sellstuff.ie hijacked my mobile phone ads

DublinWriter

MysticalSoul wrote: »

My broadband is with digiweb. Could they have got my number that way? I got a text from sellstuff.ie yesterday myself, and no opt out option either :eek:

Doubt it, I'm with Eircom for business broadband and personal mobile, and they txt'ed me.

They're probably hitting random numbers.

preilly79

artyeva wrote: »

regarding sellstuff.ie - I would just be wary of a website who's only contact info is a contact form - no business name or address.

not an exact address, but this might help:

Type
Business Name
Number 379299
Name
SELLSTUFF
Address
CORDERRY
KNOCKBRIDGE
DUNDALK
CO LOUTH
Registered
24/02/2009
Status
Normal

callo2

Hi Guys,

After reading your notes I am a bit suspicious about this site. I have a bike for sale and got a txt from sellstuff.ie.

I thought it maybe be a sister site of donedeal.ie as it has a VERY similar layout and look to it. So I posted an ad on the site. I just got an e-mail this morning from someone whi says they are interested. I replied and they replied straight back. It all sounds too dodgy to me! The following is the converstion:

michaelvolker95@yahoo.co.uk: Good Day, I am Mr Michael Volker.An enterpreneur in the United Kingdom.I came accross your ad on the web and i am interested in purchasing the Mortocycle I would like to know if it is still available for sale, what is it's present condition,why do you want to sell it and at how much is the last selling price..? Get back to me with informations. Best Regards, Michael Volker

RESPONSE: Yes the bike is still for sale. It is in perfect condition. I stiill use it daily. I am selling it to upgrade to a bigger. You know I am in Dublin Ireland?

michaelvolker95@yahoo.co.uk:Hello
Thanks for your reply and the price is accepted so i will like you to send me this information below today,please considered it sold to me.OK

{1} FULL NAME:
{2} FULL ADDRESS:
{3}LAST ASKING PRICE:-
{4}PHONE NUMBER :

To enable me to instruct my client to issue and send BANK DRAFT to you as soon as possible. NOTE: I DONT NEED P.O BOX ADDRESS....................
Am a contrator and also a buyer of used GOODS,I based in london but presently an in Cotonou Republic of Benin i will back soon.

NOTE;-the amount that will be on the BANK DRAFT will be for the amount of the CAR and the shipping amount,so that when you get the cheque and cleared into your account you will now send the remaining money to the shipping agent for them to goahead with the neccessary shipping arrangements so that's all let me hear back from you asap, Dont worry about the shippment the shippment will handle by my shipping agent . waiting for your swift response. Thanks for your co-operation.
Rgds
Michael.

Mr E

I think you know the answer already, callo2..... Republic of Benin?

callo2

Exactly! Is there some way to report this person and the website??

Tom Dunne

callo2 wrote: »

Exactly! Is there some way to report this person and the website??

You have to be careful here.

sellstuff.ie, appear to be engaged in the dubious practice of taking adds from BuyAndSell.ie and putting them on sellstuff.ie.

The mail you received above has nothing to do with sellstuff.ie, other than the fact that the scam artist used sellstuff.ie to get your details.

So in that respect, sellstuff.ie did not do anything wrong.

The problem I have with sellstuff.ie is that idiot in the first couple of posts, who is clearly involved with the website, pretending he has nothing to do with it.

Hence why I had him banned.

Oh, and the doamin resgistry information for donedeal.ie is completely different from sellsetuff.ie, including a different hosting provider, so I would say there is no connection between them. Perhaps they both used the same website template.

callo2

Well I've taken my add down from the site just for piece of mind. How can I report the guy who e-mailed me?

Tom Dunne

callo2 wrote: »

Well I've taken my add down from the site just for piece of mind. How can I report the guy who e-mailed me?

I don't know of any way of reporting him. Perhaps to yahoo.co.uk themselves?

Besides, you can be sure he will have plenty of disposable e-mail addresses.

tbh

internet convention states that for every mail provider, there should be an abuse@ address so that you can report dodgy dealings. In this case, forward the email you recieved to abuse@yahoo.co.uk (although check the mail, usually the reply-to address is different to the from: address, in this case you could submit the mail to abuse@ both if they are different). Usually you won't hear back, but 9 times out of 10 they'll shut down the account so the scammer won't be able to receive replies on that address - it's a small victory but if everyone did it, it'd make life a lot more difficult.

thebman

There are lots of websites that use other peoples websites content when they post ads.

Recruitment Agencies do it as I've had first hand experience of it and I have to say I don't see how it benefits them in the long run. It just earns you a bad rep so it may not be illegal but what purpose does it serve to use peoples information without permission?

Also should write that they are probably scraping these other sites due to the amount of content. You guys should contact buyandsell and others asking them to ip block their site from scrapping them.

If you add another character to your description on buyandsell or where ever and it appears on their site then they are scraping the ad every so often for updates too although they may not do this. You could then add to the bottom of your buyandsell ad that you won't accept interest from people that are contacting you through this site as they have obtained the ad without your permission or you could state that they did this without your permission but still accept interest from users ringing you.

MissFlitworth

Same thing happened to me , had some ads on donedeal and ended up getting a text from sellstuff.ie to let me know my ads were there for free. Went to the website and had to give them my email address in order to get a password to take them off? Was a bit hacked off by that cos they didn't have my permission to use my details in the first place. Gave the data protection office a call and they were saying they'd had other complaints about it and that people who had problems with it happening to them to should get in touch with them. Number I called was 1890 25 22 31, can also reach them at info@dataprotection.ie

mark1974

callo2 wrote: »

Hi Guys,

After reading your notes I am a bit suspicious about this site. I have a bike for sale and got a txt from sellstuff.ie.

I thought it maybe be a sister site of donedeal.ie as it has a VERY similar layout and look to it. So I posted an ad on the site. I just got an e-mail this morning from someone whi says they are interested. I replied and they replied straight back. It all sounds too dodgy to me! The following is the converstion:

michaelvolker95@yahoo.co.uk: Good Day, I am Mr Michael Volker.An enterpreneur in the United Kingdom.I came accross your ad on the web and i am interested in purchasing the Mortocycle I would like to know if it is still available for sale, what is it's present condition,why do you want to sell it and at how much is the last selling price..? Get back to me with informations. Best Regards, Michael Volker

RESPONSE: Yes the bike is still for sale. It is in perfect condition. I stiill use it daily. I am selling it to upgrade to a bigger. You know I am in Dublin Ireland?

michaelvolker95@yahoo.co.uk:Hello
Thanks for your reply and the price is accepted so i will like you to send me this information below today,please considered it sold to me.OK

{1} FULL NAME:
{2} FULL ADDRESS:
{3}LAST ASKING PRICE:-
{4}PHONE NUMBER :

To enable me to instruct my client to issue and send BANK DRAFT to you as soon as possible. NOTE: I DONT NEED P.O BOX ADDRESS....................
Am a contrator and also a buyer of used GOODS,I based in london but presently an in Cotonou Republic of Benin i will back soon.

NOTE;-the amount that will be on the BANK DRAFT will be for the amount of the CAR and the shipping amount,so that when you get the cheque and cleared into your account you will now send the remaining money to the shipping agent for them to goahead with the neccessary shipping arrangements so that's all let me hear back from you asap, Dont worry about the shippment the shippment will handle by my shipping agent . waiting for your swift response. Thanks for your co-operation.
Rgds
Michael.

OMG, I had that exact seem reply for an add I put up on sellstuff.ie and I replied to him that the car was in Ireland and that it only cost €300 and that it would cost more to ship it than it was worth and he sent back the same reply as above looking for my details.
Since then I have received an email everyday from different people but similar content and they are all from the UK with the same contact number.
Why do so many people In the UK want to buy a €300 car in Ireland?
Coz its a scam.
BTW I put my add up on Donedeal and I too got a text message from sellstuff

Mollywolly

Just thinking about the mysterious michaelvolker95@yahoo.co.uk. This is the same fella that sellstuff.ie uses as an example on their own website for avoiding scams. Could michael volker and sellstuff.ie be one and the same?

Curiouser and curiouser.........;)

lamba

Hello everyone,
Just wanted to let you all know that we placed an ad with sellstuff.ie recently and got good response from it so needless to say we decided to renew it which i have just done.
When i googled sellstuff.ie i came across what you all had to say and was very surprised as i found the site very easy to use as did my customers when i asked them where they had seen our ad.
Just giving my pennies worth and as they say don't knock it 'til you try it ha ha!!

majiktripp

lamba wrote: »

Hello everyone,
Just wanted to let you all know that we placed an ad with sellstuff.ie recently and got good response from it so needless to say we decided to renew it which i have just done.
When i googled sellstuff.ie i came across what you all had to say and was very surprised as i found the site very easy to use as did my customers when i asked them where they had seen our ad.
Just giving my pennies worth and as they say don't knock it 'til you try it ha ha!!

Give us a link/description of your advert.. What were you selling? How much did you make?
Sounds very dodgy, almost like your trying to defend this obviously untrustworthy & devious website... and only 1 single post...Hmmm...

mark1974

lamba wrote: »

Just giving my pennies worth and as they say don't knock it 'til you try it ha ha!!

Well I did try it and Im very much knocking it. As I said already, Im getting one of these dodgy emails everyday since I put my add up on that fukin site:mad::mad::mad::mad:

lamba

Hello,
The ad we placed is for wrought iron gates and railings under home improvements.We are based in Co. Meath but cover all 32 counties. As for what i made its none of yours or anyone elses business except mine and my accountant!!
I'm a member since 2007 so i may not have many posts but i'm not new and everyone had to start somewhere even you!! I'm not defending any site just giving my opinion after all is that not what you are also doing?

mark1974

Sellstuff.ie have a warning about these scammers on their website now telling anybody who receives any of these emails to report it to them and if anyone has been ripped off by these con artists to report it to the gardai

Burno_c

Hi folks,

I am French and posted ads on the following web sites:
http://annonces.pneus-online.fr/ and http://paris.kijiji.fr/
I received a few answers from guys like julerotten@yahoo.fr, living in Ivory Coast, and wanting to buy my BMW C1 bike,
silorawshoe1@yahoo.com, wanted to buy it at 6500€, whereas I asked only 1900€ (by the way, if anybody is interested...;)): I had to give back 4500 to his deliveryman, and it was so expensive because he had to move some stuff for his pregnant wife... bla bla
Both are scam, it's becoming more clear to me now.

But I have been a bit more naive with justansenphilip@yahoo.fr: his english was not bad and he is ok for sending his transporter after the check is cashed by me. I already warned him that it would take 15 days for my bank to verify the bank draft coming from Ireland.
therefore, I did not feel like taking any risk by answering yes to him and he is already sending me the check (I do not know how much yet).
Then I had a small doubt, and I googled him and I found this blog and a sweedish site (in fact, this site came with yahoo, not google.)

I expect to receive the check soon, and to give it to my bank to verify it (what do I risk?), I will tell you...

The only thing anoying me is to have given my name and address to this guy, and also a copy of the owning papers of the bike...

As a conclusion:
- Thanks a lot to bluerythmsdiet for having posted about this guy
- These guys do not hunt only on sellstuff.ie
- if the money is cashed in and ok, what kind of risk do I take in finishing the transaction with the guy? How comes he accepts to wait for 15 days for the check to be cashed in: he should know that his check will be rejected, no?

Davy

One think about cheques is the money can appear in your account, and send you on the bike. But time after the bank and reject the cheque and withdraw the cash instantly from your account. Im not to familiar with the details but i have heard the scam before. If the money comes be sure to ask your bank how long it will take for the money to be fully clear

thebman

Burno_c wrote: »

Hi folks,
But I have been a bit more naive with justansenphilip@yahoo.fr: his english was not bad and he is ok for sending his transporter after the check is cashed by me. I already warned him that it would take 15 days for my bank to verify the bank draft coming from Ireland.
therefore, I did not feel like taking any risk by answering yes to him and he is already sending me the check (I do not know how much yet).
Then I had a small doubt, and I googled him and I found this blog and a sweedish site (in fact, this site came with yahoo, not google.)

I expect to receive the check soon, and to give it to my bank to verify it (what do I risk?), I will tell you...

The only thing anoying me is to have given my name and address to this guy, and also a copy of the owning papers of the bike...

As a conclusion:
- Thanks a lot to bluerythmsdiet for having posted about this guy
- These guys do not hunt only on sellstuff.ie
- if the money is cashed in and ok, what kind of risk do I take in finishing the transaction with the guy? How comes he accepts to wait for 15 days for the check to be cashed in: he should know that his check will be rejected, no?

I'm not sure if you can report this activity to the police in France for suspicion, at least then if they get more reports they might watch his activity or something but I guess he is probably too small to be worth the resources from the police.

He might be able to do identity theft or attempt to with those details. You should seek advice about what actions you can take and should take in France to make sure you are protected. You'd be surprised what someone can do with your name and address.

As for the check, it could be he is just hoping something comes of it. He does not really have anything to lose by going for it does he? If his check bounces he will work on the assumption you'll just think he does not have the money. It isn't against the law to not have the money. He could argue he expected the money to be in his account but another transaction wasn't completed so he can probably talk his way out of that mess.

More information on Identity Theft is available on Wikipedia (link below to page and to French section for penalties for this crime).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identity_theft#France

Burno_c

Thanks for your fast reply
I exactly asked this question to my bank, and they told me they would need 10 days, (after which, the issuer would need to start a legal action if he wants to get his money back).
I will try to see what I can easily do with the police, without wasting too much my time though.

Regards

BostonB

This is a well known scam. They give a cheque for too much. Ask you to send back the change. Then their cheque bounces.

All of this stuff is obviously scams.