[Tejas@perioimpl]

Buying and selling online comes with its own set of risks, especially if you aren't well versed with the best practices of transacting online.

For example, TBHP Classifieds suggests that you follow these basics to keep yourself and your money safe :

Avoid Scams:
- Always try to meet the seller in person.
- Avoid wiring money across.
- If shipping, use cash on delivery (COD).
- Click here for more tips on buying safe

Below is something i recently experienced, and wanted to share the story to serve as a warning others :

I have a product for sale on our classified section.

I received a mail via classified:

Email: XXX@gmail.com

Message:
-
Hello how are you doing today...i guess it was fine well just want to ask it the item still for sales and you last willing price

Have blanked out the email id of the person.


Replied to him, yes it's available and i can't reduce the price of 3k but will ship it to him in india free.

His reply:

Thanks for the swift reply,i want you to get back to me with more
picture and what is the present condition of it.Am satisfied with your
advert price,i am buying this for my dad in as a gift.and i want
honest in this and straight forward deal . as am requesting this
transaction should be done via PayPal so the PayPal charges is on
me,If my offer is accepted send me your PayPal email and your name
including your phone# or send me money request so i can pay you right
away.I am busy at work and do not have much time around me, but no
worries as i am willing to handle the picked of this merchandise
through my legitimate mover agent cause i will like it to be picked at
your residence location,Make sure you get back to me immediately, So
no Shipping

Regards

I replied back saying i shall send him the pics in the eve.

His reply:

yes kindly get back to me with your paypal email account so i can do
the payment as soon as possible and i will be paying you in usd dollar
thanks and nice doing business with you

He doesn't use his name anywhere in the emails.

Got a little suspicious.

Googled it and found that it's a scam.

Either he will send you a fake paypal receipt that the money is transferred and get the item picked or will pay in paypal, pick the item and dispute the transaction since you have no proof of delivery and paypal will side with the buyer.

Then i sent him a mail saying i have no paypal account and nor do i wish to create one. He can ask his mover to pay cash and collect the item from my office.

His reply:

Thanks for your mail am very busy and i have my own private shipping
company,and my shipper will take over the packing and other document
all that is required for me to have your money sent is just for you to
get back to me with your paypal email address or send me money
request through your paypal account . And the shipping company will be
available to process/pick up the tittle during pick-up and after you
must have received your money cash in hand. I can only feel secured
sending my funds via paypal due to there various security measures at
ensuring safe and secured transaction between buyer/seller. However,
if you feel otherwise, I totally understand.
regards

Alarm bells ringing!!!

Useful reading: (first two are very important)

Let's Get the Craigslist Scammers: PayPal ID Requested By Scammer -- DON'T DO IT!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012...afe-protection

https://www.paypal-community.com/t5/...ng/td-p/186498

Google Groups

Craig's List PayPal Scam?

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Shifting Gears Section. Thanks for sharing!

[vij]

The email you received is a template used by many scammers. I guess the idea is to later dispute the transaction. Such a man will probably need multiple accounts and credit card linking as paypal will lock such accounts that file disputes repeatedly.

[SPEEDY_RACER]

Hi All,

even i had been came across these kind of scam. and i was almost finished to ship the item, but i got suspicious when i asked him for his mobile no. he didn't replied and stopped the shipment.

also what i heard was they send a wrong reciept no and also they say that the payment was made high and request you to send the excess amount then you will get the rest of the amount.

they tried all the tricks after i said that the item was shipped(even i gave the wrong shipment details )


later googled it and found that it was fake. even they sent me the wrong receipts.


these were couple of ID's which they used.

service@intl.paypal.co.uk
payinquiry@accountant.com
crookj71@yahoo.co.uk
Linkon002@gmail.com
this are some address they gave me

so BHPIANS be aware :

NAME :BABALOLA OLUWATAYO ADEWUMI,
ADDRESS :Araromi
CITY :Ibadan
STATE :Oyo-State
ZIP CODE :23402
COUNTRY :NIGERIA


Name: Tayo Adewunmi
Address: N0 32, Sapon Road,
City: Abeokuta
State: Ogun State
Country: Nigeria
Zip-Code: 234039

they tried all soughts of the games even they said that they will go legally i said go ahead as i haven't received the payment to ship the item as i have paypal account.

[scopriobharath]

This a very old scam in USA and almost everyone is aware of it. If you look at Craigslist site, People insist on Cash only transactions. They do not accept cheque / pay-orders nor do they ship. They prefer local cusomters for 50$ less than a "shipping" customer who pays 200$ more.

Since most of USA is sanitized, they are trying the trick in other countries.

The best way out - Pay First then Ship policy. Even if you buy through any online store, its pay first then ship policy. Let the buyer wire the money to you or send you a money order. Once we receive the cash, then we can ship.

[akshay4587]

I recieved a similar email for an expansion chamber i had listed.
The buyer wanted it as a gift for dad,that made me suspicious,why would anyone gift an expansion chamber to his\her father.
Wanted to start a thread on it,but slipped out of my mind,so i aint the only one here,and in my case as well,it was mentioned as item listed on craiglist,i was like heck i never put it up there.

[GTO]

I'd listed my '93 Honda Accord for sale on cars.com in 2003. Not only was a buyer interested, he actually sent across a banker's cheque! Later found out that even if the banker's cheque is deposited & money credited to your account, the American bank would take a month to find out that it's a fake. Obviously, the money is then debited from your a/c.

[Bass&Trouble]

Originally Posted by Tejas@perioimpl

Either he will send you a fake paypal receipt that the money is transferred and get the item picked or will pay in paypal, pick the item and dispute the transaction since you have no proof of delivery and paypal will side with the buyer.

I do a decent bit of sales online. Payment is credited to our bank account by online transfer in most cases, and very rarely people make payment to PayPal account.

Now I suppose an online payment can never be reversed, or disputed. So we ship immediately once the sum is credited.

In PayPal, I make sure to check the Paypal transactions details by loggin into PayPal.com rather than just looking at some email or screengrab I may have received. And all products are shipped out, so I have a receipt from the courier company, or if it is hand-delivered, there is a signed copy of delivery challan/ invoice.

In either scenario, do you see any risk this operation might be exposed to?

[Sankar]

This is the mail i got after i posted my wheels for sale in TBHP classifieds. I never replied to it and deleted the mail. Now that i saw this post of yours i'm sharing a screen shot of the same.



I never posted anything on Craigslist, infact i never do I just replied to that email now, to see where it goes.

[prateekm]

Important tip, if you sell a product and you get scammed (the person makes a dispute), then call up PayPal, send them proofs and tell them that is was an 'intangible product'. 99.9%, you will win the case and keep the money.

Originally Posted by condor

@Prateek, what's an "intangible product" that you refer to here ? Are you not selling an item / product ?

I didn't go through the full topic, just gave a general tip, which I is off topic.

[condor]

Originally Posted by prateekm

.. and tell them that is was an 'intangible product'.

@Prateek, what's an "intangible product" that you refer to here ? Are you not selling an item / product ?

[ariendj]

most of the deals talked about here are related to automobiles but i have had such big times scams while trying to sell one of my properties.
and its rampant in our own Indian real estate sites such as magicbricks.com,99acres.com

[Sankar]

Guess what! I found rose kim's reply when i checked my mail this morning, its the same old story - Gift for dad!

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Lol. It's the exact copy paste from what was sent to me. Mine was from: john bull <bulljohn63@gmail.com>

[akshay4587]

In my case as well it was Rose Kim ,who wanted to buy the expansion chamber,in fact i even replied telling i never put it up on craiglist,but then i got the same replying informing it to be a gift for dad