Gumtree car or auto payment using google checkout or amazon payments

Scam Tip Report #7086 - Gumtree car or auto payment using google checkout or amazon payments

Scam Reporter

Scam Tips Received

Anonymous
Diss, Norfolk, United Kingdom
2012-12-29 11:54:14
Classified Ads Scam
1

Gumtree car or auto payment using google checkout or amazon payments

Scammer Information	Name: Stefan Ionut Traistaru	Email Address: google-checkout@msgserver.com

Advert on Gumtree for an expensive vehicle or caravan at a \"too good to be true\" price.
The picture on Gumtree contains the email address - no other contact details used.
The scammer replies to an inquiry saying that he will use \"Google checkout\" or \"Amazon payments\" to protect the seller and buyer. He tries to convince you that this gives some sort of escrow-type service or a cooling off period before payment is really taken.
He will ask for the buyer\'s name, address and phone number which are then used by him to send a genuine-looking email from \"google checkout\" or \"amazon payments\" which seems to confirm everything that the seller has said.
The email will ask that a payment be submitted via Bank Wire Transfer or BACS-BIPS service to the \"Google/Amazon Checkout Bank Account\"

Google Checkout Account Bank details:
Bank Name: LA CAIXA
Bank Address: C.Alfredo Aleix, 33 / Madrid, 28044, Spain
Account Holder/Beneficiary Name: Stefan Ionut Traistaru
Account number (IBAN): ES84 2100 3666 4721 0041 3064
Swift/Bic: CAIXESBB

After you wire the money you are asked to confirm the payment to Google Checkout Financial Department by faxing the payment receipt from your bank at the following number : 0872 331 6279 or reply google-checkout@msgserver.com with a scanned copy of the payment receipt.

May well be the same people as this: http://www.scamdex.com/ScamTipReports/6699

This seems to be a genuine bank account, probably created using forged ID.

Follow Ups/Extra Information. Most recent is listed first.

2008 Audi TT in perfect condition, below average mileage, too good to be true.
Advertised in Autotrader, we emailed him, and then we got the Google Checkout email. Reading the email carefully helped to spot it - 'a escrow' should be 'an escrow' and 'bellow' should be spelled 'below'.
Figured Google would have better attention to detail. Clicked the link to Google Checkout, and all it did was open another email addressed to G00GLE-CHECKOUT@MSGSERVER.COM.
We went to MSGSERVER.COM and found it to be a place of free emails - obviously Google would not be using such a 'service'.
Googled the email address G00GLE-CHECK...... and found scamdex - phew, that was close.......

Anonymous () Added the following extra information on :2013-04-11 15:45:55

Scammer Information	Name: Bruce Sutton	Email Address: bruce.sutton@hotmail.com	Scam Website: Autotrader

This is a clone of the scam used by 'Mike Preston'. 'Mike' seemed to operate in the UK or Scotland, but the more recent Gumtree scammer is based in Spain or at least has a bank account there.
From the poor English (and references to zip code etc), he is defintely foreign to the UK and very likely to be Spanish.
The latest description of the scammer's bank account is:
Bank Name: La Caixa Bank Address: C. Alfredo Aleix, 33, Madrid 28044 Spain Account Holder/Beneficiary Name: Ionut Traistaru Account number (IBAN): ES842100 3666 4721 0041 3064 Swift/Bic: CAIXESBB
Jim

Scam Tip Report #7086 - Gumtree car or auto payment using google checkout or amazon payments

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