Scams

[Denise260463]

I have put sofas for sale on gum tree and after about a hour revived a email saying that he was interested how much were they and then he said he would have them and he would pay via PayPal and would email me once he had paid he then said he had paid and that PayPal had sent a confirmation email saying it had been approved and I said I had not received it and he said to check my spam which I did and the email from PayPal was there he then said he had a problem with the courier and had added the shipping and handling costs and I would receive 400 pound into my PayPal account which I would then have to send 150 pound to the courier after they have received this the 400 pound will go into my PayPal account ..i told him that this wasn't exceptable as I dont have that sort of money as I am on long term sick he advised I borrow it of friends or family I told him that I wouldnt ask friends or family for that amount of money so what do I do now I am very worried

[kernowlass]

@Denise260463

THIS IS A TYPICAL PAYPAL SCAM.

They encourage you to use paypal and often ask you to send the item as a gift to a relative somewhere often Nigeria.

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.

They will tell you that the payment is released when you provide paypal with a tracking/shipping number......this won't happen.

OR

If the item requires shipping they will tell you that they will pay you extra and you must pay the agent 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 trackable, they advise it for seller protection etc but it is not compulsory.

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.

Delete any emails and ignore the scammers.

If the item is for collection then accept CASH ON COLLECTION ONLY AS YOU HAVE NO PAYPAL SELLER PROTECTION FOR ITEMS THAT ARE COLLECTED.

[Denise260463]

Thank you for your advice much appreciated

[kernowlass · Accepted solution]

@Denise260463

Your welcome, if you want to put solved by any of my posts it would be appreciated.

[Denise260463]

Solved

[GladysC]

Thank you for putting this up.

It actually happened to me, unfortunately, I was not aware.

I did lost quit a bit of money.

Paypal and police was not able to do anything about my situation.

[Poodlepepper15]

Please do not be worried the exact same thing has just happened to me a couple of hours ago alarm bells rang with me as soon as PayPal was mentioned report  them I am in the process of doing this  now . Once they know you are onto them you won't hear back .

[kernowlass]

@Poodlepepper15

Pointless reporting them to paypal as nothing is done using paypals site.

Also they use hijacked and anonymous email addresses and other accounts.

Lastly don't reply back to them as they have been known to sign your email address up to some nasty sites as revenge.

[goshop17]

I've just had an enquiry from someone calling themselves Amber Scott, in relation to some wardrobes I have for sale. It's so obvious it's a scam but maybe some wouldn't realise and could be conned out of their hard earned cash Quick update - after asking "Amber" what she was specifically interested in, she said "sofa", which I don't have for sale - pathetic!