Help Theres a Wierdo Emailing Me!?

Question

While selling my PS2 on craigslist, I got an email for "[e-mail]" saying that she wanted to buy my PS2 for $300 and send it to her friend in Africa. Since it was a good deal, , I believed her at first. slowly we started working out the details of the sale, and then she started claiming to have sent me $300 on Paypal. I never received payment, and then I received 4 or 5 emails from a gmail address that where obviously made to look like a paypal receipt, but the weren't realistic enough, and when I contacted Paypal, they denied ever sending me any such thing. Then I looked up the address that she had told me to send the items to, and I found that it was fake. Luckily, I hadn't put anything in the mail yet. I won't put anything in the mail, no matter how many fake receipts I receive from "[e-mail]". But then, just today, the above email "demix something" sent me an email with FBI heading, threatening legal action if I don't show them a reciept from UPS proving

Answer 1

Ignore it.  It's just some idiot hoping you are stupider than he is and will cave into his bullying.  Anyone can fake an FBI email, and trust me, they aren't getting involved in a $300 dispute!

PayPal might be interested in the abuse, but it's not a unique incident.  Local police probably won't take action, since you still have your gear.

Answer 2

Contact the RCMP, Canada's federal police force and paypal.

RCMP will contact international authorities.  This may seem like a petty crime, not for a large amount, but it is occurring far to frequently, so I dare say, penalties are getting stiffer.

You will need to forward the emails to them, as an attachment.  They will need the header information from these.  gmail and hotmail log the ip from which an account is signed up, actually, every ip address that visits their site.  Simple web stats, but the authorities will need the information in the email headers.

By the way, FBI has no authority in Canada.  No criminal like a dumb criminal eh?

Answer 3

block the contact not a hope thats a real fbi email

Answer 4

more or less someone is hacking or trying to bluff their way through the payment. If the funds have not been recieved in paypal then do not send the item through.

its a scam to try and scare you into sending the item. The FBI would not get involved in such matters and not contact you via Email. If anything at all legal action would require face to face or a phone call at least...

anything by email can be faked and most orgainisations don't contact you by it. Only hackers !!!

Be Carefull

Answer 5

Yea they do that to me all the time on Ebay.

There really nothing we can do, which is sad.  

I report them every time though, maybe someday something will happen.  

Report them to craigslist and also these ppl..

http://www.cybercrime.gov/