Buyre wants to purchase antique without seeing it

jonesy49
New Community Member

I received an offer via text messaging to purchase an antique that I listed in Craigslist. The buyer wants my PayPal account so that payment can be sent asap. It's too large & fragile to ship conventionally. The buyer does not want to see the item and will be sending an "agent" to pick it up. The transaction seems legitimate but should I be concerned that they can access any of my personal or financial information once they have my PayPal account? Thanks?

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kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@jonesy49

 

This is a typical scam ..................

 They encourage you to accept a 'direct' Paypal payment. They try and hassle you to get the transaction done asap (before you realise you are being scammed).
No funds or activity of the transaction shows in your Paypal account and any emails 'may' go into your junk or spam folders.

They don't quibble on cost and may also say they can't view the item as they are disabled or working abroad etc etc but they will arrange a shipping agent to collect it.

You will get/got a "fake" email that looks as though it is from paypal.....it isn't because they don't actually have a Paypal account and have no intention of paying you.
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/ shipping agent via western union, moneygram or walmart etc 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 'sometimes' 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 etc.
Also their is no seller protection on paypal for any item that is collected by the buyer.

Delete any emails and ignore the scammers.


Advice is voluntary.
Kudos / Solution appreciated.

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kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@jonesy49

 

This is a typical scam ..................

 They encourage you to accept a 'direct' Paypal payment. They try and hassle you to get the transaction done asap (before you realise you are being scammed).
No funds or activity of the transaction shows in your Paypal account and any emails 'may' go into your junk or spam folders.

They don't quibble on cost and may also say they can't view the item as they are disabled or working abroad etc etc but they will arrange a shipping agent to collect it.

You will get/got a "fake" email that looks as though it is from paypal.....it isn't because they don't actually have a Paypal account and have no intention of paying you.
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/ shipping agent via western union, moneygram or walmart etc 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 'sometimes' 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 etc.
Also their is no seller protection on paypal for any item that is collected by the buyer.

Delete any emails and ignore the scammers.


Advice is voluntary.
Kudos / Solution appreciated.
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jonesy49
New Community Member

Seems a bit odd that the offer came so quickly & the price was not questioned (even though it is a very good price for this item). Part of the text narrative is that the item is being purchased as a gift. Now knowing that a scam is a real possibility, is there any risk to  me if I send my PayPal account to the buyer but do not respond to a bogus email PayPal notification? Thanks for your advice.

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