Have I been scammed or have we both been scammed?

[Hefeydd]

Hello,

I need some help with sending a request when I sold my XBOX on eBay I had never used eBay, and I had never sold anything online before this was a new experience for me and I believe that I have been scammed or we have both been scammed but I have my doubts so I thought that I would post a question on your community forum which I only found out existed the other day. I sold my XBX on eBay like I said I have never used eBay before let alone sold anything online this was all completely new for me and I believe I may have been scammed and here is where it gets even worse. I am a Network Engineer and a Security Analyst and before anybody says... Why are you asking us for help even the professionals get scammed and sometimes we also get it wrong. For security reasons, I have not disclosed any information and this has been disclosed. 

I was contacted by somebody who saw my advert on eBay and made me an offer a price to what I was looking for here is where I messed up because I should have sold this via eBay and I decided to send a Request via PayPal to the buyer to his email address that we communicated with via eBay and I sent a request to the buyer and here is where it gets very interested because I received an email and so did the buyer which you can see below and as I now know after speaking PayPal Support on the phone this is not from PayPal but from scammers...? Here is where I am confused and even as a Security Analyst how did a scammer get all my information including my PayPal Transaction ID unless it came from the buyer? but I have my doubts because we both received the same emails. PayPal asked me when I called today, I said Part of me does but another part of me doesn't. I sent an email to the buyer today and I have advised them I will be involving the local authorities because this is looking more like fraudulent crime and although I have not lost out on any more other than I have not received any money from the buyer who I am sure that he told me that money has left his bank account and if this is the case then this has to be reported to the police as a fraudulent crime.

This has never happened to me before I keep myself safe online and this has bugged the hell out of me how on earth did they get all my details including the buyer? The email address I looked at the header of the email and when I dug deeper the more I discovered that my my gut was telling me what the heck happened here, either this happened after eBay or it happened after I sent a request of payment to the buyer. I received an email from PayPal with the Transaction ID but after that initial email, it went from PayPal to a scammer how is that possible...? Something else that caught my eye today was the shipment Royal Mail...? I sent it via DPD.

Thanks,

Paul

[kernowlass · Accepted solution]

@Hefeydd 

100% 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/spam folders.

You will get/got a "fake" email that looks as though it is from paypal.....it isn't because they don't have a Paypal account and have no intention of paying you.
It will say the buyer has paid ...you won't have been paid.
They will tell you that the payment is released when you provide paypal with a tracking/shipping number......this won't happen.

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.
Delete any emails and ignore the scammers.

[Hefeydd]

Actually no, I was the one who suggested PayPal, not the buyer. I have sent him an email and I have put a tracker in the email I will know when he has opened the email or even deleted the email. I have informed the buyer that I will give them until Tuesday and if I don't receive any money by then you will leave me no choice but to involve the police I will do so as of Tuesday as it is Easter Sunday and Monday. I doubt very much that I will get a response. He has told me that money also left his account and I know from what PayPal customer service told me twice now that no money has come from this person into my account the problem with me is I am too honest and trustworthy and some part of me believes that we have both been duped but the other half of me is saying no PayPal is right I have been conned but I have all the correspondence between myself and the buyer from eBay to the sale.

I have never sold anything on eBay in my entire life and I don’t know the procedure and I am an idiot for sending this I was the one who arranged the delivery, not the buyer I arranged DPD and it has been delivered and I still have a copy of everything to get the police involved the problem that I have is it wouldn't surprise me if the police said to me this was a private sale it is a Civil Matter.

If he doesn’t reply to my email by Tuesday I will be calling 101 and report this. My chances of getting my money I know it has been a learning curve that will never be repeated ever again I won’t fall for this a second-time mark my word.