How to recognise this scam:
- Scammer sends fake invoice to customer which looks like an invoice from DoneDeal.
Please note that DoneDeal. does NOT send any invoices to our customers asking for money for items advertised on our site.
How does it work?
- The scammer places an ad on DoneDeal, with an item for sale for a bargain price.
- You contact the seller and they then have your email address.
- The ad comes to our attention as possibly non genuine as the seller may have replied to you or others suggesting using a ‘safe’ shipping company. Often the goods are located abroad. The scammer may also suggest that you pay using Western Union® or some other money transfer company. Both of these suggestions would not be recommended by us at DoneDeal for buying safely online.
- DoneDeal flags the ad as possibly non genuine, removes the ad, blocks the scammer’s details from our site and sends a warning email to anyone that has contacted this scammer.
- Once the scammer has realised that their ad has been removed from our site and that a warning has been sent out, they attempt to counteract our warning by sending another email falsely claiming to be from DoneDeal stating that the seller or ad has been flagged by mistake and is back on the site. Please note that DoneDeal does NOT send these emails, the scammer sends them.
- The scammer also sends a FAKE invoice claiming to be from a DoneDeal representative, consultant or agent of Western Union, requesting payment for the item to be shipped.
- You send the money believing it to be genuine, your money is gone and the item never arrives.
Example
One of our customers, James, spotted a great bargain, a minidigger for a great price. He actually lost €1,700 in this fraud, but has kindly sent us all the information so that we can help others avoid this scam.
It started with James contacting the seller by email through our website. After we had flagged the ad as a scam and James had received our warning email, he received this FAKE email claiming to be from DoneDeal:
Subject: ***DoneDeal.ie Warning Error Regarding Seller: mk4sales@gmail.com***
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2010 17:40:46 -0400
From: donedeal@consultant.com
Dear
xxxxxxx@hotmail.com,
We regret to inform you that you might receive an email warning regarding the seller: mk4sales@gmail.com. Our DoneDeal.ie security team made a mistake due to a system error we had with our servers. We apologies for any inconvenience both to you and to the seller. You can continue the transaction with the seller. We verified the information of this seller and we strongly recommend him. Our verification confirms the contact info of this seller and his ability to deliver the merchandise advertised on our marketplace. There is a limited group of sellers on DoneDeal.ie which we can recommend and mk4sales@gmail.com is one of them. At the seller’s request, DoneDeal.ie is recording the transaction for item "JCB 801.5 MINI DIGGER EXCAVATOR 1.5 TONN" to insure its safety and integrity. Both the seller and the buyer are protected in case of fraud so if you are still interested to purchase the item please follow the instructions found in the invoice we have sent you.
Thank you for using DoneDeal.ie,
Donna, Emer, Melrona, John, Declan, Geraldine, & Fred
DoneDeal.ie
DoneDeal.ie is provided by Done Deal Ltd, Unit B, Tuskar House, Johns Gate Street, Wexford, Ireland. Company number: 419073
James thought that it sounded genuine enough, and agreed to the steps as per the FAKE invoice he received from the scammer, claiming to be a DoneDeal invoice. Again, please remember DoneDeal does NOT have anything to do with actual sales of items advertised on our site and therefore NEVER sends invoices for items on our site. Here is the actual FAKE invoice James received:
To: xxxxxx@hotmail.com
Subject: Congratulations, You committed to buy the following DoneDeal.ie Item: JCB 801.5 MINI DIGGER EXCAVATOR 1.5 TONNE
Date: Tue, 6 Jul 2010 16:30:42 -0400
From: donedeal@consultant.com
DoneDeal.ie sent this message to YOUR NAME AND EMAIL ADDRESS.
Your registered name is included to help confirm this message originated from DoneDeal.ie |
 |
 Purchase Details |
|
|
 |
 Invoice for Transaction Case ID 09454683 between Mark Sollberger (mk4sales@gmail.com), as the Seller, and Your Name), as the Buyer. Please follow our instructions to complete the transaction safely. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Transaction Details: |
|
|
|
|
JCB 801.5 MINI DIGGER EXCAVATOR 1.5 TONNE
|
| |
Vehicle: |
JCB |
Case ID: |
09454683 |
| |
Model: |
801.5 |
Date: |
06-July-2010 |
| |
Price: |
€1,700.00 |
Status: |
Payment Pending |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Seller: |
|
| Name: |
Mark Sollberger |
| Address: |
4 Railway Rd
Dalkey Co. Dublin
Ireland |
|
|
Buyer: |
|
| Name: |
DoneDeal Users Real Name
|
| Address: |
The address you requested the item be sent to. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Complete the transaction in 5 easy steps: |
 Find a Western Union office (click here) |
 Send €1,700.00 (including transfer fees) to our DoneDeal.ie |
| Agent with Western Union services. |
 Reply to this email to confirm that payment was sent. |
 Fax the Western Union receipt to DoneDeal.ie financial |
| department: |
| +44-(0)7006-068-030 |
 After you receive the vehicle let DoneDeal.ie know if you agree to keep it or you want the money back |
|
|
| DoneDeal.ie Agent: |
| Name: |
Elizabeth Wiles |
| Address: |
24 Southampton Street |
| |
London |
| |
WC2E 7JB |
| |
United Kingdom |
|
| Payment must be submitted via Western Union Money Transfer to the DoneDeal.ie Agent (not directly to the seller) in charge of this transaction. The Agent will secure the payment until the Buyer receives, inspects and accepts the vehicle or if it is the case, DoneDeal.ie will refund the payment to the Buyer. |
| |
ATTENTION ! READ CAREFULLY !
|
 |
When payment is received, it will be verified and secured into a non-interest bearing trust account. Payment verification process usually takes less than 24 hours. After the payment is secured, the Seller is authorized to deliver the vehicle. The Seller has 3 business days to send the Buyer and DoneDeal.ie Customer Support the delivery information. If no delivery information is provided in 3 business days, a full refund is immediately sent to the Buyer.
|
|
The Buyer receives the vehicle and has 5 business days to inspect it. If it is complete and as described, the Buyer should accept the vehicle. If he refuses the vehicle, the Buyer must deliver the vehicle back to the Seller within 5 business days.
|
|
After the inspection period is over, the Buyer must contact DoneDeal.ie Customer Support with the result of the inspection. If the Buyer refuses the vehicle, the refund will be sent to the Buyer after the Seller has received his vehicle back. If the vehicle is accepted, DoneDeal.ie Financial Department submits the payment directly to the Seller within 3 business days.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
James believed that DoneDeal was helping with the sale and that everything was above board and therefore sent €1,700 to the seller/scammer as requested on the FAKE invoice, not realising that the so called shipping company and the scammer was the same person. Also, he did not know that as soon as the scammer has the MTCN (Money Transfer Control Number) he can take out the money from any Western Union office. As soon as he had sent the MTCN the money was taken out without any way for James to get his money back. DoneDeal does NOT have any direct link to Western Union and certainly does NOT have any consultant or agent working for them as we do NOT recommend that items are paid for using Western Union.
So please, when using DoneDeal, avoid buying from abroad, avoid unknown shipping companies, and avoid Western Union and similar money transfer companies. It’s the only way to ensure that you’re not the next victim of fraud who hands over money to scammers.
