# A different type of scam



## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

I haven't seen this scam before. i wonder how it would unfold using Paypal...

I got an Marshall 1/2 stack on craigs list and the person wants to buy it for there daughter...lol 
here is there reply


Thanks for your quick responce Am okay with your selling price, i
wanted to buy this for my daughter which is out of state, but am
giving you $350 for the shipping, and i will not able to pay you cash,
i will pay you via paypal, i work on see, i dont have much time
arround me, if you dont have paypal account you can create one at
www.paypal.com it's easy and simple. I await your reply


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

sounds too wonky to me


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## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

From a guitar I had posted. Sound familiar....

"so can you assure
me i will not be disappointed? also want you to know that no shipment
involved as i have a mover that will come for it.Im satisfied with your
firm/advert price, As im requesting this transaction should be done via
paypal so the paypal charges is on me.Payment will be made via paypal
only(if you dont have an account, its very easy, safe and secured go to
paypal.com) im present out of town for my new project"

I am guessing if he was "disappointed" I might have to return his money via Paypal but never see the guitar returned? I can't figure it out.


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

I ask him for his phone number and location, i have no thought of going through with this... but just wanted too see what he would say and this is what he wrote back.. and why if he lives in the UK he cant spell it right...lol

I live In United Kindom. I just lost my phone today, please get back
to me with your paypal account


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## Guest (Oct 1, 2011)

PayPal's protection fees don't cover you if you do a hand off (i.e. if there's no shipping receipt to show you actually sent *something*) and not ship something. Never take PayPal if you're meeting face to face. If they can meet you, they can pay in cash.

That cover's hardasmum's case. Not sure about your case other than to say it's probably the same type of scam: they'll pay and then post a claim with PayPal and end up with both the goods and their money.


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## NB_Terry (Feb 2, 2006)

If he does a "gift" paypal payment, I don't think there's any chance he can get a refund. 

But, yes it sounds very sketchy.


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## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

I sold to someone else in the end and just told this guy, "Can't guarantee you won't be disappointed. This is a cash only deal in person."

I never received a reply


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## Thornton Davis (Jul 25, 2008)

Definately a scam, I've seen it dozens of times before as well as experienced their extremely generous offers when I've had stuff listed for sale on CL in the past. Tell the sender to go and #@^%$*& themselves. You'll never hear back from them.
TD




Rick31797 said:


> I haven't seen this scam before. i wonder how it would unfold using Paypal...
> 
> I got an Marshall 1/2 stack on craigs list and the person wants to buy it for there daughter...lol
> here is there reply
> ...


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## Brennan (Apr 9, 2008)

Generally what happens with these types of scams is you'll get a nice official looking email from paypal stating that you've received the payment (which was never actually made), with hopes of fooling you into sending out the item without verifying the cash in your account first.


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## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

Amazing that anyone falls for these. The broken English is a dead giveaway. I had two generic emails prior to the one about payment. I had a gut feeling it was fishy but gave him the benefit of the doubt until his last email.


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## Guest (Oct 4, 2011)

I had one of these emails from a "US Marine overseas" who couldn't personally pick up the item and had no shipping address. Again there was horrid spelling and punctuation, but I went ahead to see what the next step was as it might have been real. 

The Paypal payment email looked legit until you looked at the header and realized it came from some other account. His scam was that he would pay me more than asked since it was so inconvenient for me, but I had to send the extra cash back to his contact first. The guy sent me an 'on hold' payment from Paypal that would be released when I forwarded $400 to his 'broker' for pickup and delivery. 

I contacted Paypal with it and they confirmed it was fake, and that they don't offer a holding funds service. It's a pretty common scam, and a lot of people fall into it. The guy had the nerve to contact me a week later saying how disappointed he was with my unprofessionalism when I opted to not respond further.


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## flashPUNK (Feb 16, 2006)

I stopped replying to ANY Craigslist ad if the person contacting me doesn't mention something about the item in question, or asks a question.

Something I've noticed is that a lot of times ads are posted simply to gather email addresses for spam. This doesn't happen a lot in the musical instrument sections, but it happens all the time in the electronics/computers section.


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## blam (Feb 18, 2011)

scam

i used to see these all the time when i was selling any old camera gear.

people asking to pay more than asking price, but someone involved in the deal is out of state/province or away working. i started putting "local buyers only" and "cash only" and they stopped.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

CheopisIV said:


> I had one of these emails from a "US Marine overseas" who couldn't personally pick up the item and had no shipping address. Again there was horrid spelling and punctuation, but I went ahead to see what the next step was as it might have been real.
> 
> The Paypal payment email looked legit until you looked at the header and realized it came from some other account. His scam was that he would pay me more than asked since it was so inconvenient for me, but I had to send the extra cash back to his contact first. The guy sent me an 'on hold' payment from Paypal that would be released when I forwarded $400 to his 'broker' for pickup and delivery.
> 
> I contacted Paypal with it and they confirmed it was fake, and that they don't offer a holding funds service. It's a pretty common scam, and a lot of people fall into it. The guy had the nerve to contact me a week later saying how disappointed he was with my unprofessionalism when I opted to not respond further.


Buying and selling things today is a very simple process. You can conduct a transaction in 2 steps via EMT or PayPal. Once it moves beyond those two steps bail out


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## KujaSE (Jul 30, 2006)

Reply with the saved image of "Lemonparty". Being grossed out for a few minutes is payback enough.


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## J-75 (Jul 29, 2010)

Agree with the broken English - dead giveaway. I've received a number of scam replies from CL & K listings.
The other clue I've noticed is their failure to identify _what_ you are selling by its name. They are sending out a template reply, so they will refer to "your item" or something non-specific like that. The other catch I've seen in replies we've both received is their intention to purchase for a relative, "daughter" seems common, - I can't guess what that is about, but it seems to be a standard inclusion. Also they usually have a suspicious-looking email address.


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## Bruiser74 (Jan 29, 2010)

Here are the emails i got on my PRS Rev B (currently listed).
Note i have one item for sale, not multiple. This was from Kijiji.
I ask where she was, no answer and finallly i said cash deal only and that was 
the last i heard from her! She didnt have a paypal link in the email, but i 
suspect that would have been her next step. BTW, the name of the person
was "Rose Jones".

Cheers
B

_"I will like to know if this items is still available for sale,if yes hope they are still in good condition?"

"Im okay with the price,do you accept Paypal as a means of payment?if yes send me your paypal email for payment my shipping agent wil come and pick it up."

"Do you have any problem using paypal?i can only pay you via paypal if you dont have a paypal account you can set it up it is very easy and reliable online payment please let me know if you are willing to sell the item for me,i will be waiting for you to get back to me with your paypal email for payment."

"Never mind i know that you are selling one item,just let me know if you are willing to sell the it for me."_


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Bruiser74 said:


> Here are the emails i got on my PRS Rev B (currently listed).
> Note i have one item for sale, not multiple. This was from Kijiji.
> I ask where she was, no answer and finallly i said cash deal only and that was
> the last i heard from her! She didnt have a paypal link in the email, but i
> ...


Yes, that one is as old as the hills. Run....


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## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

Paypal is suppose too be safe and secure, so my guess if you give them your paypal info and, they send you money too your account, then they must log a complaint with paypal to get it back, maybe saying they did not receive the item...should contact paypal and find out exactly what the scam is..


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## loudtubeamps (Feb 2, 2012)

flashPUNK said:


> I stopped replying to ANY Craigslist ad if the person contacting me doesn't mention something about the item in question, or asks a question.
> 
> Something I've noticed is that a lot of times ads are posted simply to gather email addresses for spam. This doesn't happen a lot in the musical instrument sections, but it happens all the time in the electronics/computers section.


 Right on. I have bought a sold over the past 8 years online and have noticed this trend. In the past, they tried the "old fake postal money order/ certified cheque game." Now they know that doesn't work so well and they can probably make more $$ by harvesting email addresses which is what they do when you , in good faith, reply to the vague and ya', poorly worded request about your add. Gotta' give em' credit...persistent, but not too bright!


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

Rick31797 said:


> Paypal is suppose too be safe and secure, so my guess if you give them your paypal info and, they send you money too your account, then they must log a complaint with paypal to get it back, maybe saying they did not receive the item...should contact paypal and find out exactly what the scam is..


Or they send you a fake link that doesn't really go to PayPal, you log in and now they have your login info and go clean out your PayPal account.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Or their PayPal account has been setup with a stolen credit card or someone else's account. By the time PayPal figures it out your gear is long gone


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## Bruiser74 (Jan 29, 2010)

GuitarsCanada said:


> Yes, that one is as old as the hills. Run....


Oh yeah, i ran!


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