Scaming on Craigslist with paypal.?

[eugene thomas]

Selling shaper on cl and guy used the have picked line but wanted to pay with PayPal. Just wondering what angle is. I know PayPal has protections but...

[Jim Koepke]

guy used the have picked line

Not quite sure what this means. Is this an item to be picked up? If he is prepared to pick it up, he should be able to pay cash.

jtk

[eugene thomas]

Basically similar deal to the one where person wants to buy item sends you check and tells you he will have shipped pick up. Just wondering how scam works with paypal...

[Malcolm Schweizer]

They claim non receipt and you have no proof since it was not shipped. PayPal refunds them their money, and you lose your item.

[John Lanciani]

With Craigslist, if you are offered anything other than face to face and cash, it’s a scam. Delete and move on.

[Brian Henderson]

They claim non receipt and you have no proof since it was not shipped. PayPal refunds them their money, and you lose your item.

That's pretty easy to fix though, just take a picture of them loading the item onto the truck and have pictures of the bill of lading with the buyer's information on it. Since it proves they set up the shipping and what shipping company was used, PayPal should accept that as proof of shipping.

[Lee Schierer]

Ask for a drivers license of the buyer and take a photo of it. Also ask them to sign a receipt. Get the license number of their vehicle as well. Have a family member video the entire trans action.

[Myk Rian]

Cash, and only cash on CL.

[Matt Day]

Cash, and only cash on CL.

Agreed.

If he has money in PayPal he can get cash too.

[Mike Henderson]

Agreed - Cash on delivery. No PayPal. The guy could have breached someone else's PayPal account.

I was selling something and got that scam. I told the guy cash only. He replied that he only uses PayPal. I went back and said, "Sorry, cash only. If no cash, go away."

If they're serious, they'll find a way to pay cash.

Mike

[You can also tell it's a scam because they want to buy it sight unseen. They don't even ask any questions about the condition.]

[Bill Dufour]

Many cities now have special parking at the police station for online transactions like this. Good lighting, recorded and monitored.
I wonder how the Nigerian Bobsled team did so well with crowd source funding considering what most people would think of any email with the word Nigeria in it.
They did not look like princesses to me. They looked like real athletes.
Bil lD

[Mike Cutler]

I've bought a few things listed on Craigslist.
Craigslist is cash only, unless the seller states otherwise.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

That's pretty easy to fix though, just take a picture of them loading the item onto the truck and have pictures of the bill of lading with the buyer's information on it. Since it proves they set up the shipping and what shipping company was used, PayPal should accept that as proof of shipping.

Another problem is it could be a hacked PayPal account. I would only take cash or go to the bank with the buyer and take a cashier's check from the bank itself. Cashier's checks can even be faked these days.

It it really is sad the amount of scams out there. I hate selling vehicles on Craigslist because every time I get this one: "Hey, I want to buy your car for my son, but I work on an oil rig and I want to PayPal you the money and have you ship the car for me." So you are shopping for cars on an island for your son in the states, where we go to get cars because we destroy cars on the island?"

There are tons of ads on our Craigslist showing cars in well-paved driveways with oak trees in the background and manicured lawns- none of which exist where I live. My favorite was the apartment for rent advertised as "roads kept plowed during winter."

Fake- look at that house in the background, and those trees.
379818

Real- dude has no actual parking at his house so he took a pic at Drake's Seat overlook.
379819

[Marc Jeske]

I will say that I HAVE made a few deals as buyer on Clist and paid w Paypal "Friends and Family" method.

Far as I know, there is NO way to turn that $ around once sent.

Please correct me if I am wrong.


So, pre paying w/o recourse means you gotta somehow trust the seller will perform after payment... but that's a separate issue.

Marc

Edit - I failed to add why I did not use cash - All the deals above were NOT within driving distance, and I arranged shipping.

My point is - The Seller cannot lose, only the buyer when pre paying w PP F&F.

[Malcolm Schweizer]

I will say that I HAVE made a few deals as buyer on Clist and paid w Paypal "Friends and Family" method.

Far as I know, there is NO way to turn that $ around once sent.

Please correct me if I am wrong.


So, pre paying w/o recourse means you gotta somehow trust the seller will perform after payment... but that's a separate issue.

Marc

I believe with Friends and Family the only risk you take is that the person could have hacked someone's PayPal, but otherwise it carries no recourse to claim non-receipt because it's supposed to be used to gift money, and not for payment.

[Alan Rutherford]

I often see sellers wanting PayPal payment as a "gift" to get around paying the PP fee and also because they are selling something (firearms) that PP will not allow. If you do that, you have absolutely no recourse. A gift is given with nothing expected in return. You can't undo it and you're not likely to get much help from PayPal if you tell them you were helping scam them out of their fee. Other than that, if you play by their rules and can document things, their protections are supposed to be pretty good. I have not needed to find out.