New paypal scam?

[reeljack]

I just got your typical email of a person who can't be called, is in the military out to sea, blah blah blah. But instead of the normal cashiers check deal, they offered to pay with paypal, and then have a mover come and get the mandolin. Is there a new paypal scam...or a scam that's been out a while that I've never heard of? I shouldn't worry about money because the Nigerian government is giving me $2.5M Euro

Any info would be great.
Adam Murray

[Adam Sweet]

I haven't seen that one yet. LOL

[reeljack]

I'm just curious as to what the scam is...unless they have hacked into someones paypal and can access their accounts.

[G7MOF]

Even after you've recieved the money into your account, It can still be reversed. You are told this whenever you take a payment via Paypal.

[reeljack]

ah ic...

[mandowilli]

Yes, it is a scam. You may receive a subsequent bogus message or link from paypal asking you to log in and do the deal but it will really be from your new found friend and then he will have your sign in.

Tell him that amazingly you are in the moving business in your town and that you know everyone! Who is he using?

[reeljack]

The mando's been sold already...I just deleted the message.

[journeybear]

I get stuff like this now and then. Usually they are more along the lines of notifying me my account needs my attention in order to stay active or needing to verify my information. I never respond because, well, they look fishy, I mean, phishy. And the timing for the latest message couldn't be worse, as I am about to make my largest PayPal transaction ever, on the order of a month's rent.

Dear Customer Your Paypal account Has been limited !‏

From: Service PayPal (Support@Paysbas-banque.securnet)
Sent: Sat 5/26/12 8:22 PM
To: [me@me.com]

This message is here because your junk email filter is set to exclusive.
Wait, it's safe! | I'm not sure, show content

How to activate your PayPal account
Dear PayPal Costmuer,

To get back into your PayPal account, you'll need to relog in in your account.

It's easy:

Click the link below to open a secure browser window.
Confirm that you're the owner of the account, and then follow the instructions.
Relog in your account now

Before log in your account will be activated let us know right away. Reporting it is important because it helps us prevent fraudsters from stealing your information.

Help Center | Security Center
Please don't reply to this email. It'll just confuse the computer that sent it and you won't get a response.

Copyright © 2012 PayPal, Inc. All rights reserved. PayPal is located at 2211 N. First St., San Jose, CA 95131.

PayPal Email ID PP315

My favorite part of this is "It'll just confuse the computer that sent it" - especially considering the Reply To address. And of the course the iffy grammar of "Before log in your account will be activated let us know right away." Gotta love the use of "fraudster," too - that's real businesslike language.

I know stuff like this is junk and these are scam attempts, but sometimes they look pretty real, and get me worried. Especially when they show up right around the time of a transaction, it's all too easy to assume they are part of the process. This stuff just makes me uneasy.

[reeljack]

Here's mine...

Hi there, Thank you for getting back to me.Can you assure me that is in goodstate and that i will not be disappointed with it?I'm ready to payyour asking price and to be honest, i want to buy this for my brotheras his gift. I am a marine engineer that works on the sea at themoment. phone calls making and visiting of website are restricted buti squeezed out time to check this advert and send you an emailregarding it so my only quickest payment option is PayPal as i cansend money via PayPal anytime.Since I'm requesting this transaction tobe done via PayPal, i will be responsible for all the pay palfee/charges on this transaction and if you don't have an account withpaypal, it is pretty easy, safe and secured to open one. Just log onto . I hope we can make the purchase as fast aspossible? I have a mover that will come for it once payment clears . iwill like to see more pics i look forward to hear back from you soon. Below are the details needed Your PayPal e-Mail Address :Full name:Firm Price: Thank You

[reeljack]

didn't realize the web site was still in there...it was removed incase it was malicious

[didimauw]

i got that scam once, trying to sell a guitar on craigslist. i had said cash only, in person. and she tried teling me that she will send me more than i asked for to send it to her. i kept saying no, that was not a part of the deal, cash only blah blah. she insisted how easy it was to send it western union. it was actually really wierd. she was somehow sent me fake irs emails sayin that i was going to get in trouble because she "already sent me the amount" and what not. i was able to contact paypal about that , and they told me that this was a scam and the irs emails were fake as well. she was also able to steal money from my bank account through my paypal. which i was also able to get refunded. its a scary world out there. be careful!

[John Flynn]

I guess I don't understand this stuff as well as I should and I would appreciate someone spelling it out for me in simple terms. Is what this thread is saying that PayPal is not a secure way to buy or sell instruments? Or are there specific precautions that should be taken or specific things to be avoided to ensure it's security? I really need to know. I plan to do some instrument selling soon.

[Mike Bunting]

I guess I don't understand this stuff as well as I should and I would appreciate someone spelling it out for me in simple terms. Is what this thread is saying that PayPal is not a secure way to buy or sell instruments? Or are there specific precautions that should be taken or specific things to be avoided to ensure it's security? I really need to know. I plan to do some instrument selling soon.

It sounds like someone trying to get another person to give them access to their account. Would you give someone your PIN number? That's what this sounds like to me.

[Ed Goist]

Hi John; I don't know for sure how the scam in question works, but here's one way it might:

* Fraudulent buyer says they are ready to buy with PayPal, so they need your PayPal account e-mail address.
* You provide them that so you can receive the payment.
* The scammer now sends a fraudulent message to your PayPal e-mail address impersonating PayPal, and saying something like "You will need to log into your account using the account and password boxes in this e-mail to receive the funds from the buyer".
* Wanting the money, you do this.
* BAM - The fraudulent buyer now has you account log-in info and empties your account.

How to avoid:
- Sign-in to your PayPal account ONLY from a secure connection to the official PayPal website. PayPal will never ask for your account log-in info in an e-mail. NEVER put your log-in information in an e-mail.

[reeljack]

Hi John; I don't know for sure how the scam in question works, but here's one way it might:

* Fraudulent buyer says they are ready to buy with PayPal, so they need your PayPal account e-mail address.
* You provide them that so you can receive the payment.
* The scammer now sends a fraudulent message to your PayPal e-mail address impersonating PayPal, and saying something like "You will need to log into your account using the account and password boxes in this e-mail to receive the funds from the buyer".
* Wanting the money, you do this.
* BAM - The fraudulent buyer now has you account log-in info and empties your account.

How to avoid:
- Sign-in to your PayPal account ONLY from a secure connection to the official PayPal website. PayPal will never ask for your account log-in info in an e-mail. NEVER put your log-in information in an e-mail.

Well said...I get those "Paypal.com" emails as well...they get marked as phishing scams.

[Mike Bunting]

I just got your typical email of a person who can't be called, is in the military out to sea, blah blah blah. But instead of the normal cashiers check deal, they offered to pay with paypal, and then have a mover come and get the mandolin. Is there a new paypal scam...or a scam that's been out a while that I've never heard of? I shouldn't worry about money because the Nigerian government is giving me $2.5M Euro

Any info would be great.
Adam Murray

On reading this again and ignoring all the off topic posts, mine included, I have to say, where's the possible scam? You don't release the instrument until you receive the money in your paypal account, so what's the problem? How they pick up the instrument is their problem.

[Mark Hudson]

They don't want your instrument, they want access to your account.
When you log onto PayPal using the links they provide, you're actually logging onto a fake PayPal website, they take your user id and password and empty your account.

The three biggest tips for PayPal are -
3- ALWAYS log in directly to PayPal.com, never use links sent in an e-mail
2- If you get an e-mail addressed "Dear PayPal user" or "Dear PayPal customer" or some other variant, it's a scam. PayPal uses your user id - ie "Dear John Doe".
If you are in doubt as to whether an e-mail from PayPal is real, you can forward the e-mail to them for confirmation.
1- Not so much PayPal as dealing over the internet in general, if it's too good to be true, it probably is. You might want to pause and ask yourself what the catch is.

On reading this again and ignoring all the off topic posts, mine included, I have to say, where's the possible scam? You don't release the instrument until you receive the money in your paypal account, so what's the problem? How they pick up the instrument is their problem.

[Brian Sharpe]

On reading this again and ignoring all the off topic posts, mine included, I have to say, where's the possible scam? You don't release the instrument until you receive the money in your paypal account, so what's the problem? How they pick up the instrument is their problem.

Or they have hacked someone else's PayPal account and you ship the item to an unconfirmed address which gives you zero seller protection.

Rule #1 when I sell anything via PayPal is that the shipment is made only to confirmed addresses and the shipment is trackable that way I'm guaranteed payment.

[Stephen Perry]

PayPal payments can be reversed and you're out whatever you sent, even if your account remains secure.

I far prefer to get fake cashier's checks. Best so far is $11,000. I'm trying to get someone to send me a $100,000 fake cashier's check. I have a pretty good collection of these.

But the PayPal scams give one nothing to frame, no trophy.

[Mike Bunting]

They don't want your instrument, they want access to your account.
When you log onto PayPal using the links they provide, you're actually logging onto a fake PayPal website, they take your user id and password and empty your account.

How do you read that into the original post? According to the post, the OP will have the money before anyone tries to pick up the mandolin. In the original post all the would be buyer says is that he will pay via Paypal. Nothing more. He provided no links to mislead the seller. All the other stuff posted in the thread while true, is not relevant to the original post.

[rico mando]

You should have your pay pal account linked with a bank account you seldom use and little cash in it and also credit card with a small limit .

[didimauw]

all i know is that people use western union as a way to scam money out of people. which sucks because it is or was such a reliable way to send and recieve money. wire transfers can be trickey too. thats why i do everything in person and cash only. especially now a days. but im pretty much done with craigslist and paypal. ill still use paypal for buying things online like from musicians friend or stewmac, and i used my paypal account to make payments on my yairi acoustic. but no person to person anymore.

[journeybear]

You should have your pay pal account linked with a bank account you seldom use and little cash in it and also credit card with a small limit .

Exactly what I do. I set up a separate bank account a few years ago for a different reason, but have since used that rather than my main account for all internet transactions. And I generally leave just a little in it. When I make a large purchase, I make a deposit into the account, and PayPal withdraws from it. Typically never more than a day delay, if that, and sellers are usually understanding.

[Bill Snyder]

On reading this again and ignoring all the off topic posts, mine included, I have to say, where's the possible scam? You don't release the instrument until you receive the money in your paypal account, so what's the problem? How they pick up the instrument is their problem.

In a subsequent post he included the actual text of the email. In it was included a link to set up a Paypal account. If he had used this link and followed all of the directions he would have given his banking information to the scammer.

[Mike Bunting]

By the time I saw it, there was no link.