possible scam?

[Soomoo]

Hi,

Im mew to paypal and I recieved an email yesterday requesting an item I have for sale. The buyer wants her agent to collect the item. She has told me that there is a problem (because she is at sea) with paying her agent who only accepts western union. Im not really sure what she is asking, I think she wants me to pay her agent and she will pay me through paypal. It all sounds dodgy to me. This is what the last email said:

I'm about to make the payments when i had this little problem with the picking up of the Item, I think you remember what i said in my previous mail that I'm working presently on the sea, so i tried to secure booking with my pick up agent, but they asked me to pay first before they can make the booking, and they only accept Western Union Money Transfer for payments and they don't accept PayPal or bank transfer.


So I tried to send the money online but it's not going through and I am on the sea there is no way i can find a western union agent to make the transfer to my pick up agent, so i wanted to ask if it will be OK for me to include my pick up agent's fees together with your payments through PayPal,So you will help me wire the pick up fee to them via western Union Money Transfer immediately i pay you.I don't mean to bother you I'm sure you understand that I'm presently on the sea and there is nothing i can do to that.The bottom line is after I have made the payments via PayPal,you will help me wire my pick up agent fee to them through western union money transfer, I just wanted to seek your consent before going ahead with the payments,I will be very happy if my offer is given a favorable consideration,Respond as soon as possible so that i can send out your Payment.

Please advise me if you can, I would like to sell the item if this is genuine.

Thank you

Suzanne

[kernowlass]

Sorry but i suspect what may happen is they pay you with paypal and then you pay with western union the agents fee and then the paypal payment is found to be fraudulent.

If they are at sea then surely they go into port sometimes and western union payments are worldwide and they could pay you that way so that you have the cash in your hand before sending the item.

I am not sure if your so called buyer is UK or international. Also is the item very expensive?

Personally if the item was above £30 I would not go ahead.

Thats just my take on it, wait for others advice as well.

[Soomoo]

Thanks, it sounds like good advice to me!

[lowraws]

It must be a scam because I have the same type of deal being offered to me now by someone who claims to be a waiter at sea who is using an agent to pick up my vehicle which I have advertised for sale. He wants me to send 715 pounds + 50 pounds fee to his western union account.

He also sent a "paypal" (apparently phishing) email

 assuring me that paypal knows the seller and that he is going to deposit the purchase price into my paypal account and thatI am fully insured against any loss. They cant even spell simle words.

[bambi2313]

hi there,

              this is still going on, got an email today from someone asking to buy my car, and found the same problems. Looks like no-ones legit these days! Watch out for anyone from las vegas with connections to DARREN Martens, and also Dawn Marie Casey, asking for western union transfers of your own pennies. Don't do it people!

[clarky121]

h

[sheina]

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THANK YOU FOR THE POST! I was searching for an answer on this as I am currently dealing with a buyer who has a very similar story except she began the conversation (yesterday) stating she wanted to buy my item for her mother...Today she said "aunt"....I'm glad I read your post and replied back that I could only sell her my item and not do any transfers.

THANKS AGAIN

[smurflette06]

Ok, I didn't have a PayPal account, but I made one to respond to this. Yes it is a scam. I got an email from the same person trying to get me to let her shipping company pick up my washer and dryer to get an estimate on how much she would have to pay for shipping. Her first email was simple, it just asked me if I was personally selling the appliances. I replied saying yes I am. Her second email read, " Hello, I really appreciate your response to my previous mail, I want you to consider it sold by withdrawing the advert from craigslist. Note that you will not be responsible for shipping and handling. My Shipping Company will come to your location for pick up. Kindly provide me with the address where it will be picked up so that i can forward it to the Shipping Company to calculate the cost of pick up for me. Please get back to me as soon as possible so that i can proceed with the payment via PayPal.". I replied that I was sorry, but I'm only dealing with locals and my ad stated cash only. I of course have not received another email from Suzanne Mark (Suzannemrk2) and I will be reporting it as well. I hope this helps you a lot.

[Cvdv]

i've got the same email from Andreas Theodora

[Cvdv]

These are the email's I received from Theodora Andreas

Thanks for the respond,I am an oceanographer and am currently on the sea at the moment, I am buying the item as a gift for my mother,I want to make it a surprise gift for her,she won't know anything about the gift until they get delivered to her, so I want you to reassure me that the item is in good condition as you have described can only pay through PayPal.Soplease kindly get back to me immediately so I can proceed with the payment and after the payment has been done,I have a pick up agent that will come around to pick the Item up immediately after payment.

Regards.

Thanks for the reply and the honesty,as I have told you I have an agent who will come over for the shipment so you don't have to bother your self about shipment,all I will need from you now is your PayPal email also with your full name as attached to your PayPal account ,phone number and the address where pick up is going to take place also with the final asking price,so I can book shipping with my agent before making the payment for you,as I don't really know much about how to shop directly on the site,so I will prefer to make the payment for you directly via PayPal,hope to read from you soon.

Regards. 

Thanks for the reply,I will want exactly the same pattern I saw on Etsy and the same colour,also I will want it to be ready in a week so I will be paying you  € 200 for it if you can make it in a week,kindly get back to me soon so I can proceed with the payment for you soon.

Regards.

I am about to make the payment when I had this little problem with the picking up of the Item, I think you remember what I said in my previous mail that I'm working presently on the sea,so I tried to secure booking with my pick up agent, but they asked me to pay first before they can make the booking,and they only accept Western Union Money. Transfer for payments and they don't accept PayPal or bank transfer.
So I tried to send the money online but it's not going through and I am on the sea there is no way I can find a western union agent to make the transfer to my pick up agent, so I wanted to ask if it will be OK for me to include my pick up agent's fees together with your payments through PayPal,So you will help me wire the pick up fee to them via western Union Money Transfer immediately I pay you.I don't mean to bother you I'm sure you understand that I'm presently on the sea and there is nothing I can do to teethe bottom line is after I have made the payments via PayPal,you will help me wire my pick up agent fee to them through western union money transfer, I just wanted to seek your consent before going ahead with the payments, I will be very happy if my offer is given a favourable consideration,Respond as soon as possible so that I can send out your Payment.

Regards.

I want you to know that you can easily get the agent fee send to them at any western union near your place,because I also have some other items I bought which the same shipper will be responsible for their shipment so I will prefer my agent to handle the shipping for me,kindly get back to me soon so I can proceed with the payment for you soon.

Regards.

Thanks for this topic.