Scams involving PayPal????

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Hello I'm New here! Joined: 13 Dec 2012 Posts: 5

Hello folks, I am new to this site but will say that it is great!!! I am in the process of selling a motorcycle for $3500 on Craigslist.org (I know....more scammers on that site than all the world combined I would bet) simply because it is free to post and I have received a few emails from actual people. However, I have gotten a slew of emails from scammers....they begin with asking if I still have the "item" for sale. If I reply "yes" then they go on to say that they are on an oil rig somewhere out in the Atlantic ocean and would like to buy my item for their father for his birthday. The scammer tells me to provide him with my PayPal account info and he will deposit the money into the account and he will have his "pick up agent" come get the motorcycle. Up until yesterday I simply deleted the messages but after talking to a friend who recommended me this site....I decided to answer them. At the moment, I have two scammers both wanting me to use PayPal to complete the transaction. One was quick to bite and I provided him with a fake name, address, telephone number, and a fake paypal account email address. Within minutes I received several forms from "paypal" saying that the funds were in my account. I am asking $3500 for the bike....the paypal invoice states that $4600 has been deposited into my "fake" paypal account. Now I am instructed to go make a payment of $1000 to Western Union to the guy's "pick up agent" and a form with his contacts were sent. They asked me to scan and email him a copy of the Western Union payment info. This is where I am at the moment.....The guy just emailed me and asked me if I sent the money yet to which I replied that Western Union had closed before I got there today and that it would be a day or so before I could send the funds.......Oh and the other scammer was a bit more cautious....he emailed me back and said that PayPal said that the account info that I provided to him was not accurate and wanted me to give him the accurate account email......that is where I am at the moment. So folks, what to do next?

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 3:44 am

Welcome to Eater firstly.

Secondly, and more importantly, if you have used your real life details, address/phone number etc, please drop and walk away from the lads you have been in contact with. It can get dangerous.

Have a read through Eater U to gain some good pointers, then set yourself up with a non-personal email address and start over.

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7103 Location: Yes

^^ What he said.

Just to add some color: One of our mantras here at Eater (besides "Slightly Sucks" -- hang around, you'll get it eventually), is to "Bait Safe(ly)". While we don't expect lads from Africa to show up at our doors with guns, it's worthwhile noting that lads have friends/family in all sorts of countries, including the U.S. So, the point is, since there is no upside in event tangentially exposing your real identity to a lad, why risk it? There have been documented episodes of lad-on-victim violence, so again, while the risk is low, we try to minimize it to a very, very low level (like staying inside when lightning is crashing).

Anyway, welcome aboard. Have fun. Request a mentor if you plan on sticking around.

Posted: Fri Dec 14, 2012 6:50 pm

Welcome to 'Eater.

Always remember... Slightly Sucks! Wink

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 13 Dec 2012 Posts: 5

Thank you kindly for the welcome to this site folks! I will certainly heed your advice on dealing with these creeps. I will definitely stick around and learn all I can!!!! Thanks again!!

Not quite a Newb Joined: 23 Mar 2010 Posts: 25

I sell a ton of stuff on craigslist but I always put this line in:" This ad will self-destruct when item is sold." If anyone asks you if it's still for sale after reading that then you know it's probably a scam and I can start to torture them from my catcher account. Very Happy

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 13 Dec 2012 Posts: 5

Tom Terrific wrote:

I sell a ton of stuff on craigslist but I always put this line in:" This ad will self-destruct when item is sold." If anyone asks you if it's still for sale after reading that then you know it's probably a scam and I can start to torture them from my catcher account. Very Happy

What is funny is that even after I sold my bike and deleted the posts that I had....I am now getting emails from "beautiful women" who say they like my post and they proceed to send a few slutty pics and a email address so that I can "verify" that I am a "real" person.....these people don't stop do they?

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 13 Dec 2012 Posts: 5

Okay, I have managed to open a new fake gmail account. I have one lad that is bugging the crap out of me to send money through Western Union to pay for his "agent" to pick up my 18,000 dollar HD motorcycle. I have sent a MTCN number with only nine numbers....ten emails later I finally have another MTCN number...but I am going to misspell the receiver's name this time.....Thanks guys for this site....(these scammers SUCK you know?)

419Eater is my life Joined: 18 Jan 2010 Posts: 357

Sucking is exactly what they do. And no, they never stop, because if even 1 out of thousands falls for their scam they're doing good. So they just keep throwing more and more crap out there to increase their odds. :\

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