Posted on 01/01/2016 1:14:41 PM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
I put some furniture up for sale on Craigslist. Now I have someone texting me from Vermont (I live in Georgia) wanting to buy sight unseen, claiming to be a flight attendant who is away most of the time but will send a pickup agent as soon as we complete the transaction via PayPal. It seems pretty obvious that it's a scam but it must work some percentage of the time because they keep trying it.
Have them send you the money via Western Union moneygram or whatever they call it.
Why must it be a scam? If they send you the money, you’ll have the money! Give them a month or something to pick up the furniture.
Let them send the money and sit on it - see what happens.
I had the same problem selling a car. The pay pal account looked very real. It is a scam
I deal with this scam every time I do a CL ad. I usually put in my ad, no text, no scammers, phone only, cash money only. You are still gonna get these reply but all you can do is ignore them.
I use US Postal Money Orders. The buyer has to pay for them in advance, and you can deposit them straight into your bank account.
sound excited about the deal. that will work them up.
ask for name and address. they will go away.
online jobs where they want your bank account.
frozen screens threatening jail time for stealing music, pay 100 to 300 or go to prison.
Nigerian ones are the best.
From Russia to Nigeria to Israel to right here at home with the Mafia, I have seen the scams and knew a few that were allegedly involved.
But neither wanting to deal with Italian, Russian OR Israeli organized crime syndicates, I cut off all contact with those people once I found out.
I like breathing :)
If you sell something on PayPal, the buyer has a 180 day window to dispute the transaction.
Get the payment via Paypal and don’t release anything until you have the money in your own Bank Account.
Don’t meet anyone by yourself alone. Have armed backup.
Personally, I wouldn’t use Craigs List because of safety and Scam concerns.
They won't be sending the OP any money. They'll send a fake PayPal payment email hoping to steal the OP's PP account.
DO NOT MESS WITH PAYPAL. You can as an innocent victim be thrown from PayPal for life. There is so much online to read about that. Be perfect with PayPal because it is such a convenient service.
But ask them to do a bank transfer to your email addy or send a bankers check, and once you’ve cashed it, they can pick up the furniture.
Also report them to PayPal as a possible scammer.
Oh BTW, these scammers do this a hundred times a day, you can’t scam them back, they know all the ins and outs.
If it is “too good to be true”, it is a scam!
"I'm Worried Sick"
"I Need You, Friend"
"Emergency Call"
"They Attacked My Children"
"There must be a mistake"
I thought it was my ex going loco, but it turns out it was 'ol Ted emailing me daily. It's getting old tho.
Those bankers check are mostly fake also, demand cash and get you a counterfeit pen to make sure they are real. I sell high dollar items quite often and serious buyers don’t mind paying cash, they understand.
Fake postal money orders are everywhere.
Bkmrk.
I listed a motorcycle on Craigslist and got the same thing. Mine was an oil rig worker. Couldn’t make it to shore, but wanted to purchase full price using paypal.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.