The Worlds Largest Register
This actually happened to with the "worlds largest registrar".
I had a small domain for sale on there trading platform for a modest sum of $350.
After several month's a gmail account managed to buy the domain at the asking price. The WLR (worlds largest regitrar) sent me notification and told me not to release the domain untill they had received th funds. I waited about 4 days and promptly got notification that they had received the funds.
I followed the response trail via the WLR system and got an error response from the system.
I immediately notified the WLR that the purchases email could not be verified. I told them that this was in every likely hood that this was a fraudulent purchase via a dodgy credit card.
They assured me that it was ok, and if I was worried to push the domain through to there holding account, and if it was fraudulent "they would wear the loss" (exact words), which I did.
14 days latter I received the funds in my Pay Pal account.
Two days latter, I got an email asking me to return the funds and they would return the domain.
I said I would gladly return the funds once the domain was back in my account. They refused.
As a consequence they now own my domain and I have the funds.
The WLR is not infallible and really lacks common sense.
Blind Freddy told me it was a fraud from my first email, I advised them of this and proceeded with caution.
The old days it was "buyer beware" today its "seller beware"
Kind Regards