i just got a text from the same # listed above and she wanted me to reply via emai because of her line of work, lol. Anyways, I got the same old story as all of you did and my gut feeling said that this is a scam, thank god i just googled this [***]....
Obviously. The Paypal deposit email will be a fake. I would bet that the payment is well above your asking price and you would be asked to wire the excess to the agent. There would also be a problem that the funds are "frozen" by PayPal until the agent fee is wired. Ask yourself, if they are a marine engineer on a boat, how do they have access to craigslist or other for sale sites and why did the message come in so soon after your posted your ad?
Have had multiple attempts in the past with fake cashers checks. Now they are using Pay Pal as a cover.
Biggest flags are:
1. They only communcate thru texting, even though you ask several times to talk. Thy generally have bad grammer when texting and couldnt speak english any way.
2. They always offer full price. No haggellig. Yea right !!
3. If you do get as far as getting a payment , its always an OVER pay. Expect you to refund the difference to them minus an extra $$ amount for your trouble. Of course never do this in any situaion before the original payment fully clears your back. In the case of these scambags, the payment NEVER clears.
I've been receiving. Text from " Vivian" all morning. Thx to this site I've saved myself a ton of grief. The text were all exactly as you've said- PayPal, overseas,agent
I received a text from (961) 231-4863 in regards to my furniture set posted on Craigslist with the following messages. First text came about 2 hours after my posting.
961) 231-4863 Text 1:
QUEEN BEDROOM SET * * * 7 PIECE VICTORIAN STYLE - $1000 I'm interested, let me know the present condition, Kate...
My response:
Hi Kate, when is a good time to talk today? Current condition is great, with the exception of one night stand. It has a mark on top. I had the set for 12 years or so and it's only been used for 1.5 years.
961) 231-4863 Text 2:
OK Thanks, Just asking about it to make sure its in good condition. so can you assure me i will not be disappointed? .Am satisfied with your firm/advert price...am requesting this transaction should be done via PayPal due to the nature of my work,so the PayPal charges is on me.Payment will be made via PayPal only, and i will be glad if you can sell to me.
I tried calling twice and voicemail goes to "Google Subscriber." Too many red flags. I found it odd that PayPal was demanded due to "nature of my work," I couldn't get the person to answer phone or call back, and that there really were no questions about what I was selling.
So annoying! I hope this helps anyone else out there.