someone trying to scam me via craigslist

[rubbersidedown]

How does the scam work? I'm selling something on craigslist. The scammer wants to pay in full to my paypal account. How will the scam work? Any ideas?

Thier name started out as Patricia via text messaging. Now its Melvin Turner. LOL They just keep badgering for my paypal. How does this scam Run?

RSD.

 

[Sous]

Maybe they are simply looking for your paypal address and then going to attempt to break into your account using a brute force password tool. No idea, but I would not send them anything.

 

[shawnski]

Craigslist is the scam headquarters... I would not do any other ways other than cash in my hands..

 

[rubbersidedown]

I wont be scammed,no worries. Just wondering what they might be up to. They have not sent a text since I said I was a paranoid police officer and that I was just going to use GPS tracking to get their location just to be sure of who I was dealing with.

 

[rubbersidedown]

Also craigslist ad cancelled. I wont use it again. That site needs to die.

 

[Fireman6615]

There's a lot of legitimate people selling stuff on there, you just have to weed through a lot of scammers to find it. I've bought and sold a few things but I always meet them in a public place to do business. If they don't list a phone number its usually some type of scammer and I don't even bother.

 

[Quicker Gixxer]

I've bought and sold on CL...you just have to be careful. CASH is king...lol I've heard of the paypal scams..and if you google it there are several that very in their methods. Most involve spoofing to convince you that you're actually dealing with paypal when you really aren't. They try to get you to ship the item, or allow them to pick it up before you actually see the money in your account. Saying things like the money is released once you provide a tracking number (meaning you shipped it already)...etc.

 

[Sous]

I have sold a lot of stuff on CL. If you are careful (as you should be) there generally is no problem.

 

[rubbersidedown]

Some other folks have not been so lucky with craigslist...


Craigslist killer sentenced to death - CNN.com

Philip Markoff - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Who-the-fug is craig anyway?

RSD.

 

[1busa]

Yeah Rubb absolutely no Paypal or online/ bank transactions of any kind. Cash only and if its more than $1000 being exchanged I would bring a friend or 2 with you and make sure at least one of you is packing

 

[Sous]

When I sold items on CL I would always arrange to meet the buyer at a public place like Wal-Mart parking lot and would ALWAYS have my 9mm on my belt. That is what I meant by being careful.

 

[RYC1966]

Meet at a bank for title and large transactions of business...I know 2 guys who went to purchase items and lost the money in their wallet....more less they meet at an area and more cars pulled up and it was give me the money scenerio...that site is like a helper to a thief looking for a specific item.

 

[voodoolord]

Ive both bought and sold things through paypal from craigslist. If you use it enough you know who's legit and who isn't. I always speak to the person on the phone to make sure their cool.

 

[kromdom]

only way I am aware of a BUYER using PayPal to pay to pull a scam is: they dispute/reverse charges after the deal is done.

 

[mynewride]

I buy and sell tons on Craigslist. My new q2 came from there. Got it for 110. Guy lived right down the street from me. I have never had a problem. I bet I have spent 15k in the last several years using Craigslist. And I have saved a fortune. Patience is king with the site. Cash is the only way to do business. Banks work perfect for transactions.

 

[rubbersidedown]

only way I am aware of a BUYER using PayPal to pay to pull a scam is: they dispute/reverse charges after the deal is done.

I guess I still dont get how they would make money. They want to put money in my paypal. I then take the money and they can then pick up their item...or not.I dont care which.

It must be something fairly devious. I just cant figure out what. Unless,as suggested by QG its something beyond paypal.

Who knows.

RSD.

 

[MelodicMetalGod]

As I've used CL quite a bit over the last few months, I've rearched potential scams quite a bit. Unfortunately, any contact can potentially play to scammers. The best defense is common sense/street smarts/gut feeling...whatever you want to call it, it's your read on the communications. Whether it's written, on the phone or in person, does the communication seem genuine or contrived? Automated of organic? Honest or deceptive? Too good to be true or realistic? I've ignored more CL responses than I've responded to and I've managed to find good folks that were simply buyers. Obviously, there are folks out there that are vulnerable to scams and therefore the scammers are always out in force using the "shotgun" method of trying to find them. Which means we all need to be smart and aware to avoid trouble.

As for scams involving buyers looking for Paypal info...here are four ways they can try to scam. Read up and happy selling!

"Stay frosty my friend!"


Paypal based scams involving the scammer paying or promising payment to a sellers Paypal account:

-Fake e-mail from PayPal saying that the money has been deposited into your account. Even if 99 out of 100 people check their account to see if the money is actually there, 1 out of 100 won't. That's what the scammers are counting on.

-Fake e-mail from Paypal asking you click on a link to confirm your account details, or to enter your account details via return e-mail. Phishing scam.

-Real e-mail from PayPal stating that money is in your account, and when you log into your real PayPal account, the money is in fact there. Sounds good until you find out days or weeks later that the scammer used a hacked PayPal account (most likely from the Phishing scam noted above), and the money gets deducted from your account.

-Scammers use a real PayPal account, but the shipping address is different from the address on their PayPal account. They then claim the merchandise was never received and ask PayPal to put the money back in their account. What little protection PayPal offers goes out the window. If the addresses are different, PayPal will reverse the charge and not help you, even if you have proof of delivery.

 

[rubbersidedown]

Wow. What a hassle these fuggin thieves go thru ^

It would be less work to actually get a job.

Thx MMG.

RSD.

 

[homermacleod]

I just had 3 try to scam me. The first asked to send me a personal check and then he would have a mover pick up the items. I told him no on the check and he agreed to send the funds via paypal. I was still cautious about the transaction, so I let that one go. If you look it up, there is a scam using a mover. They will send you more than you ask for and tell you to give the excess to the mover to pay them for delivering the goods. After you give them the extra money, it turns out it is a bad/stolen check and the funds are withdrawn from your account (You lose the money you gave the mover and pay the fee for the bad check).

Another offered a paypal payment. I listed the goods for $200, but he offered me $320. I gave him the email address for paypal he claimed to have made a payment. The text he sent said to check my junk mail for the payment notification. The funds are never sent to you, they just create a page to look like a paypal email stating that you have funds deposited into your account. Check your actual paypal account and you will not see any transactions. Of course, don't click on any links in the email, just type the paypal address in the address bar and log in from there.

Sure enough, I had 5 separate emails in my junkmail box. They stated that the payment was made in the amount of $320 to my email address but, the funds were on hold until I shipped out the items and sent him the tracking number. I did not give him my name, so the email said: "(my email address), you have a payment pending." The items were to be shipped out to the person's cousin in *****ia.

Of course, I knew it was a scam, but just for fun, I played along. I told him that I saw the payment I made and would send the items after I got off of work. He sent a few more texts and then it stopped for a while. Later that evening, he texted me a few more times asking if I sent it out and where the tracking number was. It was fun playing along with the guy, but I just stopped responding last night.

This morning, I got 2 more messages. 1. "Good morning" 2. Are you trying to rip me off?

My response: 1. "It was delivered this morning. Once the funds are released, the invisibility device will unlock and you will see the goods."
2. Go scam someone else, I don't have time for your bull$H!T.

I have not heard from him since.

How do I know they were trying to scam me?

1. I asked where they were located and they did not respond to that question.
2. They would not call, just email and text.
3. The paypal notification went to my junk mail. Check the address it came from, it will not be from paypal. Mine came from intl.paypal.com.
4. I have never seen paypal hold funds until the tracking number is sent to "avoid scams".
5. They offered a significant amount more than I listed the items for.

I called the number of all three people trying to scam me, and it went to a google voice number.

 

[1busa]

Yup they are pretty crafty.... the only CL purchases Ive ever made is local sales and Ive met the individual face to face. If I see something that is priced way below reasonable value I don't even bother looking at it. Say a 2012 Hayabusa with 2,500 miles mint condition for $6000 must sell moving 2morrow!!! That sounds like an amazing deal until you hear about the divorce settlement and how its in a storage facility in Arizona meanwhile the ad is placed in the Florida CL etc. etc.??? Bunch of lies and waste of time. That's why I like dealing on ebay, sellers have feedback scores from the actual customers so you know who's full of it and who's not