I think im being scammed but im not sure what the scam is yet

[Big Norm]

Ive got a guitar up for sale on Gumtree in the uk and ive had several scam emails which were so obvious i ignored them, but this last one got me intregued so i replied after making up a new email address.
I know its a scam but im not sure how they are planning it.
Im guessing its either a fake paypal account or one thats been hacked.
Either way im not ready to give them my real paypal email address yet

here's how it started


Hi there Andy, you have received a reply to your Gumtree posting "Charvel Model C Electric Guitar (superior to Ibanez and Jackson)" (ad# *******) from janetadamss1@yahoo.co.uk

Here's your message:
Do you still have this item available for sale?


I Knew right away by the way the email was worded that it was a scam, but i guess i wanted to make sure. So i arranged a quick email account on Gmail to see if they would say anything about my email address
adamjanet33@googlemail.com and replied that it was still available

I got another email a while ago

Hello,
can you ship to this Post-Code Se2 9th, and i will be making your payment via PayPal....and i will be offering £30 for the shipment via Royal Mail. Send me your paypal email address so that i can make the payment as soon as possible

My scammer radar is on full alert now coz any normal person would comment or question my email address

I replied that i dont accept paypal but would be happy to deliver the guitar for £50 and they could pay me cash or by bank transfer.

Im toying with the idea of sending a fake paypal email addy to see if they what happens next
Im guessing if i sent a paypal email address i wold get a fake you got funds email and a link to a fake site to login

[JasonE]

I wonder if they are planning on making payment and then after the guitar ships filing for a refund. I have read on here that they can cancel payment, which I didn't know could be done once the payment was made.

[Markie]

Ian...................................:d

[gag halfrunt]

I wonder if they are planning on making payment and then after the guitar ships filing for a refund. I have read on here that they can cancel payment, which I didn't know could be done once the payment was made.

Buyer's can't exactly cancel a payment. But they can claim they never received the item, or that it was a fake (and they actually have a fake on hand), and then demand a refund. If the buyer can substantiate their claim in any decent way, Paypal tends to side with them in a dispute.

[flyingvee]

guess I'm not normal. while not doubting that its a scam, I wouldn't have noticed anything amiss in your email - if an email addy works, its fine with me. (and if it didn't, I'd figure you were the scammer. ;))

my son and his friends have all sorts of email addys. I think they intentionally try to top each other in bizarrity. so that alone wouldn't set off any red flags for me.

[JasonE]

Buyer's can't exactly cancel a payment. But they can claim they never received the item, or that it was a fake (and they actually have a fake on hand), and then demand a refund. If the buyer can substantiate their claim in any decent way, Paypal tends to side with them in a dispute.

That is what I thought too. However, someone on here sold a guitar and they didn't get a chance to get it into shipping that day. They received some notification that the payment had been canceled. If they would have shipped the guitar, the person would have had their money back and the guitar when it showed up.

[gag halfrunt]

That is what I thought too. However, someone on here sold a guitar and they didn't get a chance to get it into shipping that day. They received some notification that the payment had been canceled. If they would have shipped the guitar, the person would have had their money back and the guitar when it showed up.

Wow, that's news to me. Is that a new policy? Is it just for items sold on ebay? ebay owns paypal, so that might make sense in that light.

If I've got a suspicious buyer, the only sure payment method I trust is a wire transfer. Once done, it can't be called back. Once the bank verifies it's there, you pull it out. Then, if there's a problem, it's your bank who has to fight the sending bank for the funds. Not that they won't try to get it from you (banks like the path of least resistance, too), but if you stand your ground, they'll go after the other bank.

But that kind of fraud between banks is extremely rare. There is a list of disreputable banks in the world, and most upstanding banks are leery of doing business with them.

[JasonE]

Wow, that's news to me. Is that a new policy? Is it just for items sold on ebay? ebay owns paypal, so that might make sense in that light.

If I've got a suspicious buyer, the only sure payment method I trust is a wire transfer. Once done, it can't be called back. Once the bank verifies it's there, you pull it out. Then, if there's a problem, it's your bank who has to fight the sending bank for the funds. Not that they won't try to get it from you (banks like the path of least resistance, too), but if you stand your ground, they'll go after the other bank.

But that kind of fraud between banks is extremely rare. There is a list of disreputable banks in the world, and most upstanding banks are leery of doing business with them.

I don't know if it is a new policy or what. I was a bit surprised to read it. It may have been Queencityguitars that it happened to.

[Big Norm]

most scams dont actually want your goods, they want either access to your account or money.
It could be the scammer wants me to give them a paypal address then he would send a faked you've got funds paypal email. If you click on the link in the email it would take you to a phished paypal site were they hope you will put in your username and password giving them access to your account.

Or it could be genuine but i just dont think i want to take the risk

[Big Norm]

I don't know if it is a new policy or what. I was a bit surprised to read it. It may have been Queencityguitars that it happened to.
Paypal is so full of holes i wont use it unless im pretty certain that the deal is genuine or its for a small amount.