Payment for courier service - scam or not?

[Gonsapj]

I am in the process of selling a vintage vehicle, and I need to clear the funds. The email I received from PayPal says I need to transfer ZAR2500 via another payment platform in South Africa, but it does not tell me who I must make the payment out to or where I must send the proof of payment to. This sounds very suspect to me, however, I can see that the funds have been deposited into my wallet, but I cannot collect it until that has been done. I cannot release the vehicle until the funds are cleared into my account.

[Oregon11 · Accepted solution]

@Gonsapj 

This is a scam and is not how PayPal works. PayPal payments are sent and received through PayPal registered email addresses linked to specific PayPal accounts only. There is no other intermediary.

You should refund the payment (if you do in fact see the payment in your PayPal account and are not relying on an email sent to you saying you have received payment). PayPal should never be used to accept payment for a vehicle (even if the payment has in fact been made), because after the title has been signed over to the other person, and they have been issued a new vehicle title in their own name — there is a high rate of fraud with disputes and chargebacks.

Here is a PayPal link with details on fake emails.

https://www.paypal.com/us/smarthelp/article/how-to-spot-fake,-spoof,-or-phishing-emails-faq2340