Advice about selling a car, recieving payment via paypal.

hasey
Contributor
Contributor

I'm selling my car (not on ebay) and have had someone offering to buy via paypal and send someone for collection. I know all about these scams where buyers say I'll pay with a bankers draft and add shipping fees and the seller has to sort it out with the shippers. I've always disregarded these and said cash on collection only but this one says he'll pay in full via paypal and arrange for someone to collect. I just want to know where I stand on the security of the payment. Do I have to wait any particular time for it to clear? Can he cancel payment once cleared or request a refund?

You hear so many scams going on I just want to be sure, I'm already dubious due to the fact he's saying he'll send someone else to collect. Or am I just best sticking to my guns and demanding cash on collection? Please help.

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407 REPLIES 407

drhippo
Contributor
Contributor

almost definitely the same message i got! 

 

did report to autotrader (or perhaps it was cars.com), where I had advertised my car.  They acknowledged these types of scams.  I doubt local law enforcement would do anything!

 

 

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butlerglc
Contributor
Contributor

Local law enforecements can't do anything. these scammers are in Africa and since its international matter FBI would be the ones to contact. But its hard for them to do anything either since these contries don't forbid this scam behavior. 

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iBADTOY
Contributor
Contributor

hahaha I have the same thing.

 

in need of the cash so I was going to say hey yeah send me the money and then once's i've withdrawn it into my bank account you can collect - 

 

Great reading from you, Your asking price was perfect.. I would have loved to come for inspection personally and paycash but, due to nature of my job i will not be able to come for inspection, am a very busy type as i work long hours everyday on a remote island for the next few Months, But i have gone through your advertisement and i am happy to complete the sales with you. This transaction is also based on HUGE amount of trust and I expect to see this from your end as it is on mine. 
 
To start with, I have a private courier that will come for the pick up after the payment have been made. Please send me your address so that my pick up courier can figure it out and come for the pick up and other necessary things after the payment have been made, they will also be coming with all the information needed, my details  and transferring the name of ownership to me will be done by the pick up agent so you don't have to worry about that. 
 
As for the payment, i will be paying you via the fastest and secure way to pay online(PayPal). You can get the setup registration www.paypal.co.nz And i will only need your PayPal email address and name to proceed with thepayment... Or You can alternatively send your full name and account number if you have no PayPal account.
 
Thanks !! 
 
My reply
 
Hi there,
 
Due to PayPal allowances I will accept if you pay via pay pal and collect the vehicle 31days after payment has been made.
 
Happy to do business with you if you agree. 
 
Thank you.
 
His reply 
 
Thanks for your mail, i am happy to proceed with the sales.. Kindly get back to me with the suitable date and time for the pickup include your PayPal email address and name to complete the sales. Hope to read back from you asap, Thanks !!
 
My Reply 
 
Please select buy now option and we can proceed
 
MY WEBSITE LISTING ADDRESS for sale of car
 
Thank you 
 
His Reply
 
I dont trust the link mate.. i am 100% sure of PayPal transfer and the bank transfer deposit.. So that is my form of payment. Thanks !!
 
I haven't replied yet.. as I was thinking this is to good to be true 21k for my car hahahaha! 
 
I was going to send him an invoice with shipping collect... 
but I don't think I trust it now
 
 
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iBADTOY
Contributor
Contributor

hahaha I have the same thing.

 

in need of the cash so I was going to say hey yeah send me the money and then once's i've withdrawn it into my bank account you can collect - 

 

Great reading from you, Your asking price was perfect.. I would have loved to come for inspection personally and paycash but, due to nature of my job i will not be able to come for inspection, am a very busy type as i work long hours everyday on a remote island for the next few Months, But i have gone through your advertisement and i am happy to complete the sales with you. This transaction is also based on HUGE amount of trust and I expect to see this from your end as it is on mine. 
 
To start with, I have a private courier that will come for the pick up after the payment have been made. Please send me your address so that my pick up courier can figure it out and come for the pick up and other necessary things after the payment have been made, they will also be coming with all the information needed, my details  and transferring the name of ownership to me will be done by the pick up agent so you don't have to worry about that. 
 
As for the payment, i will be paying you via the fastest and secure way to pay online(PayPal). You can get the setup registration www.paypal.co.nz And i will only need your PayPal email address and name to proceed with thepayment... Or You can alternatively send your full name and account number if you have no PayPal account.
 
Thanks !! 
 
My reply
 
Hi there,
 
Due to PayPal allowances I will accept if you pay via pay pal and collect the vehicle 31days after payment has been made.
 
Happy to do business with you if you agree. 
 
Thank you.
 
His reply 
 
Thanks for your mail, i am happy to proceed with the sales.. Kindly get back to me with the suitable date and time for the pickup include your PayPal email address and name to complete the sales. Hope to read back from you asap, Thanks !!
 
My Reply 
 
Please select buy now option and we can proceed
 
MY WEBSITE LISTING ADDRESS for sale of car
 
Thank you 
 
His Reply
 
I dont trust the link mate.. i am 100% sure of PayPal transfer and the bank transfer deposit.. So that is my form of payment. Thanks !!
 
I haven't replied yet.. as I was thinking this is to good to be true 21k for my car hahahaha! 
 
I was going to send him an invoice with shipping collect... 
but I don't think I trust it now
 
 
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minty1
Advisor
Advisor

Hi iBADTOY

 

No dont trust them

NEVER accept ppal for collected items

NEVER trust anyone asking u to set up  a ppal acc and are in a hurry for u to do so

 

Even if they did pay and u withdrew it to your bank acc if there was a chargeback u would still have to pay it back and could end up with no vehicle and no money

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989
Member
Member

I received a text first inquiring about my post within 1 hr of posting. So I emailed him back, as he stated in his text to email him. This is similar to what I have read....and confirms my suspicions right away that it had to be a scam.

Jimmy bruce wrote ----

Thanks for getting back to me, I am Sgt currently deployed to a remote area until ?December 20. Can you assure me that it's in good state as it appears and that i will not be disappointed with it It is strictly no calls here due to security reasons, otherwise I would have called you to seal the deal,but i can actually try to use my phone applications to text you with my laptop.I have read through your ad and from what I have seen,it is priced favorably compared to others so I want you to consider it sold to me ''AS IS'' for the asking price but you have to assure me it is as described. I am comfortable paying you via PayPal to complete this transaction because of their security when it comes to online transactions. Let me have your PayPal details ( Account name,PayPal Email, Pick Address and Mobile #) so that I can initiate the payment. If you don't have a PayPal account kindly set one up because it is absolutely free. (www.paypal.com) Furthermore, I will hire shipper that will come for the pickup, and also do the necessary paperwork on my behalf as soon as we are done with the payment part of the transaction.I'll like to see more recent pictures if you still have. If you don't , then lets proceed. Thanks

 

Sgt Jimmy

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sferdows
New Community Member
This "buy a car through PayPal" is a scam. DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT fall for this. I received two SMS asking me to contact them back via email. (They claim their names are M. Thompson & K. Wilson). Once I contacted them, they both replied with the exact same email (definitely copied and pasted on there). "Do you have the extra keys, Do you have the spare tire, Where did you get your car serviced, Have you ever had any transmission repairs and Is there any rust on the vehicle? I'm ready to pay your asking price but not cash in person because I am serving in the US army and currently been deploy to NATO Air Base Geilenkirchen, Germany and calls are restricted at the moment and my only quickest payment option is PayPal, its safe fast and secure and i will be responsible for the PayPal transaction charges so you can get your expected amount. If you don't have an account with PayPal, its pretty easy to open one, Just log onto &lt;a href="<a href="http://www.paypal.com&quot;" target="_blank">http://www.paypal.com"</a> target="_blank"&gt;<a href="http://www.paypal.com&lt;/a&gt;" target="_blank">www.paypal.com&lt;/a&gt;</a> and sign up. I hope we can make the purchase as fast as possible? As I am buying the vehicle for my dad and I'm very sure he will love this vehicle, his a mechanic and a handy man, so if there is anything that need to be fixed in it just let me know he will handle it. I have a mover that will come for the pick up once payment clears in your account and he will handle the title for me. I look forward to hear from you with the information below. Your PayPal e-Mail Address : Full name: Firm Price: Zip code for pickup:" After I received this email, I decided to play it out and see where it will lead. Next thing I know, they claim that they've transferred money onto my paypal account. "I am glad to inform you that I have made the payment to your PayPal account and you ought to have received the payment confirmation from PayPal by now. Kindly remove the ads and check your PayPal email address inbox or spam box for the payment receipt. I had a little problem with the mover they said they can only schedule the pick up date and time after they receive their money for the pick up fee via Western Union in there head office in Okanogan, Washington. So l included $1,840.00 USD that they charge for the pick up and $160 for the western union charges. Making total payment of $27,999.00 USD PayPal will instruct you on how to get the money sent to my mover. The payment has been made and the money has been deducted from my account. Kindly get the shipping fee sent to the name and address below and send the details to PayPal email customer care for your total funds to be credited. I believe that since payment has been made, the advert should be taken off the site and please do let me know your free date and time so that I can give it to my mover for them to schedule the date and time they will be coming for the pick up in your location." A few hours later, I check my junk mail and I find an email from Latvia, Europe. As obvious as this scam was... Im still very glad I looked into this. Please be careful when you sell your car. It is a shame we have people like this around the world.
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WildBilly
New Community Member

I want to correct my last post.  It was not almost exact, it was the same questions as "Sferdows" post above.  The exact same questions with this guy in Germany and his name was Ken <removed>.  Wow  Thanks for everyone posting these scams.

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initialxQx
Member
Member

I am currently trying to also sell my car on Cragslist. The exact same email and text came to me. A veteran who can not see my car wants to pay full price VIA PAY PAL. After reading through so many helpful post on this forum, I kindly rejected her offer. Then she is now bugging me on why not selling it to her. Therefore, I just wanted to add my experience to this forum and help others if they get the same Vet who wants to purchase their car through VIA PAY PAL. It's a scam!!!

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DaveDen
Contributor
Contributor
Received nearly the exact same email right after posting my car on Craigslist. Seemed rather odd and glad I checked first!
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