Paypal Scam!!! Beware. It's a long post but READ THIS

[beadchick]

Hi All,

I am posting this in several of the forums b/c I want everyone to see this and be aware of this scam. I posted my ex-fiance's wedding ring on craigslist to sell and stated to shoppers that I would receive payment through paypal. I got several offers (weird thing number one as has been listed on other site for weeks w/o buyer) within a day. Two people started outbidding each other and gave stories of daughter getting married or son graduating from college. They told me to send them MY paypal ID address so they could make a payment. The person I settled with then sent a VERY official looking email w/ fine print, confirmation number and everything, stating that money would be transferred once item was shipped (warning sign number 2).

I, of course, in my desperation to remove the bad wedding karma from my home, rushed off to fed ex with the package. As soon as I got home, fortunately, BEFORE I emailed buyer with tracking number OR responded to very official looking email (from different email address, of course), decided to contact the actual paypal by phone, who promptly notified me that there was no record of a transaction and I'd been scammed.

They gave me a contact email to send the scammer's information to, which I have done and would be happy to provide to anyone who wants to know.

The email that I got looked very official, I am not a gullible person (I'm a shrink), but I bought it. Thank GOD I didn't get impulsive and send the guy the tracking number from my blackberry. I should have known that b/c the money didn't show yet in the actual paypal that it was a scam...well, now I do!

Fortunately, I was able to stop delivery of the package, or so fedex says, but I'll feel better once its back in my hot little hands. (delivery truck already picked it up.) I'm kind of a paypal virgin and have only used it to buy stuff on ebay, so if someone is reading this and wants to summarize how it is supposed to go and post it for all of us to have a reference, that would be great. But, I just wanted to spread the word b/c I know that as jewelry lovers, we frequently buy/sell off paypal to finance new projects, etc.

Please tell your fellow ebay users and jewelry buffs about it. It was going to cost me $167 to ship to Nigeria, and the ring itself cost $1800, so I was about to be out 2 grand! Thank God I caught it!!!

 

[petrock<3]

oh geeez Nigeria! That is where all of those e-mail scams come from.


Good thing you caught it first! Whew

 

[beadchick]

This is what ppl are saying when I say it was Nigeria. But I received emails from the US, South Korea, Puerto Rico and also Nigeria. I had one interested party who wanted me to ship to Deland, Florida, which is close to my hometown.

At any rate, this is NOT just a Nigerian scam so do not disregard it as such. Luckily, I called paypal and had it cancelled. But, if I'd not done that, I'd have lost the item. Fedex has said they won't deliver it, but I'm not extensively versed in paypal and thought I was doing this the most safe way I could. The person notified me that they'd made the payment, the email that I received from "paypal" had a confirmation number, contact email different from the sender and stated that shipping address and payment had been verified by the service. I'd only used paypal to purchase before, not to sell. So, I'm just trying to let people know this can happen, I didn't know it could.

I just want ppl to know this is out there- in the US and abroad.

 

[stci]

I don't understand why you think every thing is ok with a confirmation email from Paypal.

Go to your account and check if there is a transaction is the safe way to be sure.

And.... excuse me but the title of this thread is false. It's not a Paypal scam... it's a buyer scam!

 

[CharmyPoo]

Scams like this happen all the time .. I get a ton every time I put big items on sale through classifieds.

I hope everything works out for you.

 

[beadchick]

I don't understand why you think every thing is ok with a confirmation email from Paypal.

Go to your account and check if there is a transaction is the safe way to be sure.

And.... excuse me but the title of this thread is false. It's not a Paypal scam... it's a buyer scam!

You are right, it is a buyer scam. I wasn't aware that the money showed up in your account and was available to be spent even if the item had not been shipped.

I guess I'm just amazed this whole thing can happen. I'm STILL getting emails from people, even though I've corrected the posting to say will be paypal verified. Now the emailer is from Canada. Yeesh!

This was a hard lesson to learn, thankfully one that didn't cost 2 grand, and, maybe I'm a little naive about how paypal works, which is why it would be great if someone would post how the actual interaction goes down. I thought it was possible to log in having the seller's email address and send them an amount. Do you always have to send an invoice to the purchaser for payment?

Perhaps this is a super-simple thing. My understanding of the way the transaction went down was that as soon as you logged into paypal to enter the tracking/shipping number, the money was released. Granted, misunderstanding on my part. But, whatever.

I'm just amazed. Clearly, I'm the only one who is ignorant about these things, I've never sold much other than furniture before. I guess there are always people on the lookout to take advantage!

 

[beadchick]

Alright, I'm just gonna ask, what the heck do I do? There is a guy now who wants my paypal ID. He wants to make a payment.

Is it safe to even give out my paypal ID? Now I'm paranoid. I always thought you sent them a bill of sale.

 

[CharmyPoo]

If you want to be super safe, why don't you ask for their email and you will send them an invoice through paypal. They will then pay your invoice and you can verify that the payment is made through paypal.

Internet shopping and selling is risky but pretty easy once you know how. It is very dangerous for those who are not familiar.

 

[beadchick]

If you want to be super safe, why don't you ask for their email and you will send them an invoice through paypal. They will then pay your invoice and you can verify that the payment is made through paypal.

Internet shopping and selling is risky but pretty easy once you know how. It is very dangerous for those who are not familiar.

Thanks Charmy, that's what I'll do. Of course, they won't pay though...then I can report them

 

[antelope1]

Of course, they won't pay though...then I can report them

You never know! If someone pays you, I would wait a few days for the funds to clear (not just show up on your account, but be deposited into your account, and you transfer the funds out to your real bank), then ship the item out.

 

[beadchick]

Well, I see your point and I know that it has taken time when I've purchased using paypal for the money to hit. Here is where the confusion comes in: If you read the paypal sellers protection, it says that when you get a confirmation email, which I did, you are good to go! I thought that their seller protection policy would help to read, but now its clear as mud. I'm thinking the only way to assure the money is there is to call paypal's customer service dept.

Everything it said on the actual paypal site policy to look for, this purchaser had done. So, while someone might think it was silly that I believed everything was in line, according to their website recs, it seemed to be.

In the long run, I think the only way to be clear the money is there is to call Paypal. Lesson learned!

 

[littlemissmango]

Craigslist is not eBay's little brother. They are two completely different things. eBay is a worldwide online marketplace, while Craigslist is simply a network of local communities intended for people do do business within their community. Why you would attempt to use CL as a platform for PayPal transactions with buyers across the globe is beyond me. There are those big, red, warnings in bold all over the site for a reason -- you need to do business locally. If you want a bigger market, sell your item on eBay where both buyers and sellers are protected.

 

[CharmyPoo]

Everything it said on the actual paypal site policy to look for, this purchaser had done. So, while someone might think it was silly that I believed everything was in line, according to their website recs, it seemed to be.

The problem is that people create fake ebay emails with fake email addresses that are spoofed. You have to be very careful and actually log into paypal to make sure the money is there. When a seller transfers money directly through credit card or debit card or paypal balance, you get the money instantly. If they transfer through eCheck, you have to wait for it to clear.