Is this a scam?

[SammyQ]

I posted two items of furniture on local Gumtree, £100 and £50 as dictated by SheWhoDecidesAll..this was an almost immediate reply:

I want you to consider this a deal as i am willing to pay your full asking price! i actually want to buy it for a family member who is urgently in need of it,
i have checked through your posting and i'm fully satisfied with it. Unfortunately, i would not be able to come personally to view/collect,
i work offshore as an instructor on a oil rig so i dont have time at all, but like i said i am 100% OK with the advert.
However, i have a reliable courier that would help me to pick it up at your preferred location after you have received your money via PayPal as that is the only means of payment available to me at the moment.
I would also appreciate if you could remove the advert asap.

To start off with, please get back to me with suitable collection time so that i can inform the courier agent about it now.

Now, she/he/it signs themselves "Stella Bradley" emailing from [email='[email protected]]'[email protected][/email]'....I provided address, Paypal designation to get paid, yada, yada, only to get this:

"Your paypal email is wrong."

I checked, nope, all working, replied in this vein, only to hear nowt more from the lady in a tearing hurry!

Now, Jessica Bradley is the pseudonym of a group of West African scammers...wonder if this is the same crowd? [Rhetorical].

Just putting it out there to see if my gut feeling has been experienced by anyone else? Don't see HOW they can compromise my PayPal as they haven't 'sent' me any money 'for the courier', only to withdraw it AFTER I'd paid their 'courier'...But, if I am dimmer than usual, please weigh in!

Sam

 

[transatlantic]

I'd just ignore it.

 

[SammyQ]

Probably will, but it seems odd that they dropped it after I called them on the 'faulty Paypal' and I'm just curious (paranoid enough) to wonder if they're pulling something I'm unaware of?
Sam

 

[sunnybob]

Paypal has a phishing link once youre logged in.
Send it all to them straight away.
Then youre covered whatever happens.

 

[transatlantic]

Have you reported it to Paypal just in case?

 

[OscarG]

I can only think after telling you your paypal "isn't working" they're hoping you'll provide them with some other way to receive money, bank details etc that they can exploit.

Can see it's a scam straight away with their opening message where they don't even mention your furniture.

 

[thetyreman]

the fact it was almost immediately should be a big red flag, definitely a scam imo

 

[SammyQ]

Yup. Smells higher than week-old- herring. Thanks for the confirmation Peeps.

Sam

 

[Ian down london way]

SCAM

Run away.

 

[CHJ]

Scam, If you do a Google on the text I would expect to see it and variations cropping up elsewhere.

 

[Rorschach]

Yep it's a scam.

 

[SammyQ]

I must be too cream crackered not to have realised...been a long week. Bought M-in-Law, 'spensive new hearings aids..she 'loses' them inside three days. No insurance ...yet...three-and-one-half-hour search later ...no sign. We suggest the Missus gives her a quick 'pat down' (a la airport) to see if they're caught in her clothes ? "No! No! Don't be silly!" Two hours later, getting ready for bed, she finds them hooked over her pendant alarm, round her neck, caught in her undies....and THAT was just Tuesday evening!

Sam

 

[Bm101]

My Father is ilegaly deposed King of an ainshent (internashenally unreconised) state and has millions to bank I just need some one's bank account in the UK to process payments so Imprerial United States dont take money to spenfd on Iwanka Trumps cloths and wall for mexcans... Anyone of you reading this thread could earn maybe 150,000 US DOLLA. Easy money. WhY work joB.

This seperate matter but I don't know why you people on this forum saying this email from paypal is fake and scam. To me and my Father (hoo has all the dollars) Looks very A1 grayd legit. Please sending all details now asap otherwise you will lose out Sam.
Your frend from intrnet,
bOB.

Edit for Robbo:
For anyone taken in by my cunning disguise I should point out I am not really Prince bOB and you should never give your details away online.

*lifts glasses slightly*
Look, see, it was me all along!
:-$

 

[ScaredyCat]

One of the oldest scams in the book. Alarm bells should ring at the phrase "offshore worker" or similar ... The try to get motorcycles the same was. Keep well away.


.

 

[Robbo3]

My Father etc.

This seperate matter etc.
bOB.

I realise that you think this is humourous but anyone who hasn't seen it before or isn't internet savvy may take it seriously. Please, at least add a couple of smilies to help those with less knowledge.
Thanks.

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Scam

Anything that tries to pressurise you = scam

 

[jim1950]

yes its a scam, I had the same when selling a van a short ago, all his emails etc checked out and the full payment came thought on paypal but one of my sons said no," paypal will reclaim the money later when the van is gone and they found out that a stolen or cloned credit card has been used".
When I called palpay they would not say it was a scam but the guy on the help desk said refund the payment and ask for cash or bank transfer on collection, I did that and the buyer pulled out saying he was not in the uk and could do a bank transfer

 

[SammyQ]

Good to know Jim, thanks. In the hurly burly of moving two households I.was just glad to get another item 'ticked ' and didn't weigh it up enough. You live and learn.

Sam

 

[--Tom--]

Assume you know not to click any links or open any attachments from the scammer, but worth repeating

E.g here’s a screenshot to show it didn’t work, or click this link to check your PayPal etc

 

[SammyQ]

Yup. No probs on that front Tom thanks.
S.