My father recently used Paypal as a way of receiving money for a bike he put up on Craigslist. At least, that's what he THOUGHT would happen. However, instead of the money going into the account, he was asked to wire $600 to a man (the "pick-up agent") with only a name, city and state- no street address or email address. When he expressed his concerns, the buyer just told him how to verify it by going to a specific email and asking them outright, and as the emails he was getting from Paypal had the logo and looked very authentic, he almost did. However, upon doing a simple Google search (as well as one on this site), he realized that the entired transaction sounded too suspicious and wrote the seller that he would not be pursuing it. The seller replied with the following:
i thought you are aware of it that being an auction payment paypal
will need to verify you as a legit seller to avoid any fraudulent
acts. i have made the payment to you and paypal has deducted your
money from my account. your money is currently hold in your paypal
escrow account. all you need to do now is to go and send the shipping
agent money i added to your money to the shipping company address sent
to you by paypal in your payment receipt via money gram and get back
to paypal with the payment ref number given to you @ money gram so
that your account can be fully credited and so that the shipping agent
can come for the pick up. do justice at your side now to avoid further
delay because auction payment is not reversible. i don't wanna lose my
money.
AND THEN...
i just got a new mail from paypal now. did you also receive any mail
from paypal now? check your paypal email inbox/spam/junk folders and
let me know what they say.
HERE'S WHAT THEY HAD TO SAY (in very big, bold fonts, by the way):
We are getting back to you concerning the question we received from you
Answer: Yes, You must wire the pick up fee of $600.00USD added to your money to the pick up agent address below from your pocket(your own money) and you will be reimbursed with $2,100.00USD when you get back to us with the payment info like reference number, sender's name and address, text question and answer(if added) the payment will not show up in your account until you get back to us with the money gram payment info. REFERENCE NUMBER IS THE 8 DIGITS NUMBER ON THE MONEY GRAM RECEIPT GIVEN TO YOU AT WALMART AFTER SENDING THE MONEY TO THE HAULER
You are 100% safe with PayPal, and your pending fund with Transaction Id: *----------------* is legit. As per new PayPal rule, Seller Must be confirmed legit by wiring the hauler/pick up agent fee added to his/her money via money gram before the full accreditation of his/her account. So go ahead and wire the hauler fee of $600.00USD added to your money via money gram at any nearest walmart and email us the reference, sender's name and address for verification so that your account can be fully credited with $2,100.00USD ASAP
NOTE: You are sending the money to the pick up agent address below and you have just 6 hours to complete the transaction so that your account can be credited today. PAYPAL WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSE IN THIS TRANSACTION.
****Do Not Call Us****We Do Not Disclose Our Auction Payment Tab On Phone Facilities. to avoid calling error..
Sound suspicious to you? It sure does to me.
