Is this a Paypal scam?

400D Lee

400D Lee

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Help please people, I am selling a Canon EOS 400d camera body, I have advertised it on Gumtree, here is the ad:

http://norwich.gumtree.com/norwich/32/46565332.html

I have had someone respond to my ad via my email asking is it still available and do I have the original receipt (which I do); I responded to the email and the person has emailed back with this:

"Hello there,
Thank you for the fast reply.
I am willing to proceed with the transaction now and pay you £280 which include p&p.kindly login to your paypal account and select the request money button located at the top of your paypal account homepage and send the money request directly to my paypal account id which is lindseyjames_1977@yahoo.com so that i can submit payment to you via paypal right now as paypal is safe, fast and easy to send and receive money online.

If you don't have a paypal account just login to www.paypal.com and set up your paypal account, after setting up your paypal account you locate the request money button located at the top of your paypal account home page, use it to request money directly from my paypal account which is lindseyjames_1977@yahoo.com once I receive your money request from paypal, I will submit payment to you via paypal asap.

Get back asap.
Mr. Lindsey James."

Now it all sounds a little fishy to me:suspect: why is this guy saying he will send £280? when it is advertised for £250? I have not said anything about P&P either?

Can anyone help me? is this a con? what if I do send the money request? can they do anything with my Paypal account?

Thanks for your help

Lee.
 
He could just send you the money to your email address via Paypal - you don't have to request it. Sounds fishy to me.
 
Yup, pass the air freshener, fishy or what.:(
 
It does sound a bit fishy, but it could have been a typo on his part and quite legit.

There would be no harm in sending him a money request and if he does over pay you then simply refund the difference before sending the camera.

Make sure you send via a recorded method and you should be OK.

Otherwise tell him you don't accept paypal and he has to pay another way.
 
Sounds like a version of the cheque/bt scam where they "accidentally" send you too much money and ask that you return the balance to them along with the item - so you not only lose your goods but a pile of cash too, especially as the email address lindseyjames_1977@yahoo.com is already on a list of those used by Nigerian scammers, which can be found with a quick Google.......
 
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Thnaks for all your responses, I have emailed him back and said I do not use Paypal and would require cash on collection, that way I know they will be happy with the camera and then there is no comeback on me.
 
Wouldn't touch Gumtree with a bargepole, let alone this bloke. Unfortunately Gumtree has become a hotbed of scams, you can't trust anything on there any more.
 
he has said "£280 which includes p&p" that suggests to me that he is willing to pay £30 for you to ship it to him (assuming he doesn't live near you).
 
If in Doubt Def it out, if it smells fishy stands a chance it is. :suspect:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Sounds like a version of the cheque/bt scam where they "accidentally" send you too much money and ask that you return the balance to them along with the item - so you not only lose your goods but a pile of cash too, especially as the email address lindseyjames_1977@yahoo.com is already on a list of those used by Nigerian scammers, which can be found with a quick Google.......
Click to expand...

Basically, you request the money and then get a forged email back to say the buyer has paid. The money doesn't show up in your Paypal account and you soon get another email saying Paypal are holding the funds until the tracking number for delivery has been provided.
 
Bloody scammers :thumbsdown:
 
Anyone who signs "Mr. Lindsey James", or some such, is likely to be a Nigerian (or other African nation ) scammer....
Best avoided!
 
Would agree with all above, sounds far too fishy. :shake:
 
yes this is a scam.....i posted a mobile fone on gumtree.co.uk about a week ago now, for £250 the same guy emailed me and made me an offer for £280 - the extra money was supposidly for P&P (yeah rite!he wanted it posted to his son in nigeria!) he had no intentions of sending any money, he just wanted to get the shipment tracking number to confirm that u sent it.....then no money would be sent to u!

he sent fake emails, about payment transactions, shipping details etc, which look just like the ones paypal would send, but if u looked closely u would see that some words didn't fit in or make sence! also these emails got sent straight to my spam folder, which i thought was a bit strange :thinking: he also emailed saying that if his "money" didnt get returned he would seek "legal advise" and my paypal acc would get suspended!

i sent the fake emails back to paypal just to check if they were fake and they confirmed that it was a PHISHING ATTEMPT!

google there email or paypal add....thats what i did :lol: or search paypal scams before hand!
 
Wow, Gumtree really is hideous. I have seen a few threads recently highlighting how bad it is. I'll be avoiding at all costs.
 
I got two sofas on gumtree absolutely free when I bought my first house (OK they might be pink but they were free!)

You do need to be wary but no more than you should be using any other website.
 
I can add - definitely a scam... Glad you've stayed away!!
 
Sniffing1987 said:
I got two sofas on gumtree absolutely free when I bought my first house (OK they might be pink but they were free!)

You do need to be wary but no more than you should be using any other website.
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You'd do well to get scammed on something for free :) But then joking aside, people have been mugged in remote areas.
 
Regardless of the sums involved here, the sentence construction and English adopted by the scammers is always the same. So polite, helpful, willing and eager. But it never quite reads right.
 
MisterE said:
Regardless of the sums involved here, the sentence construction and English adopted by the scammers is always the same. So polite, helpful, willing and eager. But it never quite reads right.
Click to expand...

Yup. As soon as I read the email I knew it was a scammer. I'm hoping that more people will start to mistrust those who demonstrate poor use of English. That way overall standards may start improving.
 
hollis_f said:
Yup. As soon as I read the email I knew it was a scammer. I'm hoping that more people will start to mistrust those who demonstrate poor use of English. That way overall standards may start improving.
Click to expand...

good point.. it would help our over worked legal system too.
'The accused doesnt have GCSE English Mlud'
GUILTY!!
 
Gumtree manages to make Egay trading look like a guaranteed gilt-edged sure thing.
 
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