with the fedex tracking number.The payment our client have released to you will enable us to meet the essential needs of our client.We are to make befiting flight arrangement ,hitch-free accomodation and standard security measure for our tourist client.Please follow the instruction below before cashing the payment at your bank.After you have deducted your 10% service charge,send the rest funds to the tourist assistant that will make sure the needs of our client is adequately met.The name of the tourist assistant in china is Marcus Richard.Send the funds to him via westernunion.

INSTRUCTION

The Moneygram Money Orders that you will be receiving is $4,392

(1)They are Moneygram Money Orders of $732 each x
6


2)Take the money orders to your bank to be paid.

Deduct your weekly pay ,which is 10% and send the balance to the tourist assistant in china via western union money trasfer.




HERE IS THE WESTERN UNION INFOR

Receivers Name --------------------- Last name:Marcus First name:-Richard
Address -------------------------------------- 41 wangjing liu
beijing
Country ----------- CHINA
zip code---------100004

You will need to email me the western union infor after money sent

1, western union tracking number ------------------- 10 digit
2, amount sent---------------------
3, senders name and address----------------.
If the transaction is honestly handled,the next payment coming to you will be in the tune of $15,000.I await your urgent response.Read carefully and follow the instruction strictly.

Alan Sallas
----------end of email-----------
I did not reply instead i contacted the better buissiness Bureau and they directed me to this website.I have not and will not use the money orders or have any further contact with anyone associated with this scam.I have filed a compaint with the FBI


Please everyone dont be as silly as me never give out any information.I have been told this before and ignored it but I hope this makes you think first.
thank you,
SILLY LITTLE GIRL...

Fred said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Fred said...

have fell victim to the 419 email scam. It started when I got six emails from six different companies based in the UK asking me if I would be a payment Rep from them here in the US because I'm disablity I thought what the hay lets see what happens. They all said that I would get a 10% cut of all payments that I get The first one I got was from Kenny Freeman they where Postal Money Orders well I use Money Orders all the time and they didn't look right so I took them to the Post Office, the clerk took one look at them and said they where counterfiet and a very good counterfiets they sent me 4 Postal money orders they were for $850.00 each. When I got home I emailed Mr Freemen and he sent me a email stating he was going to see his friend with the FBI I told him go ahead I did nothing wrong. The very next day I got via Fedex, UPS and DHL 5 payments from all different companies that I signed up for after what happen to Mr Freeman I called American Express and Money Gram and Postal Money Order hotline only to learn they where all counterfiet a grand total of $26,150 of payments. I have a list of the scammers and if anyone wants a copy email me FrederickF@q.com these scam artist must be stopped Here is small list of 419 scammers Bruce Wales,John Badmus, Mark Aides and Mike Davies

Anonymous said...

I was job searching on CareerBuilder.Com and was sending out resumes to some companies.This company by the name of Dominion Enterprises emailed me back about a job. I filled out the application just like the other guy and I have received 6 moneygrams all made out for $920.00 mailed out to me UPS. When I received the first UPS I was kind of nervous about it because it only came with the checks alone,and I never got an email on it. So I showed them to my boyfriend and discovered the date on the moneygrams were made out before I even got in contact with the company. And then the other 3 came with the same date on them, but this time I have received an email to go with it. Telling me to cash the moneygrams at my bank and send them the balance after my 10% and the fees to send it to them via western union or moneygram. Well now I'm saying to myself "why should I have to cash these moneygrams and turn right around and send it to them via moneygram." I could not sleep so I decided to go on the internet to find out how I could tell if they were fake, and that's how I came across these blogs. I am really thankful I did and I plan to send Mr. Colin Egar an email telling him I plan to send these UPS packages back to sender and to stop sending me these fake moneygrams.
Very Thankful Almost Duked

Anonymous said...

Thank you all!
I just received 3 M.O.'s for $875.25 each. But I knew it was too good to be true, so I Googled "Travelers express money gram" and found this thread as the third one down. Also the date of issue on the checks with my name on them are dated three days before I applied online.
Mine is a copy of the online job offer above with the same instructions, except that these came from a northern state in the U.S. to me in the U.S. and the Western Union transfer is to be made to North Carolina (again in the U.S.).
I plan on contacting the FBI with all of the names and addresses as this seems to be interstate counterfeiting and fraud to say the least. The Western Union recipient didn't have an address (only name, city, state, and zip code).
Any ideas or suggestions before I proceed?
Thanks for all of your help!!!

Ed Dickson said...

Would recommend taking it to the Postal Inspectors versus the FBI. Since the counterfeit items were sent through the mail - they would have jurisdiction.

There is a link on the side of this main page to go directly there!

Anonymous said...

I just received 4 Moneygram money orders for $850.00 each. I took them to my bank to verify. They were unable to verify so I called Moneygram and found that they were all cashed in Mar 2007. My money orders were sent UPS and did not include anything with them just the money orders. I am going to be turning them over to the proper authorities. I have never placed an ad or answered an ad for being a money rep for any company. I do belong to Career builder. I hope no one falls for this scam.

Anonymous said...

Oh my goodness, thank you for the internet and people like you! I am starring at $5000 in Money Grams that got sent to me this morning via UPS. Some thing seemed really wrong with this picture, so I called the 800 # listed above and, sure enough, the CS man was a wonderful help! First of all, if all the money orders end in 7 - that is not right. Second, Money Gram money orders WILL have the 800# on the back under their website. These did not. The only way I got this number is by finding this blog! So, THANK YOU! I would of been naive and really thought I got something for nothing! HA!

Anonymous said...

Dear Reader,

I have recently received a Money Gram Mony order for 3,600 dollors is looks very original and when I called the money gram to check its original numbers and Its already cashed with diffrent amount from diffrent location this money order shiped from Florida and sender address is from Indiana state in america, the same is reported to the local police department immediately.

Anonymous said...

We got four $500 American Express travelers checks. We checked on the Internet because this was just too good to be true. Sure enough they are a part of a scam. We turned the checks and letter over to the local authorities. We are glad we checked into this before cashing them.
Eyes Opened in MT

Anonymous said...

So, this is a long and drawn out story, but UPS+MONEY GRAMS=BAD NEWS!!! plain and simple...I just got off the phone with MoneyGram and they clearly stated that "they couldn't do anything about it" - I said to them: "this cant leave a very good reputation for moneygram" -- "sir we still cant do anything about it - take it to your local authorities, maybe they can do something" --- all 9 moneygrams totaling $7,600 all fake --- I brought them to the bank this morning - and they laughed - 2 out of 8 had same moneygram #5748340002, 1: 5748340016, 3: 5748340003, 2: 5748340017 .. she said to me: money orders absolutely cannot have the same money order number, thats rediculous.

as someone has stated earlier in this blog that this company too uses a "free" email site (@live.com)

I too asked for corporate mailing address, Company TaxID for my income tax purposes - and this "melissa fayne" (i.e. melissa pain!) could not provide any information.

**sincerely: almost duked**

Dear Corey Hanson,

Thank you for taking your time to write back to our email and we do appreciate it so much.

Ma, you made mention of you receiving some money grams from an individual. Are you refering to the payment being made to you by our client? Well, we make sure we play our major role by making sure fake payments are not sent to our Sales Representative because we understand how much that is so common out there in the States.

Sorry to say this, but it's an embarassment on our reputation and integrity to have said you dont have faith in James Tulker Exports. You shouldn't have replied to our first proposal letter if this was your feeling from on-set.

The bank will be a better place for you to take the money orders to for proper investigation. With this, we'll know how to increase our level of security with our clients.

We hope we find a solution to this fast.

Thank you.

Melissa Fayne.
Managing Director.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: corey_hanson424@hotmail.com
To: jtexports@live.com
Subject: RE: Urgent Response/Reply Needed Mrs./Ms. Corey Hanson
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2008 07:53:05 -0400

First, yes I got home last night after work around 7 and got the package. Sorry that you feel that I'm not diligent in getting back to you - but unfortunately my life doesn't revolve around the computer nor packages - my bank isn't open after 5 anyways - so the "rush" wasn't necessary!

Secondly, I got these "money-grams" from this individual and after further investigation, I don't believe that these are real. I'm taking these to the bank to investigate further as I believe this is all a scam and have no faith in your company. I do want to thank you however for allowing me to track down your computers IP address to which I will turn over to the Attorney General's office along with the fake money orders and all of our corresponding emails.

Thanks for your time,

Corey




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: jtexports@live.com
To: corey_hanson424@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Urgent Response/Reply Needed Mrs./Ms. Corey Hanson
Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:27:56 -0700

Dear Corey Hanson,

How are you doing today?

We'll like to bring to your notice that the last email we received from you was on Tuesday, 18 March 2008.

We're a bit suprised at your late response to our email. A decision was later made to track the packages to know the current status of the package and below it says:

Tracking Number: ##########

Type: Package
Status: Delivered
Delivered On: 03/18/2008
10:37 A.M.
Delivered To: *****, NH, US
Service: NEXT DAY AIR

Tracking Number: ##########

Type: Package
Status: Delivered
Delivered On: 03/18/2008
10:37 A.M.
Delivered To: *********, NH, US
Service: NEXT DAY AIR



We will appreciate your response confirming the delivery of the packages so as for us to take the next step, because another payment is also on the way which was the first UPS tracking number given to you. This was made payable to you from a client of ours and we'll like to know the status with this before the arrival of the tracking package given to you.

Waiting to read urgently from you.

Thank you.

Melissa Fayne.
Managing Director.





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: corey_hanson424@hotmail.com
To: jtexports@live.com
Subject: RE: PAYMENT NOTIFICATION.
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:53:13 -0400

I have already replied to this same email back around the end of February, early March.

Are you going to proceed with sending me anything?

Corey

> From: jtexports@live.com
> To: corey_hanson424@hotmail.com
> Subject: PAYMENT NOTIFICATION.
> Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:31:56 -0700
>
>
>
>
> Dear Corey Hanson,
>
> On behalf of the company, I'll like to bring to your notice that we have reached final discussion with our client and a payment has been made payable to your name on our behalf.
>
> Further instructions on how to go about the payment will be sent to you soon which will include the tracking details. This will also let you keep an eye on the package as it comes.
>
> A reply to this email will be highly appreciated for us to be rest assured you check your email from time to time as further instructions will be sent by email.
>
> Waiting to read back from you.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Melissa Fayne.
> Managing Director.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> > From: corey_hanson424@hotmail.com
> > To: jtexports@live.com
> > Subject: RE: reference position number#333090
> > Date: Sat, 8 Mar 2008 11:08:52 -0500
> >
> > I have not heard or recieved anything from you. What is going on?
> >
> > Corey
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: jtexports@live.com
> > To: corey_hanson424@hotmail.com
> > Subject: RE: reference position number#333090
> > Date: Fri, 29 Feb 2008 08:45:53 -0800
> >
> > Dear Corey Hanson,
> >
> > On behalf of the company, I'll like to bring to your notice that we have reached final discussion with our client and a payment has been made payable to your name on our behalf.
> >
> > Further instructions on how to go about the payment will be sent to you soon which will include the tracking details. This will also let you keep an eye on the package as it comes.
> >
> > A reply to this email will be highly appreciated for us to be rest assured you check your email from time to time as further instructions will be sent by email.
> >
> > Waiting to read back from you.
> >
> > Thank you.
> >
> > Melissa Fayne.
> > Managing Director.
> >
> >
> >
> > ________________________________
> > From: corey_hanson424@hotmail.com
> > To: jtexports@live.com
> > Subject: RE: reference position number#333090
> > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:29:14 -0500
> >
> >
> > NAME: COREY HANSON
> > CONTACT ADDRESS: ***************
> > ________, NH *****
> > PHONE NUMBER (MOBILE): (561) ***-****
> > OCCUPATION: RADIOLOGY ADMINISTRATION
> > AGE: 26
> > SEX: M
> > EMAIL: COREY_HANSON424@HOTMAIL.COM

Anonymous said...

Hi,
I hope someone can help me. I just received 4 money orders from UPS today each for the amount of $970.20 I called the 800# that my bank gave me. They can't find the number I have in their system. They said it is probably a scam and I should just shred the money orders. My concern is WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN THEY HAVE YOUR HOME ADDRESS? Which they can't get to my house if they wanted because I live on a Marine Corps Base. Please let me know.
Thanks

Ed Dickson said...

If they do not show up in the system, they are most likely counterfeit.

The only reason they wouldn't be is the 48 hours it takes for the system to update after a sale. Saying that if you got them in the mail - they are counterfeit.

Addresses are bought and sold by information brokers. I wouldn't worry too much about them getting it because anyone can.

Since I used to live on a Marine Corps base and Marines take care of their own, if you have any additional questions drop me a line at edwarddickson@sbcglobal.net.

Anonymous said...

I encountered a similar situation too. I was posted a listing to sell my 2gb flash drive and this person my the name of "Kimberly Douglas" wanted to purchase all 5 of them. Her reasons to purchase them was that it was for her colleagues who are doing research. After all of that, she gave me an odd address to give her my Full name and address so that she can send me the money gram. Her address was:
Name..BAMIGBOYE SAMSON
Address..NO 2 OLANIPEKUN STREET OFF OLURANTI HOSPITAL AGBOWO UI
City..IBADAN,
State..OYO STATE
Zip code..23402
Country..NIGERIA

and then I searched about this on the internet, and someone else has the exact same address too and other sites told me that online business from Nigeria are more than likely fraudulent...

doing more research, I came upon this website and I'm glad to know that the "buyer" is a fraud

Anonymous said...

I also received a request to sell outside of ebay from this address:

Address : No 2 Olanipekun Street, Off Oluranti Hospital, Agbowo,U.I
City : Ibadan
State : Oyo State
Zip Code : 23402
Country : Nigeria

Do not deal with them.

Anonymous said...

Same thing happen to me, man said i was going to be a secret shopper i found it on craigslist here is the email! BE AWARE THEY ALMOST GOT ME!!!

Dear Survey Agent,

We have receive the locations you will be evaluating and we shall send you an email notifier as soon as the package which contain the money that covers your salary and the money you'll be using to carry out your survey in both location.

Thanks and God bless.
Ass Hiring Manager
George Mills.
Global Evaluation Inc
21 Upper Riverdale Road Apt
4-D Jonesboro,
Georgia 30236


SURVEYJOB INCORPORATION

21 Upper Riverdale Road Apt
4-D Jonesboro,
Georgia 30236

EVALUATION INSTRUCTIONS

You will be evaluating one wal-mart store and one Money Gram. outlets in your City. Please Cash this check at your Bank, then you can go ahead with the Evaluations. The Payment you have just received covers all expenditures including evaluation, shopping, transport and your compensation (salary=$200) for this survey

You are to purchase Goods of your Choice for your own Use at any wal-mart store in your City which you are evaluating , spending not more than a $50 dollars altogether, you will also be using $50 for transportation .

Also as regards Money, we will be using our company feed-back mechanism therefore you will be sending funds through outlets in your Money Gram . City, back to Us.

As we are evaluating transactions above the $2,628 mark, you will take $2,328 to the Money Gram. Outlet you will evaluate, you will have to pay the Money Gram. transfer charges $100 out from the $2,328 the final amount you will send will be $2,228 Please send all transactions to the details below.


NAME.....Tony Redmon
ADD: 221 Upper Riverdale Road
City: Jonesboro,
Sate: Georgia
Zip Code: 30236

After your Evaluation, ensure that you send to us (via Email) the amount sent, the reference codes (8 Digit #) given at the Money Gram after your transaction and the Wal-mart receipt #.

EXPENDITURES BREAKDOWN:-

Salary .................$200.00

Wal-mart................$50.00

Transfer Fess............$100 less transfer charges

Transportion............$50

Money Gram Transaction .............$2,228

Please remember what we are really after are the lines of question stated below, those are guidelines to what you lookout for will during your visits to wal-mart and Money Gram.



GUIDELINES
-How long it took you to get services.
-Ambiance/Outlook of the Shop/Outlet
-Smartness of the attendant
-Customer service professionalism
-Reaction of personally under pressure
-Information that you think would be helpful
-Your comments and impressions.
-Your personal opinion


We are Counting on you, and expect a detailed report.

Unknown said...

So glad to have found this site. My husband received three $1000 MoneyGram money orders this morning through UPS. The address listed on the Moneyorder came back to Massachusetts. We reversed the look up and 64 different individuals have this address. The tracking number showed the moneyorders were shipped from MA, but the return address stated Johnny Smithy, 123 Ave, Moody AL. I knew this was bogus but we called MoneyGram to verify. The first number we gave them had already been cashed. These looked very real, but after purchasing several money orders, I thought they had the phone number on the document. After reading several posts, I realized I was correct. These money orders sent to me did not have the information listed. I was amazed at how real these appeared to be.

Anonymous said...

This is crazy! I signed up for what I thought was a legit "secret shopper" position. I sent the info they requested via email. My name etc. Then about a month later i recieve a letter and a money order for over 3000.00 telling me to go to walmart and do an evaluation and purchase 200 dollars worth of merchandise. Keep 14% of money for me and then evaluate western union and send over 2000.00. Well i called the bank the check not money order sorry was drawn on and it was fake, so I tore it up. Today 10/4/10 I recived a usps envelope with two International Money Grams in it for 950.35 each. I called moneygram and these 2 moneygrams had already been cashed a few days ago. They look so real! But the seal does not change when you place your finger over it. It should disappear but it doesn't. The sender of the supposed "secret shopper" is : Sean Mulcahy, Mulcahy INc, 903 Druid Park Lanke Drive, Baltimore MD 21217-4509. The person that signed the Moneygram is: Anthony Smith, 22 East Orvillestville, Point, texas 75169. They are so stupid. Like someone is not going to check the validity of something they get that much! I just found your sight and wanted to say thanks for the info.!!!!!

Gina

Anonymous said...

Yes Yes that is the same letter I got above except different guy! OMG crazy!!!!

Annie said...

Unfortunately I was a victim of this kid of scams while being a secret shopper.Every one should watch out.

Anonymous said...

Monday, March 28/2011
Thanks to websites like this one, you can see that a lot of people are getting into the counterfeit business and some others are becoming victims of these scams.
First of all, I received an e-mail when selling my motorcycle saying the guy was a Marine and was going to send the payment through PAYPAL and I had to send the US $700 dollars to the agent to cover for the pick up expenses, so he said he sent $11,000 to cover for the bike price, plus $700 for the pick up fee and $300 for the Paypal fee. I received an e-mail from paypal showing a transfer received but when I called PAYPAL they said there was no record of any transfer. The e-mail was a scam and was very similar to the real ones, then, I submitted it to PAYPAL as a report of fraudulent e-mails.
Few weeks after, someone wrote me to remove my ad from craigslist saying to consider it sold (the helmet for my motorcycle) telling me I was going to receive the payment and had to send some money back through Western Union. Very suspicious, because the Money Orders I received were waaaaay to much to cover the payment. When I called Money Gram to confirm the numbers, they were unable to do it so. They were counterfeit Money Orders. Please, be careful when you do transactions on-line. At least, I never gave my home address.