Craigslist/Paypal advice.....

This is not directly related to car stuff, but here goes....

I have a CPAP device listed on Denver Clist. Price is reasonable, not negotiable.

Guy calls/texts me and wants it for his brother. He is gonna arrange for a friend to pick up the unit.

OK. Selling price is $100 and he sends me $250. (Red flag)

Shortly after, he calls me and says: "Oh no, my brother can't use that unit. Please send the money back"

I have emailed Paypal to determine what they will charge me to refund the $ he sent. No response.

Searching the web, it appears that Paypal will want about $10 from me to send $ back to him.

Has anyone seen this before? How did you deal with it?

TIA

Rog

That sure has scam written all over it.  Make him contest the payment, even if it costs you a bit of cash if it turns out honest.  Cheaper than losing the $250.

Mention of "a friend" is another red flag.

My "guess" is that's a scam by using a Paypal loophole. Maybe the money isn't actually been deposited into your account yet, it just says it has. By "refunding" it, you're actually giving him $250. Or that's my theory. I agree with doing nothing and letting him contest it, unless you hear otherwise from Paypal.

Sounds to me like he's using a stolen paypal account or something.  Contact their customer support folks.

Streetwiseguy said:

That sure has scam written all over it.  Make him contest the payment, even if it costs you a bit of cash if it turns out honest.  Cheaper than losing the $250.

^ This, its a scam.  Let him do the legwork and stay out of it.

He paid with a stolen card. After you send the money back he will close the PayPal account. He gets your money, when the card owner disputes it, you lose. 

Ya, scam of some type. Contact customer support, and just wait.

He can cancel the payment if he is legit.  But, as stated, he isn't.  
 

ignore him AND the money.  Both will be gone soon enough

Smells like a scam to me.

100% scam.

Yet another case where the mentality that Craigslist is anything but cash and carry transactions creates trouble.   That simple rule will do wonders to eliminate scammers.  

Never accept those that are "for a friend" or "I'll send you more than it's worth".  Always a scam.

I rarely accept paypal anymore because of how scammy it has become.  They've gotten too big for their britches and they have no real fraud department.  Their solution is to just refund at the drop of a hat.

Cash.  In hand.  No shipping.

Thanks guys.

Kinda knew all this stuff, but wanted wider confirmation.

Thanks again.

Rog

93gsxturbo said:

Yet another case where the mentality that Craigslist is anything but cash and carry transactions creates trouble.   That simple rule will do wonders to eliminate scammers.  

Good in theory, but I have purchased stuff from 1000 miles away. Tough to do cash and carry

93gsxturbo said:

Yet another case where the mentality that Craigslist is anything but cash and carry transactions creates trouble.   That simple rule will do wonders to eliminate scammers.  

I've sold things on CL that were paid with paypal & shipped. Just gotta be careful.

I've bought things remotely and had them shipped or had a friend pick up for me.  
 

ive also had people not want to do it and, while I was bummed, I understood. 
 

I got burned one time when I contacted a seller and convinced them to ship a brand new never used remote gate lock and received a broken one in the mail.  They said they were told it was new and never opened it.  Had I been there in person I would have immediately known.  I ended up scammed on that one. 

This is another example of "if it sounds to good to be true it probably is" I had a experience when I was selling a very expensive sailboat. Guy sent me an email saying he was living in Europe and wanted to buy boat. Asked me my address so he could send cashier check. Two days later I get a FedEx envelope with nothing else in envelope but with cashier check for ten thousand dollars more the asking price. I then get a email saying the extra ten grand was for shipping but shipper would not take job unless he had a two thousand dollar deposit. Was told to send cashier check to a Florida address. Was assured shipping was going to be less then ten grand and I could keep whatever was left over. Took cashier check to bank told them the story. They said check looked real and they would cash it but I would  have to wait a couple weeks for money to clear. They advised it was a scam. I checked out Florida address and it was  vacant house listed with a realtor. 

pirate said:

 They said check looked real and they would cash it but I would  have to wait a couple weeks for money to clear. They advised it was a scam. I checked out Florida address and it was  vacant house listed with a realtor. 

So, did you cash it?

I mean, if someone does something like this, sends a scam check, wht happens if you cash it? Does it just bounce?

In reply to hybridmomentspass :

It'll come back a few weeks later as a fake and they will take the money back out of your account. Deposit it or cash it, doesn't matter. 

hybridmomentspass said:

pirate said:

 They said check looked real and they would cash it but I would  have to wait a couple weeks for money to clear. They advised it was a scam. I checked out Florida address and it was  vacant house listed with a realtor. 

So, did you cash it?

I mean, if someone does something like this, sends a scam check, wht happens if you cash it? Does it just bounce?

Yes.  A money order is assumed good, but still checked.  It has to be drawn from an account into which the money had been received.  Same thing goes for a cashier's check, but with more scrutiny

When you buy a money order or cashier's check, it's really not much different than a regular hand-written check.  The only difference is that instead of depositing it to YOUR account and the routing number being linked to your checking account, you're depositing it directly to the BANK's account.  The approval process isn't much different.  The bank receives the spent check, verifies that the monies were received, and sends payment.  In the case of Pirate's check, they would have deposited the check, electronically sent the information via the routing number to the issuing bank, and they would have declined payment.... eventually.  Pirate's own bank might have differing policies on when the funds are available to him.  I know that my bank has set periods when funds become available; something like next day for personal checks, 4 days for out of state checks, etc.  This is irrespective of when the check actually clears and payment is released.  They are gambling on the fact that 99% of the transactions are above-board in exchange for better/more attractive customer service and therefore more business.

That's assuming that the routing numbers on the "check" are real in the first place.  They are often forgeries made in countries where banks are less regulated.  If you have a friend at a Nigerian bank who can supply you with the check, you're in.  Type in whatever number you want.  Then, the combination of foreign communication, shady practices, and unscrupulous dealings, all they have to do is stall.  After a week of that money sitting in your account, you might assume it's all clear.... hopefully giving you enough time to send the $2000 check to the shipper, or worse, actually send the merchandise.  Then the money disappears from your account and you're screwed.

The person sending the fake check is counting on the fact that the monies will appear to have cleared before they actually do, giving you a false sense of security and proceeding with the next part of the transaction.

I put my old 1200-lb lathe on CL and within minutes, received this:

Thanks for the prompt response to my mail. I will be buying this from you, so please kindly withdraw the advert from site. My husband will overnight the payment asap but he will be paying with a Certified Check from his Bank and it will deliver to you via FEDEX, so I'll need you to provide me with the following information to facilitate the mailing of the check... And am offering additional $70 with the original price to have this asap.

Name to be on the payment...........
Address to mail the check to.............
City, state and zip code .............
Final Asking price...................
Cell phone # to text you on ................

I will make arrangements for the pick up as soon as you have your check clear, due to my work frame and my Kids, I will not be able to come with the cash and pick it up so my husband will mail the check and have someone pick up the item after the check clear., Reference to your post am completely satisfied with it and the payment will be deliver within 48hours..God Bless

Talk about endless clues... I was almost tempted to string them along just to watch them try and pick up the 1200-lb "this" that they'd already paid for.

I also wondered how they'd react if while they were trying to load it, I took a photo of both them and their vehicle license.

Another tip off that they didn't even read my ad, which said "if the ad is up, it's still available", was them first asking, "Is it still available." God bless them as well, as they need it.

Someone explained why they send payment via FEDEX: It's because it avoids their crime becoming a federal offense, which it would if they had used the USPS. Nice try.

What lathe?  What Location?   Kind of in the market... :)

Sorry, that was about a year ago, it's long gone, to a real, actual, cash-paying buyer.

Honestly if you are doing anything on Craigs but cash, you are asking for it.  

Took a cashiers check for my truck when I sold it, met the guy at his bank and had them draft it right there on the spot.  Seemed safe enough. 

Took a cashiers check for my Land Cruiser, but I called the bank to validate it was good and the account was in good standing before signing over the title.