Received this message from a e-bay potential buyer, what kind of scam is it?

[gigahertz20]

Okay, so I'm selling this laptop on e-bay and got this e-mail from a potential buyer

Dear Seller,

I am very impressed with the advert of your listed item on eBay,i will be very happy to purchase this item for my grandson that runs my cloth and textile company abroad who has been faithful tome, i will be offering you (US $1,000) including shipment cost Via EMS Speed post (USPS) kindly send me your PayPal address or send me a PayPal payment request to "I edited out their email"@gmail.com so that i can issue out the payment
to you with immediate effect. i will also like you to end the auction on eBay to confirm that you are willing to sell this item for me. Note: I am paypal verified and also you will have to ship to my paypal confirmed address, kindly Contact immediately you receive this message for smooth discussion and genuine transaction
Mary James
Regards...

I replied with this,

I will only complete the transaction for this laptop through ebay, I only ship within the continental united states, and only ship to a PayPal confirmed address. If you are interested in purchasing this laptop, buy it for the price I have listed. Shipping is only $20 to anywhere in the United States via USPS priority mail.

I received another e-mail this morning saying this,

Hello,

Thanks for the mail and am so sorry for the late response i am willing to but this item from you but am currently on a business trip to Denmark and i wont be back till Christmas Day thats why i want you to ship out the item directly to my grandson Abroad,....If you are willing to sell this item for me kindly get back to me with your paypal email address or send me a paypal payment request so that i can issue out the payment to you with immediate effect.

Mary James...

*Edit*

I replied back with this just to see what the scammer does,

Hello Mary,

The 3 laptops I had available for sale on ebay were sold, but I do have an extra one available that I was thinking of keeping for myself, but I would be willing to sell it to you and ship the item to your grandson abroad as long as you cover the shipping costs. My paypal e-mail address is the same as this hotmail one, "edited"@hotmail.com

Once you send your payment, e-mail me with the shipping address of your grandson, so I can ship the laptop out as soon as possible. After I received the cleared funds into my paypal account, I will ship the laptop.

Have a good day!

Let's see what the scammer replies back with





I know this has to be a scam somehow but I can't figure out what the angle is? First off, this laptop I'm selling is a Gateway M-6862 and they only sell for around $700 including shipping, so why would this person offer a $1,000. Also, these e-mails were sent to my hotmail account and not through the e-bay message system, so they are obviously avoiding that. And finally, their grammar and word usage indicates English is obviously their non-native language. But they are requesting to do it through paypal and want me to send them a paypal request, maybe they are planning on paying me through a hacked paypal account with somebody else's money perhaps?

 

[effowe]

Dude, if you have to ask, it's a scam. Shipping abroad? Come on..

 

[Baked]

I am very impressed with the advert of your listed item on eBay,i will be very happy to purchase this item for my grandson that runs my cloth and textile company abroad

That shit has scam written all over it.

 

[ISAslot]

I got this far in and my scam detector went off: "I am very impressed with the advert..."

 

[Pheran]

More than likely he will pay with a stolen Paypal account, you ship the laptop to BFE, then when the original account holder notices he/she disputes and you possibly lose your money.

 

[M0oG0oGaiPan]

this is a scam. run away screaming

 

[Mermaidman]

The OP's question is 'What is the scam?' Don't scammers go for money instead of merchandise? I can see the OP losing a middling laptop, but not money.

 

[Pheran]

Originally posted by: Mermaidman
The OP's question is 'What is the scam?' Don't scammers go for money instead of merchandise? I can see the OP losing a middling laptop, but not money.

He wouldn't lose his money, but he could easily lose the laptop and any money that he was supposed to have received for it.

 

[gigahertz20]

Well, duh you guys, I know it's a scam, but what I was asking is, what could the scam be? Most likely this person just hi-jacked a paypal account you think?

I could send them a PayPal payment request and tell them I'm willing to sell the laptop to them, if I actually do receive the payment, I could contact the person whose name is on the PayPal account and make sure it's legit. Most likely it's not, and I could inform the person their account has been taken over.

No harm could come to me by just sending this person a paypal payment request.

 

[ConstipatedVigilante]

i will be very happy to purchase this item for my grandson that runs my cloth and textile company abroad who has been faithful tome

Abroad in Nigeria!

Maybe they're chopping up computers and selling the components for a high price? Electronics are really expensive outside the U.S.

 

[jamautosound]

Originally posted by: gigahertz20
Well, duh you guys, I know it's a scam, but what I was asking is, what could the scam be? Most likely this person just hi-jacked a paypal account you think?

Same thing happened to me through Craigslist. The scammer wanted to pay through Paypal to which I said "Cool". I gave him the non-primary e-mail which will accept paypal payments. When I receive said payments I get notified through a different e-mail account.

He said he sent payment four different times. None of them showed in my paypal account and none of them were forwarded to my primary e-mail notification account.

In other words he sent a bogus looking "You been paid through Paypal" e-mail and that was all.

I would post a screenshot but I have since forgotten the password to that junk e-mail account. It's only good for filtering out dipshits like that guy.

 

[krunchykrome]

Originally posted by: Baked
I am very impressed with the advert of your listed item on eBay,i will be very happy to purchase this item for my grandson that runs my cloth and textile company abroad

That shit has scam written all over it.

seriously, its a scam...common sense!!!!


any email you get that starts with a compliment is usually a scam

"Good day humble entity....."

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

yes, it's a stolen paypal account or one funded with a stolen credit card.

 

[thepd7]

I read two lines....scam

 

[torpid]

Originally posted by: jamautosound

Originally posted by: gigahertz20
Well, duh you guys, I know it's a scam, but what I was asking is, what could the scam be? Most likely this person just hi-jacked a paypal account you think?

Same thing happened to me through Craigslist. The scammer wanted to pay through Paypal to which I said "Cool". I gave him the non-primary e-mail which will accept paypal payments. When I receive said payments I get notified through a different e-mail account.

He said he sent payment four different times. None of them showed in my paypal account and none of them were forwarded to my primary e-mail notification account.

In other words he sent a bogus looking "You been paid through Paypal" e-mail and that was all.

I would post a screenshot but I have since forgotten the password to that junk e-mail account. It's only good for filtering out dipshits like that guy.

I was just about to suggest that this was what was happening.

 

[gigahertz20]

Alright, I just replied back to this person with the e-mail below, just having a little fun with the scammer....

Hello Mary,

The 3 laptops I had available for sale on ebay were sold, but I do have an extra one available that I was thinking of keeping for myself, but I would be willing to sell it to you and ship the item to your grandson abroad as long as you cover the shipping costs. My paypal e-mail address is the same as this hotmail one, "edited"@hotmail.com

Once you send your payment, e-mail me with the shipping address of your grandson, so I can ship the laptop out as soon as possible. After I received the cleared funds into my paypal account, I will ship the laptop.

Have a good day!

Let's see what the scammer replies back with

 

[lupi]

Just because you receive a paypal payment on some day does not mean on another that it won't go away. That's the scam.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
yes, it's a stolen paypal account or one funded with a stolen credit card.

Exactly and he ends up getting a $700 laptop free.

OP has no recourse.

 

[OdiN]

You probably won't be sending to the confirmed paypal address either - so you're SOL regarding paypals protection policy.

 

[gigahertz20]

One of the other posts was correct, I just received this e-mail after I sent that last e-mail I posted saying I would ship the laptop to him. The payment they said they sent was bogus, they sent me a fake paypal notice of payment, and of course when I log into my paypal account, there is no pending funds.

Yep, and the person wants me to mail this to Nigeria, lol. Another Nigerian scam....

Hello Mate, Am very happy to inform you that i have issued out the payment to you via PayPal including the shipment cost so i will like you to get the item ship as soon as possible so that we can proceed with the transaction..I will also like you to get me notified as soon as the item is being shipped for verification so that i can inform my grandson...Hope to hear from you as soon as you receive this mail. Here is the shipment address

Name: omolere Oguntoro
Address: N0 10 Olopo Street
City: Ile Ife
State: osun State
Zip Code: 234036
Country: Nigeria

Thanks

Mary James...

 

[Colt45]

Didn't see that one coming.