Below you will find 3 emails relating to two different people interested in a car I was selling. I've never sold a car before so for me the process in an of itself was a little confusing. But I'm happy to say I didn't allow myself to be taken advantage of by the following Craigslist scammers.
Craigslist Scammer Example #1. Hamilton Lopez (Hamiltonlopez14@gmail.com)
Why I believe this is a scam attempt?
1. The person is asking to buy my car at my asking price Sight-Unseen
2. They want to buy the vehicle using a non-cash form of payment. In this case Paypal.
3. The buyer's grammar isn't perfect (not exactly a deal-breaker, but still something to point out)
What happened next?
I asked this person if there was anyone they could send money to that could meet me to make the sale. They told me it's not possible and they wanted to keep it a surprise for their "Dad" so no family could be involved. I said okay and goodbye.
After a quick search on the web I found that other people were being contacted by this person for vehicles many many states away from mine. So this person has been trying to scam people on craigslist since at least April of 2012. (link to the other site: http://www.crownvic.us/forum/showthread.php?13863-It-s-in-your-mouth!!!-*WW*-*WW*/page402). You will see that the scammer's email message to me is identical to the one sent back in April.
Craigslist Scammer Example #2. Paul L. Boone (Boone.Paull@googlemail.com)
Why I believe this is a scam attempt?
1. The person is asking to buy my car at my asking price Sight-Unseen, and doesn't need to ask any additional questions about it.
2. They want to buy the vehicle using a non-cash form of payment. In this case Paypal.
Again similar MO to the first and sounds way too sketchy to be true.
After a quick search on the web I found that other people were being contacted by this person for vehicles many many states away from mine. So this person has been trying to scam people on craigslist since at least July of 2012. (link to the other site: Why I believe this is a scam attempt?
1. The person is asking to buy my car at my asking price Sight-Unseen
2. They want to buy the vehicle using a non-cash form of payment. In this case Paypal.
3. There buyer's grammar isn't perfect (not exactly a deal-breaker, but still something to point out)
After a quick search on the web I found that other people were being contacted by this person for vehicles many many states away from mine. So this person has been trying to scam people on craigslist since at least July of 2012. (link to the other site: http://www.scamdex.com/ScamTipReports/3618). You can see that the scammer's email message to me is identical to the one sent to Craiglist sellers in Texas and Georgia.
What's the big deal? Aren't you protected through Paypal???
If someone puts money into your account and you sell that item to the buyer you would think that you are covered through paypal seller protection. I wasn't sure so I called paypal to find the answer. Their hotline told me that as a seller you are protected against fraud and faulty claims made by the buyers. That is to say paypal will investigate the claim before stripping you of the funds you just received.
The hotline didn't tell me the following ways Seller Protection can be voided:
1. The person is asking to buy my car at my asking price Sight-Unseen
2. They want to buy the vehicle using a non-cash form of payment. In this case Paypal.
3. The buyer's grammar isn't perfect (not exactly a deal-breaker, but still something to point out)
What happened next?
I asked this person if there was anyone they could send money to that could meet me to make the sale. They told me it's not possible and they wanted to keep it a surprise for their "Dad" so no family could be involved. I said okay and goodbye.
After a quick search on the web I found that other people were being contacted by this person for vehicles many many states away from mine. So this person has been trying to scam people on craigslist since at least April of 2012. (link to the other site: http://www.crownvic.us/forum/showthread.php?13863-It-s-in-your-mouth!!!-*WW*-*WW*/page402). You will see that the scammer's email message to me is identical to the one sent back in April.
Craigslist Scammer Example #2. Paul L. Boone (Boone.Paull@googlemail.com)
1. The person is asking to buy my car at my asking price Sight-Unseen, and doesn't need to ask any additional questions about it.
2. They want to buy the vehicle using a non-cash form of payment. In this case Paypal.
Again similar MO to the first and sounds way too sketchy to be true.
After a quick search on the web I found that other people were being contacted by this person for vehicles many many states away from mine. So this person has been trying to scam people on craigslist since at least July of 2012. (link to the other site: Why I believe this is a scam attempt?
1. The person is asking to buy my car at my asking price Sight-Unseen
2. They want to buy the vehicle using a non-cash form of payment. In this case Paypal.
3. There buyer's grammar isn't perfect (not exactly a deal-breaker, but still something to point out)
After a quick search on the web I found that other people were being contacted by this person for vehicles many many states away from mine. So this person has been trying to scam people on craigslist since at least July of 2012. (link to the other site: http://www.scamdex.com/ScamTipReports/3618). You can see that the scammer's email message to me is identical to the one sent to Craiglist sellers in Texas and Georgia.
What's the big deal? Aren't you protected through Paypal???
If someone puts money into your account and you sell that item to the buyer you would think that you are covered through paypal seller protection. I wasn't sure so I called paypal to find the answer. Their hotline told me that as a seller you are protected against fraud and faulty claims made by the buyers. That is to say paypal will investigate the claim before stripping you of the funds you just received.
The hotline didn't tell me the following ways Seller Protection can be voided:
When you are not covered:
- Items are picked up locally or delivered in person.
- You sell services, intangible items, or digital goods.
- You receive multiple payments for the same item.
- You've received a claim or a chargeback, and the shipped item is found to be significantly different than it was described.
Example: You describe a new laptop, but send a used one. - PayPal Direct Payments
- Virtual Terminal Payments
- PayPal Business Payments
- Items that are not shipped to the recipient shipping address on the transaction details page. If you originally ship the item to the shipping address but the item is later redirected to a different address, you will not be eligible for PayPal Seller protection. We therefore recommend not using a shipping service that is arranged by the buyer, so that you will be able to provide valid proof of shipping and delivery.
Further things to be aware of:
4.4 Risk of Reversals, Chargebacks and Claims. When you receive a payment, you are liable to PayPal for the full amount of the payment sent to you plus any Fees if the payment is later invalidated for any reason. This means that, in addition to any other liability, you will be responsible for the amount of the payment sent by the sender, plus the applicable Fees listed in Section 8 (Fees) of this Agreement if you lose a Claim or a Chargeback, or if there is a Reversal of the payment. You agree to allow PayPal to recover any amounts due to PayPal by debiting your Balance. If there are insufficient funds in your Balance to cover your liability, you agree to reimburse PayPal through other means. If a sender of a payment files a Chargeback, the credit card issuer, not PayPal, will determine who wins the Chargeback.
So just something to consider when using Paypal and selling or delivering said items to local buyers. You will not be protected when a buyer has their credit card cancel a transaction.
Not trying to be paranoid, there's plenty of good people using Craigslist and Paypal.
But when things don't seem right, remember the old saying, "Cash is King".
