giftcard request

[MeshellEE]

Hello, I am new to eBay and my son is buying a pair of shoes. He received an offer from someone who also appears to be new to eBay. With the offer there is a request to include a $300. gift card. The money has been received in PayPal but states it is pending until there is a picture of the gift card scratched. I'm feeling like this is a scam. Can anyone offer some advise.

[rnatividad]

@MeshellEE 

Scam. PayPal will never ask you to send money in any form before you can get your payment. I suggest that you discontinue engaging with this buyer. 

If you got an email confirming the transaction, check this Help Center article to see if it is real. 

Hope this helps. Stay safe!

[MeshellEE]

Thank you for your assistance. thats what I thought and told the buyer yesterday we were not interested. Thank again.

[rnatividad]

@MeshellEE 

You're welcome! This is one of the most common scams you may encounter using PayPal (or any online payment site). Some other ones include asking you to send money through different channels like Moneygram or Western Union before you get your money, or sometimes they just tell you the money won't show up until you provide a tracking number so they get the item for free. The tip here is to check your PayPal account by directly accessing paypal.com or checking your mobile app. Do not click on any links on an email because that may take you to a fake website. If the payment doesn't show on your activity, you can consider the transaction didn't happen. 

Have a nice day!