Possible Scam Or Legit Ebay

[y2jay76]

I RECEIVED THIS EMAIL TODAY, I NOT SURE IF THIS IS SOMETHING COMMON OR IF IT IS SOMEHOW A SCAM. ANY HELP OR IF YOU HAVE HAD A SIMILIAR TRANSACTION LIKE THIS.

hello seller We are interested in your item and we would be paying via money order as soon as u get the approval confirmation from western union we will send you a ups label and do the pick up same day bcos we need the item in the next 4days ok so send us your address ,name and item number for the payment if u agree to ship it out as soon as u get the approval confirmation from western union mail me back asap if u agree and we will be shipping it with our UPS label we will be shipping to AFRICA ok so mail us so dat we can make this a deal and make it very fast so dat i can arrange for the payment and shipping today and we also have stores all over AFRICA where we sell such items and i know this will do my company and you a great good and favour ok so mail me back as soon as possible REGARDS . we will need 2 of this so send the amount

[ripleysmom]

I would not send it until I received the money.

[Cyndiu]

Make certain that you HAVE the money before you send anything. Check with a local Western Union vendor (with a store front), don't just rely on an email or a website. These can be falsified and a true computer whiz can trick even the most discerning eye.

[y2jay76]

thanx for fast reply, my concern is never dealing with a western union before, i don't know ins and out of process but they did make it sound as if i would receive notification that money was there most likely through email. so i should most likely do the deal but tell them i will send out when i physically go to western union office, Is that when THey give me a money order there????
Once i have money from western union i should not encounter any prob cashing that at my bank?? Funds have to be paid like a regular money order correct???

[HeatherAnn23]

I was wondering.....did this person actually win the auction, or are they offering to buy an item outside of Ebay? I was recently caught in a huge scam that involved someone stealing my Ebay account - and they emailed many, many Ebayers asking them to do business through private transactions involving Western Union. I would be wary just because of that experience - do you accept Paypal? It might afford you greater protection.

[y2jay76]

hi, i received email only hours after auction went on, my bin is 150.00, i mentioned paypal in reply back to them. start price 49.99, i also received email for someone else pretty much asking me to do just that by saying i willing to pay u $90 let me know if u are interested he says. it seems to be a lot less hassle to sell to him instead but he can bid $90 and take a chance i have no reserve and i not gonna end auction early. i could change bin to 90 for him since i have no bids yet, but why would i want and do a thing like that? lol, i will have to see what this western union guy is really asking me to do.

This was my reply to him
hello,
i have no prob meeting your requests just not really sure what they are. my understanding is you will use buy it now of $150.00. u wish me to wave shipping charge because you will be sending a ups label for me to use. then you will be paying through western union prior to shipping. next i will receive confirmation that..... you did what... ( this is where i not sure) will i be able to go to a western union site and pick up money order there or i will just be able to confirm that u purchased one??? if the latter is the answer, where is my assurance that money order is actually on the way to my home, if i just send out product without actually having money order in my hand, sorry to sound dumb but i have never used western union only paypal.

[epcotfan]

Don't do it! This sounds like a big time scam to me. Sounds like they are attempting a wire transfer. This so called buyer is also putting a lot of pressure on time sensitivity and it is being shipped to Africa. They probably want it shipped the same day so you don't have time to verify the funds.

[GAIL HAYDEN]

There is a lot of that going around. Dee has his Alfa out on the market and we have had a couple of offers IF we take more than the offer and send them back the difference. Dee said sure, send the money to his attorney and he can handle the transaction.
Amazingly, we have not heard from these people since.
It is a scam to launder money or bilk you out of it. Report it to Ebay and your atty. general.

[familyoffive]

Don't do it!

[Tink10]

I've done quite a bit of reading up on online purchase scams & found out that.....

*A majority of online purchasing scams originate in Africa (many sellers, both large & small won't ship there under any circumstances)

* A number of "scammers" will want an item shipped to a completely different country.

*95% of the time, when a scammer orders, they need it VERY quickly

*When they order, they almost always want more than 1 of the same item.......

I sell on & off Ebay to both US & overseas & have found that if you're scammed by someone outside of the US, you have absolutely no recourse if they are using a stolen credit card or have tampered with other online payment services.

Also, Paypal offers no seller protection for overseas online payments.

Other countries to be very wary of shipping to are Russia, The Caribbean, Australia (then shipping to another country), China, Malaysia, India & Thailand.

I Hope This Helps!

[y2jay76]

hi all thanks for comments here is their latest email and my reply after contacting western union direct.
this is their email
we got your mail,sure we have a ups account for the pick up,but we will like to pay via western union and it takes 7-10days before you can have your money,it is sure that you will definately have your money in as much you are sent an approval letter confirming that we have paid for the item and we do not use wire transfer which will gets to your account in 24hrs time,and for now we will need just one then when this product is needed we let you know as well,mail now if you will ship the package out dat day you receive an approval letter,bye have a great day.we will use buy it now,no qualm


here is my reply:
hi,
i would love to complete this transaction with you, however when i spoke to western union today they were not familiar with confirmation of a money order, they did state they could verify that one was purchased if i received proper indenifing numbers and such, but could provide no assurance that money order would reach my home, since that would relay on it actually being mailed out. Just cause one was purchased does not mean a seller has to receive it. Another option is paypal,you do not even have to have a paypal account to send money securely over the internet, just a credit card or bank transfer and a credit card is instant, i would receive that before ups could even get to my door. Sorry for hesitation, but the confirmation that you speak of from western union does not seem like real confirmation of eventually receiving payment, please let me know how to put my mind at ease to carry out a smooth transaction for both of us. maybe i still just don't understand process.is this through westion union auction payment or a bidpay???
look forward to hearing from you,

WE WILL SEE WHAT THEIR REPLY IS TO THAT.

[2angelsinheaven]

It sounds kinda like a huge scam going around. One of which I almost fell victim to. Here was the senario I came into. I was selling a hospital bed, got an email asking if I would sell it now to them for a little more than what I was asking if they could have it right away.
They wanted me to cash a money order they would send me, at a check cashing place, send the excess funds (sent me more than the bed) and then they would pick up the bed after they got the extra money. Of course the money order was a fake one and if I would have cashed it, and not deposited it, I would have been out $7,000... instead I was out $25.00 (bank charge for phoney check) and a whole of police reports, bank investigations, etc. Either way it stunk, but if they really wanted the bed they would send the money and wait for it to clear. WAIT, do not cash the money order, do not cash it at your bank either... until the check is verified and they give you the money DO NOT DO IT, it took 2 weeks to find out the check I was given was bad.... thank god I waited.

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by y2jay76
hi all thanks for comments here is their latest email and my reply after contacting western union direct.
this is their email
we got your mail,sure we have a ups account for the pick up,but we will like to pay via western union and it takes 7-10days before you can have your money,it is sure that you will definately have your money in as much you are sent an approval letter confirming that we have paid for the item and we do not use wire transfer which will gets to your account in 24hrs time,and for now we will need just one then when this product is needed we let you know as well,mail now if you will ship the package out dat day you receive an approval letter,bye have a great day.we will use buy it now,no qualm


here is my reply:
hi,
i would love to complete this transaction with you, however when i spoke to western union today they were not familiar with confirmation of a money order, they did state they could verify that one was purchased if i received proper indenifing numbers and such, but could provide no assurance that money order would reach my home, since that would relay on it actually being mailed out. Just cause one was purchased does not mean a seller has to receive it. Another option is paypal,you do not even have to have a paypal account to send money securely over the internet, just a credit card or bank transfer and a credit card is instant, i would receive that before ups could even get to my door. Sorry for hesitation, but the confirmation that you speak of from western union does not seem like real confirmation of eventually receiving payment, please let me know how to put my mind at ease to carry out a smooth transaction for both of us. maybe i still just don't understand process.is this through westion union auction payment or a bidpay???
look forward to hearing from you,

WE WILL SEE WHAT THEIR REPLY IS TO THAT.

Tell the to send the funds to your attorney. See if they respond to that. :)

[Luv2Roam]

I vote scam. ;)

[summerrluvv]

Definately sounds like a scam.

Also, I wouldn't end an auction early for people that send "offers" They usually know the item will go higher than the buy it now and that's why they try to "low ball" you.

[DNBois]

I have been buying and selling on ebay for over a year - I wouldn't consider myself an expert but I can say that I have learned a quite a few things. I estimate that I have sold at least 100 items on ebay and overall have ahd a plesant experience. It took me a while to figure that these types of e-mails are most DEFINITELY scams.
If you notice, it doesn't mention the particular item and why they have an interest in it. It is an e-mail that is sent in bulk to many ebayers hoping that someone would forward any information that could be used to most likely do something illegal. After the fisrt few times, I realized this and just deleted these e-mails. I do hate to not respond to a potential buyer but in this case, it is definitely understandable and never have I ever recieved follow-up e-mails from any of these individuals requesting why they hadn't recieved a response. Good luck!!

[jgates]

DON'T do it!!!

It can even take a lot longer than 2 weeks for an official check to come back as fraudulent. There was a thread scenario somewhat similar in nature that I linked to from fishingfordeals.com forums - they had to move the original articles a couple of times because they were overloaded and then I believe the fraudulent person hacked back into their site and shut them down!!! He played along regarding a laptop sale and then sent him a box of junk and of course found out there really was no money.

Sit back, pull up a foot-stool and read away - appears this link still works - Scammer article (http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=1053057&perpage=40&pagenumber=1)

[TIGGERSMOM]

NO way - don't do it.

There are ings of African particularly Nigerian operatives who send these out enmass. They are hoping about 25% wll respond. If you get only 25% of a couple hundred thousand dollars laundered pretty good haul.

They do the same hting with CC apps. You know the ones in stores you see. They fill out a couple thousand and mail them at once. If only 10% get through - free credit.

Email and tell them you will treat it like a personal check from overseas and must hold for 60 days for bank confirmation. I would bet you never hear from them again.

[ekmdisney]

DON'T DO IT!!

Just today on the local news here in Atlanta, they were talking about something like this.

This poor woman, meet the guy through a chat line on the internet, he lived in a different country.

He started to make his move, to make her trust him, and and think that they were in love.

Now she is an owner of a small mom and pop gift shop. He started asking her to make small purchases though her shop with the CC#s the he gave her over the internet. So some times he would buy like four candle holders, and then have her over night them to him. She had questions, because something deep down just didn't feel right. But he always assured her that all was well.

Then one day the police showed up, to let her know that the guy had been using stolen CC to make the purchases. And she almost got in trouble with the law as well.

SO DON'T DO IT!

[RickinNYC]

DO NOT DO IT!

In fact, a close friend of ours is with the FBI (truly and honestly). He's part of the unit who is investigating this type of fraud. The buyer will put in the offer in exactly the terms you described and when you attempt to deposit the check, even the bank is fooled. Then when the bank attempts to cash the check or money order, they find out it's a phoney.

You're out your item(s) because you've already sent it out in good faith assuming you had received legitimate payment, and you're out bank fees.

On other occasions, the buyer will also tell you that they will send a money order or bank check for the full amount, plus an additional amount. They will ask you to send the difference back to them in cash or in money order (not sure what reason they give but apparently its fairly convincing). Then the process starts.

I may have mixed a few things up. Probably have. But I was just talking about this exact scam with our friend.

[sk!mom]

I agree that this sounds very fishy. I wouldn't do it.
I also think that it is a major red flag when someone asks you to cash a money order or check and send them back the difference. I cannot think of a single legitamate reason for doing this.

[y2jay76]

hi,
thank you all for your replies. i tend to agree with most of you, i cant think of a reason for someone to take amount over bid and send money back, this guy didn't want to do that, he just wanted to probably send me a phony money order, or not send one at all but make his own confirmation letter stating i would receive funds in 7-10 days, my attitude was always then i will ship in 7-10 days.
now for the kicker!!!!! ebay sent me this email this morning:
Please be aware that we have recently cancelled bids for the buyer
noted above due to our inability to confirm his or her contact information
and/or the failure to complete recent transactions. The buyer's
privileges to trade on eBay have been temporarily suspended while we
investigate this matter further.

Our records indicate that this buyer recently attempted to complete a
transaction with you. Since the buyer is not currently registered on the
eBay site, you may consider the transaction null and void if you have
not already shipped the item.

If you have already shipped the item, we advise you to consider taking
the following steps at this time:

1. Contact the company that was used to send payment to verify whether
or not funds have cleared.

2. Contact law enforcement in the area where the buyer lives if you
find that the funds are fraudulent. Be sure to be as specific as possible,
including names, addresses, phone numbers or any other information that
you may have about the buyer. If a detective is assigned to your case,
please ask him or her to contact us so that we can assist in the
investigation.

3. Contact the shipping carrier to determine whether or not it may be
possible to stop shipment on the package.

4. Consider filing a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center
(IFCC). The IFCC is partnership between the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center. The IFCC will review
and evaluate complaints and refer information to the appropriate local,
state, or federal agency. Every complaint that is referred by the IFCC
is sent to one or more law enforcement or regulatory agencies that have
jurisdiction over that matter. You can file a complaint with the IFCC
at:

http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

5. If your package was shipped via USPS, you may be able to file a mail
fraud complaint at:
https://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFraudComplaint.htm

6. In the event that you are not able to receive funds for this sale,
you can file for a credit of your Final Value Fees, provided it has not
been 45 days or more since the auction ended. To request a Final Value
Fee credit, please follow the steps below:

1. Click the "site map" link at the top of any eBay page.
2. On the "Site Map" page, click the link "Request final value fee
credit" under the "Seller Accounts" heading in the middle column.

If you have any concerns or questions about this situation or any other
eBay-related issues you can visit our help system by clicking on "Help"
on the navigation bar at the top of any eBay web page.

Regards,

Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc

.I never saw that before. and guess what this buyer emailed also this morning.it is as follows.
as i have tols you that my store is in africa that i want to send it there,do you think i am lying about the paypal all it say is that the page cannot be displayed,and also i have not seen the second you sent,so mail now to know if i should use western union.

needless to say i sent him a reply to say he needs to contact ebay because they will not let me complete transaction with him.

okay last question???
Can he leave me my first negative feedback ever or will ebay knock it out, also i relisted item this morning

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by y2jay76
hi,
thank you all for your replies. i tend to agree with most of you, i cant think of a reason for someone to take amount over bid and send money back, this guy didn't want to do that, he just wanted to probably send me a phony money order, or not send one at all but make his own confirmation letter stating i would receive funds in 7-10 days, my attitude was always then i will ship in 7-10 days.
now for the kicker!!!!! ebay sent me this email this morning:
Please be aware that we have recently cancelled bids for the buyer
noted above due to our inability to confirm his or her contact information
and/or the failure to complete recent transactions. The buyer's
privileges to trade on eBay have been temporarily suspended while we
investigate this matter further.

Our records indicate that this buyer recently attempted to complete a
transaction with you. Since the buyer is not currently registered on the
eBay site, you may consider the transaction null and void if you have
not already shipped the item.

If you have already shipped the item, we advise you to consider taking
the following steps at this time:

1. Contact the company that was used to send payment to verify whether
or not funds have cleared.

2. Contact law enforcement in the area where the buyer lives if you
find that the funds are fraudulent. Be sure to be as specific as possible,
including names, addresses, phone numbers or any other information that
you may have about the buyer. If a detective is assigned to your case,
please ask him or her to contact us so that we can assist in the
investigation.

3. Contact the shipping carrier to determine whether or not it may be
possible to stop shipment on the package.

4. Consider filing a complaint with the Internet Fraud Complaint Center
(IFCC). The IFCC is partnership between the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and the National White Collar Crime Center. The IFCC will review
and evaluate complaints and refer information to the appropriate local,
state, or federal agency. Every complaint that is referred by the IFCC
is sent to one or more law enforcement or regulatory agencies that have
jurisdiction over that matter. You can file a complaint with the IFCC
at:

http://www1.ifccfbi.gov/index.asp

5. If your package was shipped via USPS, you may be able to file a mail
fraud complaint at:
https://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/MailFraudComplaint.htm

6. In the event that you are not able to receive funds for this sale,
you can file for a credit of your Final Value Fees, provided it has not
been 45 days or more since the auction ended. To request a Final Value
Fee credit, please follow the steps below:

1. Click the "site map" link at the top of any eBay page.
2. On the "Site Map" page, click the link "Request final value fee
credit" under the "Seller Accounts" heading in the middle column.

If you have any concerns or questions about this situation or any other
eBay-related issues you can visit our help system by clicking on "Help"
on the navigation bar at the top of any eBay web page.

Regards,

Customer Support (Trust and Safety Department)
eBay Inc

.I never saw that before. and guess what this buyer emailed also this morning.it is as follows.
as i have tols you that my store is in africa that i want to send it there,do you think i am lying about the paypal all it say is that the page cannot be displayed,and also i have not seen the second you sent,so mail now to know if i should use western union.

needless to say i sent him a reply to say he needs to contact ebay because they will not let me complete transaction with him.

okay last question???
Can he leave me my first negative feedback ever or will ebay knock it out, also i relisted item this morning

I don't think he can leave a neg. feedback, but, if he does, I think ebay can take care of that. Ask them. Better a neg. feedback that you can address than being bilked big time.

[piglet33]

If he is not a registered user at Ebay anymore, then he cannot leave you negative or positive feedback. You also would not be able to leave him feedback either. That happened to me. Ebay said only registered users are allowed to leave feedback.

This whole thing is so scary. Also, remember that Ebay will never ask you to confirm any private info like your credit card in an email. Make sure you forward those emails to spoof@ebay.com. They do look into these.

Reneé

[y2jay76]

thanks again
i relisted this morning as i said early, someone else has used buy it now and another one of my auctions for a total of 160.00 and is right in harrisburg pa, i live in the poconos, pa. nice and close they said money order will go out asap. so much better.
p.s latest on other guy :
should we forget about the item then,mail now thanks

i said i believe so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[missydisney]

I sell on ebay and would definatly NOT trust that. I list my payment terms. Cashiers Check Money Order or Paypal. If they can pay thru Western Union chances are they could set up a paypal account. I wouldn't trust this at all.

[Forever42]

jgates

The P-p-p-powerbook was the first thing I thought of when I read this thread!