Hi there,
My name is Pixie the Cat and I recently sold a spare Apple Macbook Air on eBay. A 'buyer' approached me and offerred me a good sum for it, while it was still at auction. I agreed to her terms and stupidly de-listed the item.
She then asked me for my PayPal email address, which I gave her. She explained that she wanted the item to be shipped to her cousin in Nigeria, as a gift. I stupidly went along with all this, because I am clearly a worthless idiot whose brains live very primatively in my backside. It was obviously a scam. I just didn't realise it yet. The 'buyer' then said that she couldn't pay me until I'd confirmed a shipping status with PayPal, which I had no idea was possible. When I said this, she mumbled and moaned for a while and then I noticed that she'd sent me more than I expected her to. Apparently the extra fees were to lift my PayPal 'credit limit', after which I would need to send back the excess. I was told to send this excess to her cousin in Nigeria (how fishy does this sound already?) via - you got it. Western Union. I tried to do this, until the link she sent me ordered me to upload ID documents and <removed> like that. Fortunately, I have recently changed my name and haven't yet received any official ID. If I had, I'd have fallen for this trick, too.
Then, when my slow little sheep's mind started to tick, I realised that something was wrong. I felt awful. I still do.
I have now lost an expensive computer, and I am already broke due to personal circumstances. I've been defrauded out of more than £1,000 GBP.
I am probably going to get roasted on this forum for my cyber-blindness, but I must tell you that I am not normally quite so stupid. If it weren't for the personal trauma I am currently suffering, this probably would not have happened. I have Asperger's syndrome and I am currently trying to escape a very abusive father, and as such I needed a quick sale. I realise that I should have researched into the subject of fraud before acting hastily; I would really appreciate your understanding in the circumstances.
However, I am trying to escape, and losing that much money is genuinely catastrophic for me.
Is there anything I can do to get it back?
Thank you in advance,
Pixie the Cat
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