This was a text message from a Craigslist that I had posted:
Texter: "Gateway laptop still have it? and what is the current condition?"
Me: "yup, still have it. It's in great condition. The system has been factory restored so everything is fresh"
Texter: "what is the asking price?"
Me: "$450. Comes with case and wifi printer"
Texter: "well, just making purchase for my cousin use, quickly Email me a pay pal invoice to my pay pal acct at
[email protected] so that i can make my payment now"
Me: "Umm no. Someone has tried scamming me like this before. Unless you're local, no deal. Thanks, I'll be reporting this."
Texter: "i would have prefer to come pay by cash on delivery but i'm not available for the exchange, that why i said i will be paying you via paypal and if you do no have a paypal acc you could easily set up for one at paypal.com to receive your money its only few steps.and if you have quickly log into your paypal acc and email me an Invoice and i shall proceed for the payment once its send ,i will also include the postage charges fee altogether once, so do get back"
Me: "Here's how this scam works, I send invoice. Then I receive an email claiming to be from PayPal. This email will say funds is on hold until I send the item. Then, I send the item and you get a free item. Like I said, I've seen this before. I've talked to PayPal about this type of stuff"
Texter: "Or, can i send you the money through western union money transfer???"
Me: "No thanks"
Texter: "why???"
Me: "With all the shipping fees, you would get a better price on a laptop that does not come with a big wifi printer."
Texter: "i only want the Gateway laptop, i don't want printer"
Me: "Sorry. It's a package deal."
Texter: "how??"
Me: "Because, it's worth more combined than separated."
Texter: "omg"
How do I know this is a scam? Well, I was about to send an item to someone once. They said they were going to use PayPal. I received an email that looked like it was from PayPal but it said that the fund would be held. When this happened, I looked at my PayPal account and there was no activity. I called PayPal and they informed that they do not hold onto fund like that.
Though I never deal with western union, a scammer can give the seller the number to the transaction and it may be real on western union. However, the scammer will get the money prior to the seller getting to it and usually after the item has been shipped. Essentially, the scammer send the money to themselves.
Fight this type of stuff by contacting the Federal Trade Commission
http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/contact.shtm
1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357)