Does This Sound Fishy?

[bbennett]

I'm selling my Intense 6.6 on KSL and got this response:

"Do you still have the AD for sale?Let me know that present condition of it and why you are selling it."

To which I replied:

"The Intense 6.6 is in good condition but could use a tune-up. I'm selling it because I need the money. I'm honestly heartbroken to get rid of it as I will now be forced to ride my spare bike- an old K2 Lithium."

Then I got this:

"
Thanks for your swift response, I'm seriously interested in buying this for my son,Your asking price is quite reasonable and affordable considering others I've seen lately, I'll take it.


I would have loved to come check it out my self but am currently in camp as Marine instructor for new recruits. I won't be able to leave the base until 9th of June. I however squeezed out time to check this posting as all personal dealings are highly restricted here, i really want this as a surprise gift for my son so i won't let him know anything about this until it gets delivered to him and due to the fact that phone calls are restricted.....


I will be paying you with my PayPal account because it's attached to my bank account and its safe and very secure way to make payment. If my mode of payment is accepted just send me your paypal email address,(PayPal ID) so i can pay in right away. I have a private courier agent that will come for the pick up after payments has been made, so no shipping included. I'll need your name, the pickup address or location and please include your PayPal email address for the payment and send me some recent pictures if available And if you don't have a paypal account, you can easily go to www.paypal.com and sign up. its very easy.


I await your reply asap.


Thanks."

Seems kind of weird but I'm down with a paypal payment. Thoughts?

[Scott Card]

Suspicious? Yes. The grammar is, well, not native "merican". I am not sure how to swindle PayPal but I am sure it is possible. How is he going to pick up? Ship? I'd probably take cash on June 9th and keep it on the market for another buyer - with cash. Again, I guess there are Russian/middle eastern marines who speak like "Peggy" on the TV commercials... I guess.

[Iceaxe]

Probably a scam.... here is a link to a similar scam: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...7153724AAZsoHk

Call Paypal and ask them if it is legit.... I do a ton of business through PayPal and they are very easy to work with, at least for me.

Or just email back and say you will only except a cashiers check.

[Deathcricket]

Hmmm.. You are right to be suspicious.. But I have no clue how they would pull this off, seems legit what he is describing. But yeah this reeks of scam. His verbiage is definitely off.

Edit: Ice beat me too it, looks like same exact scam.

[Iceaxe]

Sounds more and more like a scam.... looks like they are trying #4 on you....

There are plenty of scams using Paypal's name

1 - they send you an email saying money has been sent but due to new security measures it will not be credited until you send the tracking info. So you send the item, email the tracking info, then check Paypal and there is NO money in your account. You call Paypal who tells you they never emailed you, there was no transaction and they NEVER ask for tracking info before crediting your account

2 - they send you money from a hacked Paypal account, you ship the item, then the real account holder discovers the theft, reports it to Paypal and the money is refunded from your account

3 - they send you a fake Paypal email saying money has been sent but you have to click on a link to verify the transaction - which leads you to a fake but real looking Paypal log-in page that you log into -- and you just got your account hacked

4 - they send you money from a real Paypal account, ask you to ship to a certain address, then file a chargeback. If you did not check with Paypal that the address they gave you was the "verified" address and you sent anywhere but the verified address, they claim they never received the item and Paypal refunds them. It doesn't matter if you have proof it was delivered to the other address along with an email from the buyer telling you to ship to that address. If you ship anywhere but the verified Paypal mailing address, you have NO protection and Paypal will always side with the buyer

Unless you are selling through Ebay, make sure any listing says across the top and bottom in all caps

** LOCAL BUYERS ONLY, CASH ONLY, NO SHIPPING **
and ignore everyone who wants anything else

And now you know it's a scam write back and tell the crook paypal is great, but you can only ship to a "paypal verified address", and see what he comes back with....

[bbennett]

Somehow I knew I could count on you guys. Thanks .I'm going to tell them that I can only ship to a verified paypal address and that I'm willing to discount the price of shipping from my asking price and see what they say.

In the mean time, anyone want to buy an Intense 6.6?

[accadacca]

Certainly fishy from the verbiage if nothing else. That stuff cracks me up.

[Alex]

It's a scam, especially with KSL ad. Most of the time the Paypal account is hijacked. They don't even need to do the chargeback, because the account isn't theirs in the first place.

I've seen the "deployed marine" scams at work already. Just like Ice said, cashier check or cash in hand or take a hike.

[Win]

Do not take a cashiers check, they can be easily counterfeited. What you have is a scam, I get this same thing whenever I list on KSL or Craigslist. I take only cash or in the case of something really expensive, a bank transfer. I do use Paypal but only for Ebay or with people I know.

[DesertDuke]

And, a "Marine Instructor" would have actually called his/herself a Drill Instructor, a term used with pride and never substituted. And, they don't not have limited calls, the recruits do though they can still make them. That alone shows it to be crap.

[IntrepidTraveler]

As others have said, definitely a scam. Bigest red flag for me is he didn't mention anything specific about the item at all. Just called it " the AD" and "buying this".

If they can't ask or reference something specific about the item, then I generally disregard. I might reply once with a leading question to determine if it's a scammer, but that's it.