Does this sound like a scam to you?

[wade3504]

Since I have not been able to work for a number of months because of my skin cancer we are very short on money. We have sold what we can and the last thing to go is my camera. Anyway, I put it up on craigslist last night and got a response this morning. The first response all it said was "any scratches?" and it said it was coming from an iphone. Then I answered and got this:

"I'm getting it for my son's birthday but i am in the army and currently in the field, i wouldn't be able to make this transaction in person. I want the item sent to him as a gift. Send me paypal money request to this mail box for the payment now. I'm paying a total sum of $550 for item cost & shipping fee and I will provide you with his shipping info for shipment as soon as the payment is done."

I am thinking it is a scam but husband says it might not be. I don't want to go on "might" as I either need the money or need to keep the camera to sell and not get scammed out of it.

What do you all think?

For those that have been keeping up to date with my surgeries. I have had 4 so far and will be starting other procedures in a couple of weeks as well as the surgeries.

 

[Genie]

So sorry about your health issues. Good luck with everything in that regard.

About your camera, if you are asking a lower price than 550.00 and the buyer is sending an overpayment, then that is one of the red flags regarding a scammer.

I thought pay pal was pretty safe so I guess you will need to understand the "ins and outs" of pay pal and understand if the funds are good when it arrives in your account.

 

[fourluckyhorseshoes]

Could you talk to them in person or over the phone? Can you get an address or phone number? I guess if anything happened you could revoke payments through paypal. Just check out the paypal security mechanisms to make sure they don't get more than they should.

 

[wade3504]

So sorry about your health issues. Good luck with everything in that regard.

About your camera, if you are asking a lower price than 550.00 and the buyer is sending an overpayment, then that is one of the red flags regarding a scammer.

I thought pay pal was pretty safe so I guess you will need to understand the "ins and outs" of pay pal and understand if the funds are good when it arrives in your account.

That's what I thought too. I am asking 450 for the camera and he is offering 550 which supposedly includes shipping but I know it wouldn't cost 100 bucks to ship it. I emailed back and asked him how did I know this wasn't a scam if we didn't meet in person and I have heard nothing back. So, I am guessing scam.

 

[Genie]

Good for you. I think cash is a better way to go

 

[MindyLee]

I got one kind of like that the other day, BUT mine was on the lines of...

" Im disable and in a wheelchair and can not come in person to look at ur horse. I would like to buy it for my 3 yr old son. r u the breeder and is it lead trained. Will give you asking price."

 

1st of all, my horse is not a IT.

2nd, no name or anything else.

I also emailed back and asked to get her phone # so I can call this person and see if they was real and not a scammer so we could talk more detail.

No surpise, never recieved a phone #.

 

[Chelley]

Definitely sounds like a scam to me. I don't know how they would do it, as I would think PayPal would be safe, but then again our minds don't work like that of a dishonest person, so who knows what they can do. I would not go any further with them...just seems too fishy.

 

[Riverrose28]

Please, please, please, do not deal with this person, it is a scam. It's such a shame honest people have to deal with criminals like this that take advantage of others.

 

[MeganH]

Definitely sounds like a scam. I was looking at buying a van once and ran through some Craigslist ads. There was one just like I wanted for thousands less then I had seen anywhere else so I emailed them. They came back saying they were in the military and were overseas and the actual van was in another state then the ad had said it was.. and some more blah blah blah. Big scam. Such a shame.

Around the same time I was selling a car and got several scam emails about it. Someone told me they couldn't look up insurance and to please go to a certain webpage and type some stuff in. Um.. no.

Be very careful with CL!

 

[wade3504]

I am not going to deal with them. I just don't see how he happens to be in the army and just happened to contact me through the part of craigslist that I am on yet I need to send the package to his son. It just doesn't add up along with the part where he'd send me 550. So I am leaving the ad up and waiting.

 

[HGFarm]

SCAM, SCAM, SCAM!!

So sorry about your health issues! Yep, I would certainly not even respond to this person any further...

 

[Seashells]

I believe it's a scam. If he's "in the field" then how does he have time to shop online? SCAM!

 

[wade3504]

I got two more since this first one and they too are scams. Everyone just so happens to be buying cameras for their sons. I feel so bad for the daughters, lol. They so need to get original and come up with different stories.

 

[HGFarm]

Maybe the daughters are getting a new car that someone else has advertised, so dont feel sorry for the sons, hahahahahaha

 

[Riverrose28]

Just a word of caution about advertising on Craigs List, you probably already know not to give out your address, but in my area bad things have been happening. Don't meet a buyer at a location that they pick. You pick the location and make it a very public place indoors with a lot of people. Several in my area have been assaulted in remote areas meeting buyers.

 

[wade3504]

I am safe with what I do so no worries there. My husband and I have sold an Ipad and we met the buyer at a crowded Chilli's next to a very crowded mall. No one comes to our house and no one knows where we live as I have also thought that when they came to our house, if we let them, they could be checking out what else we own to come back for it later. When we met the person who bought the ipad both my husband and I went and got there early. The person he met did not know I was even in the car so I was basically there just in case even though it was broad daylight and again crowded. I am sure if something had happened the couple making out next to their car in the parking lot would have helped out, lol. Anway, the camera is taken care of as my brother is "buying" it from me until I can buy it back. That way I get the money I need so badly and one day I will still have my great camera that I probably wold not ever be able to afford again new. The last two scammers I corresponded with I immediately let them know that if they wanted me to do business through paypal I wasn't doing it and I never heard back from either again.

 

[weebiscuit]

Taking money from a buyer through paypal should not be a problem. What I don't understand are three things: Why the person offered to pay $100 above your asking price to cover shipping without simply asking you what you figured it would cost to ship. Heavens... I've bought furniture on the net and never paid anywhere near $100 for the shipping! A camera should be considerably cheaper.

Second, why did this person ask YOU to send a Paypal request? When a person pays me through paypal, they simply use my email address. I don't have to send them any information other than my email address. If this person contacted you by email, then he HAD your email address and could have simply transferred the money into your account.

Third, it just seems weird that a person would buy their son a used camera for his birthday. I don't care how much of a deal you are getting on it, it just seems weird that someone would buy a USED camera for someone for a gift.

I have never advertised anything on Craig's list. The place scares me! LOL! I've advertised on our local internet bulletin board, and that has worked out OK.