OT: cl/paypal scam?

[vqdriver]

i received an email about an item i've got on craigslist. i replied that with the price and that i still have it. here's the email i got in response. smells fishy to me, but if payment's being sent via paypal and not some strange wire service, is there a risk???

fyi, my asking price is 320.

email:
Hello,

Thanks for your reply toward my request for your item, I am very happy to hear that the item is still available, the price you want to get the item sold is acceptable by me and I hope it is in good condition. I am a medical doctor residing in texas.

Actually, i am buying this item as a gift for my girl, she was currently transfered to west africa with world health organization.I will pay through paypal and you will help me mail the item to my son through US postal service (USPS).

Kindly provide me with your paypal email. I will be adding a shipping fee. I think ($470) will cover the shipping and your money.

I need this item as soon as possible so that it can be able to get to her soon. I travelled to the United Kingdom(UK) for an emergency,that is why i can't do this locally/pick it up hope you will understand.kindly get back to me asap so that i will make the payment, Hoping to hear from you soon.

Regards,

Bob ------------

[StellaBlue]

scam

[akelman]

Total scam. Despite the temptation of getting your asking price+, don't do it.

[rwsaunders]

That's as authentic as they get...from the content of the email, it could be that the buyers are Brad and Angelina... :cool:

[akelman]

That said, my uncle really is the former finance minister of Mali. And if you'd just send me $1,200 so I can get him out of a secret prison, we can make you a rich man. Rich, I say!

[dave thompson]

...or you can do like I do and ask for their check/money order and keep it as a souvenir. All these from scammers. I'm having too much fun!

http://a.imageshack.us/img404/377/scamchecks1zz8.jpg

[vqdriver]

how do you get cashiers checks from them???
one call to the bank and the game's up.

[dixiesdad]

run the other way as fast as you can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[GuyGadois]

I like to respond with the following:

Dear Medical Doctor,
Just your luck! My job has recently asked that I transfer to West Africa as I work for a government organization in the Internet Fraud Division. Please provide me with your full name and address and your daughter's full name and address. Paypal is just a hassle so why don't I collect it directly from you during my stopover in the UK this week? Sounds like this is going to work out perfectly!

I look forward to meeting you in person.

Bob

[martinrjensen]

Actually, while it sounds a little strange, I don't see the issue here. He's asking for your email address to pay via PayPal.
Once you get the money you can transfer it to your personal account and confirm that it's really there correct? I thought that if it went in to paypal, it was considered "real money" not like a cashiers check.
then of course, he wants you to arrange shipping.

[dogdriver]

Yeah, my boilerplate response to these scams is,

"Paypal or cash, otherwise leave me alone.".

I've never had a response.

[Louis]

Yeah, my boilerplate response to these scams is,

"Paypal or cash, otherwise leave me alone.".

I've never had a response.

In this case the buyer does want to do PP

[rice rocket]

dave, what if one of those checks is real? :p

[Secosera]

Definitely a scam.

If you ship the item to the address of his "girl" he will claim it didn't arrive at the listed paypal address. Paypal pulls his money out of your account and he now has both.
The fact that he lists the item as "item" instead of what it actually is always throws up red flags for me. That's why in my craigslist ads I always put at the bottom "respond with questions and name the item, otherwise I'll ignore."

[Louis]

dave, what if one of those checks is real? :p

A while back I bought a frame from Dave and just to fool with him I added and extra zero on the back of the $. He hasn't deposited it yet :banana: :banana:

[xjoex]

100% Scam.

-Joe

[Lifelover]

100% phishing scam but I would love for you to play it out a little further to see where he goes.

He does not give a rat ass about the product you are selling the the scam has nothing to do with you shipping it anywhere. It will never go that far.

He most likely will tell you that he has made payment to your paypal account. You will than receive a payment confirmation email that appears to come from paypal. His hope is that you will access paypal via the link in the email. The link will take you to a site that looks just like paypal. You enter you email address (which he already has) AND your password. The fake paypal site will than have some kind of technical problem and ask you to come back later. Mean while he gets you password and uses you account.

In the mean time he may even try to convince you to allow him to pay for it via a cashiers check or a fake escrow site. The goal there would be to overpay you for the item with the agreement that you will western Union him some of the difference. You think you are getting an extra few hundred bucks for you trouble and he gets money from you via Western Union. Western Union is so F'd up that you can wire money to John Doe in Texas but if you give all the info (including the confirmation number) to some skinny in Nigeria he can cash it out there.

NEVER EVER use Western Union unless you really know the person you are sending the money too. To be safe, NEVER use Western Union!

Nothing more, nothing less.

[TMB]

Given that I had a virtually identical email in regard to a Utility trailer that I listed, I would say scam.

I actually thought about giving him a quote to ship a 4 ft x 8 ft utility trailer to Africa ..........

[wc1934]

I like to respond with the following:

Dear Medical Doctor,
Just your luck! My job has recently asked that I transfer to West Africa as I work for a government organization in the Internet Fraud Division. Please provide me with your full name and address and your daughter's full name and address. Paypal is just a hassle so why don't I collect it directly from you during my stopover in the UK this week? Sounds like this is going to work out perfectly!

I look forward to meeting you in person.

Bob

That's great- wish i had thought of it

[pbjbike]

VQDriver, hoping you just wanted to have some fun here? :) AND didn't for a moment consider the proposal offered. :beer:

[ckamp]

Just tell them the item you have is made of pasta and that the price has gone up.