Is this a scam?

[luckyboy]

I have a motorhome for sale, and sight unseen a fellow says he wants to buy it.  He says he can only pay with paypal.  It is a lot of money and I'm afraid he can hack into my bank account  if I give him my account.  I only have an account that I pay for purchases with my visa card.  My bank account is not listed so I'd have to open an accoount. 

I think this is a scam...what do you think???

[PayPal_Adrian]

luckyboy -

There isn't anything here that is necessarily a perfect indicator of a scam, but a sale of a large item necessitates caution.  That being said, give a read in our Examples of Suspected Fraud thread up above.  It should give you some samples of emails that are used in this sort of scenario, most of which tend to sound almost exactly alike.

Thanks!

Adrian

[happy_family]

I'm new here and don't know what I'm doing, but need help. I have sold via Craigslist in the past, only to local people whom I can meet. I have gotten countless Nigerian scam emails and "I will send my courier to pick it up" ones and have let down a few excited friends when they got the offer to pay over and above the asking price, my kids hate that I'm so pessimistic. So here I am selling a ticket - the value is more than $400. A guy emailed me with an offer. I counteroffered until we agreed on a price. His last email was: Anthony, (used my personal email to reply with my full name attached - forgot about this) I can meet you in the middle at $$$.00. I can pay thru paypal, I am in Texas. Thanks, Chris I know it sounds harmless but I'm half a country from Texas! Now, the tickets ARE valid throughout the U.S. ADVICE???!

[happy_family]

Oh. And all they need is a code to use my item. If I do go through, can I wait until the money is safely in my bank account to release the code???

[PayPal_Adrian]

happy_family -

Again, there isn't anything here that initially sounds out of sorts, although Craigslist is primarily meant for local, face to face transactions, not interstate commerce. 

That being said, withdrawing a payment doesn't guarantee it won't be later reversed if it turns out the funds you received are fraudulent or unauthorized - no matter whether you're cashing a physical check or receiving a payment via PayPal.  With any payment processor, that would leave your account balance negative. In essence, as with any business transaction, offline or online, there will always be a risk of loss.

You can take some precautions with PayPal, as we do offer a Seller Protection Policy which most processors don't.  In your scenario, sending a digital item (a code) won't ensure you're covered  - the item sold must be physical and tangible and must be shipped.  Other terms and conditions apply, so you'll want to check out both our section for Seller Protection and the fine details in the PayPal User Agreement.

Thanks!

Adrian