Does this seem suspicious ?

[Mhairi1]

Hi there, I received this message from a buyer and was wondering if it seemed suspicious to anyone else ? Alright....Please mark the advert as sold as i am paying your full asking price because i need to buy it for my cousin asap, i have done thorough check on the advert and i'm fine with it,sadly i would not be able to come personally to view or collect it due to house bound i went through throat cancer surgery and couldn't talk more but will be okay soon but i have an agent that would help me to pick it up at your preferred location after you have received your money and i'll pay you via PayPal today and pick up arrangement will commence after you have cashed your money...if that is ok with you.... Where is the pick up location so that i can inform the agent about it now and send me your registered PayPal email,so i can make arrangement for payment.Thanks

[kernowlass · Accepted solution]

@Mhairi1

This is a typical scam  ..................

They may buy on Ebay (if its an Ebay transaction) but they use an anonymous or hijacked Ebay account and DO NOT have a Paypal account so they can't use Ebay checkout. They encourage you to accept a 'direct' Paypal payment and may ask you to send the item internationally.

They don't quibble on cost and may also say they can't view the item as they are disabled or working abroad etc etc but they will arrange a shipping agent to collect it.

You will get/got a "fake" email that looks as though it is from paypal.....it isn't because they don't actually have a Paypal account and have no intention of paying you.
It will say the buyer has paid ...you won't have been paid.

The 'fake' paypal email will tell you that the buyer has paid for the item + shipping costs but you must send those shipping costs to the courier/ shipping agent via western union, moneygram or walmart etc BEFORE the funds are released to you.
They are not interested in the item, they just want the western union etc funds and you will never see money in your paypal balance.

They also threaten legal action...have a laugh at that one and ignore it as its rubbish.

Paypal NEVER tell you to send an item OR do anything until the funds are showing in your paypal account balance.
Paypal NEVER expect you to use a rival money transfer service eg Moneygram or Western Union etc.
Also their is no seller protection on paypal for any item that is collected by the buyer.

Delete any emails and ignore the scammers.