Is this a scam

[glenberd]

I advertised a sofa on Gumtree and almost immediately received this reply :

Great! please consider it sold and please cancel every other appointment regarding it as i am willing to pay your full asking price because i need to buy it for my cousin as a gift, i have read through the advert and I'm totally satisfied with it,sadly i would not be able to come personally to collect due to my hearing loss and me being in wheelchair.

I have a courier 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. 

Where is the pick up location so that i can inform the courier agent about it now?

I replied with 'First pay into PayPal then will discuss pickup etc'.

However, I think I have come across this before, and although they say they will pay the amount into PayPal before I give any details etc, how could this be a scam ?   I know something that seems too good to be true, usually is, but I can't work out how, if the money is paid into PayPal before I release the goods, it could be a scam ?  Thanks

[kernowlass · Accepted solution]

@glenberd

THIS IS A TYPICAL PAYPAL SCAM.

They encourage you to use paypal and say they can't view the item as they are disabled / working abroad etc etc but will send a courier / shipping agent to collect it.

You will get/got a "fake" email that looks as though it is from paypal.....it isn't. 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 via western union / moneygram 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 before the payment is showing in your paypal account.
Paypal NEVER expect you to use a rival money transfer service eg Moneygram or Western Union.

Also their is no seller protection on paypal for items that are personally delivered or collected.....cash on collection only is the way to go.
Delete any emails and ignore the scammers.

[glenberd]

Thank you so much. I suspected it was a scam but couldn't see at this stage how it was done, so thanks again for explaining so clearly.