Selling your used stuff online has become commonplace. So have scams taking advantage of the good names of reputable online companies. At the FTC, we’ve heard from people stung by scammers spoofing PayPal. The scam generally goes like this: You post a high-value item, like a used car, for sale online. In no time at all, you get an email from a buyer willing to pay full price — or more! But he sets conditions; he is only willing to pay by PayPal or insists the sale must happen right away. What’s really going on? A ruse to steal your personal information, money or merchandise.
Here are some suspicious situations to look for and steps to safe selling online:
Scenario One: The buyer claims he can only pay via PayPal. Don’t have a PayPal account? No problem, he says. He’ll send you an email with a link so you can set one up.
What should you do? Don’t take the bait. The link will send you to a website masquerading as PayPal. Any information you enter will be collected by the bogus buyer, and may be used to commit fraud. If you need to set up an account, go directly to PayPal.com.
Scenario Two: “Check your email!” The buyer claims he has sent payment to your PayPal account with additional funds so you can ship the merchandise ASAP, but oops, he sent too much money. He asks you to return the extra money via a money wiring service. It’s all a lie, including the extra money the buyer says he included.
What should you do? Log into your PayPal account. Make sure you’ve been paid before you ship. Never follow links in emails from people you don’t know. The safest approach is to open a browser window, navigate to PayPal.com, and log in yourself. Also, if the buyer claims to have sent extra money, and asks for some back, that’s a big red flag.
Scenario Three: The buyer sends you real money through a real PayPal account, and you ship him the car. Problem is, the PayPal account belongs to someone else! You might need to return the money even though the scammer has your wheels.
What now? Contact PayPal and ask them to open an investigation. The company offers seller protections so you aren’t liable for unauthorized transactions. Also file a complaint with the FTC and your local police department.
Learn how to recognize and avoid common online scams. And contact PayPal at spoof@paypal.com if you’ve been stung by a PayPal spoof. The company wants to hear from you.
In reply to Bianca Grove by Rob
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+14086183622 Ann Grove Great, I'm a flight attendant at AA so my schedule tends to be a little crazy and I'll be flying back & forth, i won't able to deal in person, so cash is not an option for me... but i have a Mover that will be coming for the pickup after the payment has been made and cleared. Hi, I have completed the payment and i expect you to have gotten the confirmation email from paypal about it and the pickup process.I wanted to let you know i added the pick up agent commission fee in your payment because the pick up agent only accepts payment via Western Union Transfer which i couldn't do due to my current location.Kindly look into your INBOX or SPAM for notification alert from paypal and let me know if you got and understand the process As per the email sent to me which is similar to yours,The payment is on hold until you follow the instruction given to you, which is for you to make the transfer of the added $400 upfront via western union to the mover name and address HQ and email the western union details to paypal by replying to the confirmation email you got about the payment along with a picture of western union receipt for verification and your account will be Reimbursed with total funds for withdrawal.. Do you understand now?
This just happened today. So sketchy!!!
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Same email I got but I gave my address & Phone number was this a mistake
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+1 (469) 892-8762 Texted me trying to buy my boAt . Offered $5500 so I agreed then he sent me a payment of 6200 through a fake PayPal email services@ paypal What an idiot . Checked my PayPal no payment. Never contacted me again. Thanks for the waste of time .
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