I was browsing the forums the other day, and I came across an old thread warning of a scam from a person claiming to be an oceanographer, and wanting to know if the items were in good condition, and about PayPal info, etc.
This is the thread in the general discussions: SCAM Emails from anita_pitogo2000@hotmail.com.
Today, I got an email from someone claiming something similar, but they were also asking me if I owned the item, what my final asking price was, and so forth. I responded initially, because the email didn't match the one warned about in the forum post. Here is the original email:On Sat, Nov 17, 2012 at 1:04 AM, Dorothy Parker >wrote: > >> You received this email from Dorothy Parker who has a question regarding >> one of your products listed on iCraftGifts.com website.
You can reach this person >> at the following email address:
dorothyparker128@yahoo.com >> >>
The question is: Hello seller,i came across your item on icraft,I'm >> interested in immediate purchase of your item. >> >>
1) Is the item still available for sale? >> >>
2)Are you the real owner of the item? >> >>
3) What is the present condition of the item? >> >>
4) Do you accept PAYPAL as your mode of payment? >> >>
5) what is the final asking price? >> >>
Kindly get back to me with your reply to my private email : >> >> (
dorothyparker128@yahoo.com ) >> >>
hope to read from you soon. >> >>
Best Regards. >> >>
Link to product the person was viewing is: >> >> (Link to one of my store items) >> >> >>
Your iCraftGifts.com Team
Here is their response back to me after I answered their questions: On Sat, Nov 17, 2012 at 8:59 AM, Dorothy Parker wrote: "Thanks for the respond,i am a oceanographer and am currently on the sea at the moment, i am buying the item as a gift for my mother,i want to make it a surprise gift for her,she won't know anything about the gift until they get delivered to her, so i want you to reassure me that the item is in good condition as you have described.i can only pay through PayPal.Soplease kindly get back to me immediately so i can proceed with the payment and after the payment has been done,i have a pick up agent that will come around to pick the Item up immediately after payment. Hope to read from you soon. Regards."
My alarm bells immediately went off at the mention of being an oceanographer. It was suspiciously similar to the other scam in the old forum thread. Plus the "pickup agent" part had me suspicious, and wary. I have informed iCraft support of this, and they asked me to post this forum thread as a warning to others.