Is this legitimate?

veecee87
Contributor
Contributor

I have someone who says they would like to pay using PayPal for a product I am selling. They say they need me to pay western union for shipping which they will include in their payment to me via PayPal (apparently the shipping agent only accept Western Union payments). I'm also worried the product may get damaged in transit. Is this normal practice for shipping? They say they can't access WU from where they are at the moment.

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2 REPLIES 2

kernowlass
Esteemed Advisor
Esteemed Advisor

@veecee87

 

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

They encourage you to accept a 'direct' Paypal payment and may ask you to send the item internationally.
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.

Paypal NEVER tell you to send an item before the payment is showing in your paypal account.
Paypal do not tell you to send trackable, they advise it for selling protection but it is not compulsory.
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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veecee87
Contributor
Contributor
You're right. As soon as I saw the email I knew it was a scam. The email address looked dodgy although the email looked ok. Another giveaway was the extent of additional funds he sent which was well above what I was actually expecting. Thank you.
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