Hey Junk Mailers!
We have warnings listed on the Junk Mail website for avoiding scams when buying or selling an item via one of our services, but 2 new types of scams have made their appearance that we have deemed necessary to discuss in a blog post in detail.
There is an advertiser who submits adverts with the sole purpose of scamming our users. If you receive an e-mail from transactions@junkmail.co.za or junkmail@representative.com please report the advert you responded to via our “Report Advert” option provided for each advert on the website.
This is a copy of the e-mail that the person is sending around to users when they respond to the adverts, claiming to be from the “Junk Mail Trust and Safety Department” and part of the “Junk Mail Team”:
“Dear Junk Mail Customer,
Thank you for reporting this to us. Please be assured that we understand your concerns if this is a genuine transaction. The seller and the ad in question are legitimate. You are buying from a Junk Mail Trade Member. The seller has a R 100,000.00 deposit in an Junk Mail purchase protection account and a 10 days refund policy is included. The transaction is 100% safe! The next step is to complete the payment via Western Union/Money Gram!
You are buying from a Verified Trader and you will receive the vehicle in max 3 days at your address after the payment has been made. The vehicle comes with a clear title and without any finance on it. As you already know this is a Unique Transaction because you are dealing with a Business Company and not a private person. They are a Verified Member since 2006 and we assure you that the transaction is 100% safe again! Please NOTE that your Invoice is available only 24 Hours so you must to make the transfer of the funds if you want to buy the vehicle. We will not release the payment details to your seller because first we must to receive the confirmation from you that you want to buy the vehicle!
You will find a Western Union office or at your Local Post Office, please go there in person and initiate the transfer in cash by following our instructions located on your Invoice. Please check again and if you have any other questions, please pu t you rself in contact with us using our Live Chat located on your Invoice and have an Online Chat with one of our available Agent for your transaction!
Money Gram in South Africa work with this banks : StandardBank , BidVestBank or ReniseBank.
If the Western Union/Money Gram operator will ask details about this transaction please don’t tell this is a Junk Mail transaction because they will ask you to pay more fees for an online purchase. Please tell them that you make the transfer to a relative of yours because you have some debts to pay.
This transaction has been accepted and is endorsed by our Safe Trade Department.
Kind regards,
The Junk Mail-team”
This person is NOT a “Verified Trader” with us. Junk Mail does not have “Verified Traders” or a “Trust and Safety Department”. We do not get involved in transactions between buyers and sellers. We are an advertising medium.
Another scammer is claiming that he / she needs money to ship the vehicle (which they’ve advertised with us) which can be paid via the popular auction website Ebay. This is a blatant scam and users should ignore this person and report the adverts placed by him / her to Junk Mail. If you read the e-mail it comes to mind that there’s port near or in Musina in South Africa (it’s nowhere near an ocean).
This is the E-mail going around
“Hello again,
I’m realy sorry for you but i think is to late for inspection because i’m not in the country for the moment (like you know i just finished the divorce with my husband and i have moved to my parents home in London,United Kingdom for a while.) And ship company already prepared the boat for ship. I want to tell you that is to late for inspection and the only way that we can close this deal is to make a deposit(R 29,000.00) to eBay so i could start the ship. In case that you are still interested please email me your final answer.
I will ship my boat from Musina/South Africa. You will have 15 days from the time you receive the boat to inspect it and decide if you want to keep it or not. If by any reason, you will not be satisfied for the boat, you will return the boat to shipping company with no xpence. I will pay for shipping.
If you are interested in buying it please provide me your full name and address so I can initiate the deal through eBay.Thank you and have a nice day.
Jennifer G Diamond.”
We are working on ways to prevent scammers from advertising / responding to advertisements on our website to make it safer for our users. Please, be alert and vigilant and remember if something sounds to good to be true it usually isn’t true.
Feel free to report scams by using the “Report Advert” option provided for each advert on our website or report the scam you find via e-mail to ccc@junkmail.co.za
Regards
Henno Kruger
Junk Mail Online Marketing Department
I have recieved feedback through junkmail from this email address: 442mendez@gmail.com. This person’s name is Josh. He lives in Nigeria. I am selling dresses on junkmail and he wanted to buy one and transfer the money for me. I live in South Africa so the transfer was going to be international. I said as soon as i get the cleared payment i wil send him the dress via mail. I then recieved an email from America bank stating that het paid in the money but i first have to send the dress shipping info to the bank so that thay can proceed to paying me the money. There i realised that it was all just a scam so watch out for this guy.
Can someone please help me, I just want to know I am bussy with a deal with someone that is selling his car and the payment must go trough eBay. Attached is the email that the person send me after I’ve contacted him regarding his car that he want’s to sell, could someone please tell me if I must run or can things work out.
Thanks
His email to me:
has 86k kms.Look how this works:
1. I will contact eBay and give all the info about this deal.
2. They will send us the forms by email – for you about the payment.
3. I will send the vehicle to your location and you will send the payment to eBay.
4. After you will inspect the vehicle and decide to keep it, they will transfer the money into my account.
RETURN POLICY:
If by any reason the vehicle is not as described, or if you find any problems with it I will pay for the returning fees. I’m sure it won’t be the case because the vehicle is in excellent condition.
As soon as the vehicle arrives, you will test it and if it does not match 100% to your expectations, you will return it in max. 5 working days since the arrival date. In this case you will send me the vehicle in the same condition you received it.
Please provide me with your full name and shipping address so I can register the deal with eBay.
Thanks
Thank you for your feedback. This is a scam. Do not pay this person. We have posted a warning about this particular scam on the Junk Mail blog at this link: http://www.junkmail.co.za/blog/scamwarning/169
Hi,
Can anyone please tell me if this is for real. This person insists that I pay a deposit before I can collect the goods. Even though I asked if I can first come have a look that it is real and then I will make payment and wait till it reflects in his account. Please advise?
http://www.junkmail.co.za/v-johannesburg-computers-laptop-notebooks-hi-i-have-four-laptops-two-QZQYCatQX0121QYRgnQX0001QYAdQXF12606QYEdQX201115
Under the cell nr: 084-7933409
I have posted to Junkmail but not getting a response.
Regards
Thank you for your query. This advert is a scam. The advert has been removed. Don’t pay money into this person’s account, the item probably doesn’t exist. You can forward us details about this scam directly to ccc@junkmail.co.za.
I almost fell prey to a scam. I placed an add advertising a cellphone for sale and the response was almost immediate. I was asked for my bank account details and received a ‘proof of payment’ I was contacted and told that ‘he’ (went by the name Hillary Ndlovu) had to urgently go somewhere but that he would send his gardeners number so I could meet him to drop off the goods in Observatory. Both men I spoke to sounded like Nigerian nationals which I thought strange as Ndlovu is a common South African last name and I have yet to meet a Nigerian gardener. Another thing is that I was offered fuel money to deliver the goods which is strange as he hadn’t received anything yet. It was supposedly a Nedbank account he paid me from but the message contained no reference number or the banks helpline number. Please don’t be too desperate to sell your goods! Rather make 100% sure the money is cleared before going to meet the person. Meet in public and don’t go alone!
He tried the same shit with me. Thank goodness for google. Gogled his name and found your post. thanks a million for saving me from a potetial loss.
As for you,you idiot Hillary or whatever the hell your name is, pray I dont meet you ever or you will meet your maker.
The moment you place an ad for electronic goods 20 guys trying to rob you instantly sms you saying they are interested in buying please call them back. I think Junkmail has a duty to investiate these guys who are preying off people selling for the first time.
Placed an add yesterday and within couple hours received sms asking if i can deliver in Houghton.
Was given the following address: 15 pinehurst crn bedford and louis botha sms from cell no +27730629571.
Minutes later was asked for bank details and before i could answer got another sms this time from another
cell no +27763836975 calling himself Simon also claiming to be from Houghton. This made me suspicious
and very reluctant to continue any further sms’s. Feel if person really interested why not just contact me and
ask in person.
Suspect an scam
SCAM ALERT!!!!!!!!!!
I ordered colour contact lens on Friday 1 NOV,supplier said she would post it the same day after work, i was still saying if its posted friday or saturday i would anyway only get it Tuesday with speed post, she told me about her mom that is so sick and dying of cancer, and then sunday when i msg her about the tracking nr i noticed her whatsapp is not working, i then sms’d her,she didnt reply.Monday again,i sms’d her, tried to call her from my number no answer,by then i was reasonably upset and sent her a msg telling her that if she didnt respond to my msgs or calls – i was going to have the cops (my hubby) pay her a visit, all of a suddent she replied and said its not a ****, she lost my tracking nr, i told her that i called my post office, they said she should go into the post office she posted from and get the nr as they have proof it was sent? its Wednes i still dont have a refund, or my lens as she promised, i have to visit the post office with the hopes that my parcel is there and this was just one big mistake, when the cops tried to do a RICA search on her celnr they discovered it was never registered. Beware, her nrs 0720108514/0848900986 adres:214 Lavata str, PTA east??