Nigerian Scammers on Craigslist Part 1

I have been going back and forth with a Nigerian scammer via email for a few weeks. I have been doing this so I can post a real example of how the Nigerian scams work.

They love expensive items, especially jewelry.

So, to be sure I could lure a scammer into contacting me quickly, I posted an expensive item in the jewelry category on Craigslist!

As of now, I have received 47 emails from the scammers.

Keep in mind, I have been in contact with the scammer AND with “Paypal”, so I have been getting double emails (It is a fake Paypal email address.

The scammer is also Paypal.). You will see how that works later.

Since I posted an expensive jewelry item on Craigslist, it didn’t take long until I received the first email from a scammer.

I will break up these posts into a few parts since it is a lot of info to take in all at once. I hope this helps keep other Craigslist sellers from being scammed.

Here we go…

Scammer:

Hello my name is Jimmy  Cole  is your item still available for
sale…if so i will like you to  get back to me with the price and you
can e-mail me at  (jimmy70cole@gmail.com)….thanks

Sent from my Iphone

Me:

Yes, it is still available.

Scammer:

Hello…Thanks for the mail i will like to purchase the item for my
son who is adding a year to his age for a surprise gift and i want a
fast purchase to him ,so i will like the item shipped down to him…i
will like to purchase it on e-bay
but buying on e-bay will be to stressful so one of my friend introduce  me
this site so i will like to view more pictures of the item,so i
will be offering you $2800 for the item and $200 for the shipment,so i will
be paying you via-PayPal or via Money Order because it’s the easiest
and the safest way
to pay online so i will like you to send me your PayPal e-mail address
so as to make the payment and if you are not verified you can visit
www.PayPal.com to register so i want you to kindly respond to my
offer….thanks

Me:
I will accept a Paypal payment. It is much faster and easier to use. Just send the payment for the total amount to this email address and I will ship it as soon as I get the confirmation email.

Also, please include the address to where I am shipping the item!

Thanks!

______________________________________________

(NOTE: Now I will be introducing emails to and from “Paypal”, which is actually the scammer pretending to be Paypal. They send emails from an email account that tries to replicate Paypal’s emails. I will also be editing out the email address I used.)

______________________________________________

“Paypal” Scammer:

You’ve got new funds!

Dear  _________@yahoo.com ,

Jimmy Cole  (jimmy70cole@gmail.com ) has sent you an instant payment using PayPal.

Jimmy Cole ” is a Verified buyer .

Payment Details:

Amount: $3,000.00 USD

Postage & Packing: INCLUDED

Transaction ID: 5Y758872CS5622307

Item Description: Rolex Men’s Gold Watch

Shipping Option :   USPS(Express Mail Global Service 8DAYS DELIVERY)

Pay With PayPal PayPal makes it easy to send  money.

“Paypal” Scammer:

Protect Yourself From Fake Emails

Dear ______@yahoo.com,

Your item has been paid for and the money has been deducted from buyer’s account,we want you to ship the item now and send the tracking number to us as proved, if you can do this within 24Hours we will get your account credited immediately, ship the item to the given address below.

Please forward the proof of shipment to us,so that we can credit your PayPal account. Hope to hear from you soon.

Here is the Shipping address:

Name: Adeniyi Adedayo

Address: No 1,Tade Sokeye Str,
City : ABEOKUTA,
State: OGUN  STATE
Zipcode:23439
Country: Nigeria

Thank you, If you are having any question feel free to contact us on our customer care
.

Note: Never give your password to anyone.

Scammer:

Hello i’m awaiting your prompt reply….thanks

Me (to scammer):

I received the confirmation email from Paypal letting me know that the payment has been made.  I will ship it this afternoon!  Thanks!

Scammer:

hello okay but i contact PayPal customer service e-mail and they told
me they haven’t heard anything from you so kindly send the shipment
tracking number to them so that they can confirm it and credit your
account..thanks so get back to me asap

Me (to scammer):

I received the payment and I have shipped the item to the address in Nigeria.

Scammer:

send the tracking number to paypal customer service e-mail
(accountmonitoredonline@officeemail.net) so that they can confirm it
and credit your account…….thanks

Me (to “Paypal”):

Hi Paypal.

Here is the shipment tracking number for a Rolex watch I have shipped to Nigeria with Express Mail International.

EH55 5921 1215 US

Me (to scammer):

Hi,
I sent the tracking number to that Paypal email address.

Scammer:

ok they will surely credit your account within 24hrs…thanks

Me (to scammer):

Thanks for the update. And they told me at the Post Office that it will take 6 – 10 business days for the package to arrive.  It has already been 5 days since I shipped it, so it should arrive very soon!

Thanks again!

Scammer:

ok thanks for everything

______________________________________________

(NOTE: Now they ask for a scan of your shipping receipt that proves you have sent the item to Nigeria. They are very persistent when it comes to this step.  If you only give a tracking number, they will not believe you have sent the item. They will then make false threats. I, of course, did not send anything to them. I found a fake tracking number, printed a blank International shipping receipt, filled it out and took a fuzzy photo of the fake shipping receipt.)

______________________________________________

“Paypal” Scammer:

‎**ATTENTION””Scan Receipt Needed**

Dear Value Customer,

we are using this medium requesting for the Shipment Scan Receipt of the
item ( EH55 5921 1215 US ) which you recently send to one of our client Mr Jimmy Cole
kindly get the Receipt Scan and send it to us via our
e-mail (accountmonitoredonline@officeemail.net) in order to complete our verification on it and
credit your account immediately

Do Not Send the Tracking Number to the Buyer until Your Account is Successfully credited For Security Measure

Me (to “Paypal”):

Hi,

I don’t have a scanner to scan the receipt!  What should I do??
I want you to credit my account with the money, but I don’t have a way to scan the receipt.

______________________________________________

(NOTE: Now they get their “Paypal” and “buyer” email addresses mixed up. I should have gotten a response from “Paypal”, but instead the response came from the “buyer”).

______________________________________________

Scammer:

Hello okay maybe you should find somewhere to scan it and send it to
them so that they can confirm it….okay

Me (to scammer):

I am getting worried now. I still have not received a confirmation email from Paypal telling me that they will credit my account with the money. I hope they contact me soon!

Scammer:

Hello let your mind be at rest anything they ask you to do just follow
their step so that there will not be any cheating okay..have you sent
them the scan paper?

______________________________________________

(EDIT: I like how the scammer is worried about someone cheating!)

______________________________________________

“Paypal” Scammer:

***Urgent Reply***

Dear Value Customer,
We are doing this to protect both the buyer’s and seller away from scams so we want you to send the scan receipt sent to us in order to confirm the shipment tracking number and credit your account so get back to us now.
Do Not Send the Scan Paper to the Buyer until Your Account is Successfully credited For Security Measure.

______________________________________________

(NOTE: Here is where I attached a fake shipping receipt with my response to the email above.)

______________________________________________

Me (to “Paypal):

Hi Paypal,

Since I don’t have a scanner to scan the receipt, I was able to find an old digital camera. I took a picture of it. The picture is attached. The quality isn’t very good because the camera is old but you can still see it.  I am not very good with technology!

Me (to scammer):

Ok, I just sent Paypal a picture of the receipt. I found an old camera to use since I don’t have a scanner.

Scammer:

ok and i hope they will be able to confirm it and credit your account so they will get back to you…kay

“Paypal” Scammer:

***Urgent Reply***

Dear Value Customer,

We receive the mail you sent us we need to confirm the shipment scan paper before we go on and credit your account so we will get back to you before 12hrs.

Me (to “Paypal”):

12 hours? I hope it doesn’t take that long!

______________________________________________

(NOTE: They get their email addresses mixed up again. This next response should have been from “Paypal”, but instead the response comes from the “buyer”. I guess they forget about those details when they get excited and think they are receiving an item in the mail!)

______________________________________________

Scammer:

dont’ worry they will contact you back

______________________________________________

This will be the end of Part 1 of my Nigerian Scammers on Craigslist post.  This is only the beginning of the scam. The first part of the Nigerian scam is to get the unsuspecting seller to ship an item to them using fake Paypal emails.

If you read through those emails and notice the language used (broken English, bad grammar), I do not understand how people fall for it. However, people must be shipping them items if they keep trying to scam people on Craigslist.

Feel free to contact me. I hope this has been helpful and stay tuned for Part 2! Or learn how to sell on craigslist.

And if you need to contact the USPS, please see: How do I talk to a real person at USPS

Nick G.

Nick is a seasoned professional with over a decade of experience in successfully selling products online across various platforms. With his extensive knowledge and expertise, he has honed his skills and has become an expert in the field of online sales.