Is this a scam?

[That-Kid-O]

I put a bike up on AutoTrader for sale, I just recieved an email from a US based email (ends @comcast.com) saying:

"Just viewed your listing and will like to purchase it.how much do you want to sell it?"

So I gave them the price and they just emailed back:

"Thanks for the mail, i am buying the bike as a birthday gift for brother in-law and i am at sea at the moment as i am a marine engineer and due to the nature of my work and status of my medical health phone calls making can not be possible for me because am a deaf,And visiting of website are restricted but i squeezed out time to check this advert and send you an email regarding it. I really want the bike to be a surprise for brother in-law so i wont let him know anything about the bike until it gets delivered to him , i am sure he will be more than happy with the bike.I insisted on paypal because i don't have access to my bank account online as i don't have internet banking, but i can pay from my paypal account, as i have my bank a/c attached to it, i will need you to give me your paypal email address so i can make the payments asap for the bike and pls if you don't have paypal account yet, it is very easy to set up, go to www.paypal.com and get it set up , after you have set it up i will only need the e-mail address you use for registration with paypal so as to put the money through.I have a pick up agent that will come and pick the bike up after i have made the payments."

Now since they are offering to pay via PayPal I don't see how this could be a hoax but if anybody could help me out I would be grateful. If this is dodgy then this can be a heads up to the rest of us

[Ste]

Scam.

[johnsmith222]

he can possibly send money through from a stolen credit card or a bank account that doesn't have enough money in it or something. (I don't know much about it but I know that paypal isn't as safe as they make it out to be).

It's clearly a scam imo.

[That-Kid-O]

Well I responded telling him I will take £100 as a security deposit and the rest will need to be cash on collection. Seems to have shut him up. It did seem very dodgy to me aswell but thought I would share it with BCFers to see what you made of it.

Thanks for the replies

[metalangel]

I am a deaf marine engineer (OO RAH) from the US and I want to buy your bike... IN THE UK... for my brother-in-law.

Is his brother-in-law the Prince of Nigeria?
____________________
Previous: 2002 Honda CB500 (sold), 2007 Suzuki SV650SK6 (crashed), 2005 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer (sold). Currently bikeless
"A faired bike will get you 10x more clunge than a unfaired one." -Marlboro Matt

[bathtub]

don't do it. this is 100% scam. As the buyer he has all the leverage to dispute transaction though paypal he will either claim non delivery and end up with his money and your bike, or claw the funds back before you can transfer them out. Ebay and Paypal both allow this type of fraud as they get their money either way.

bathtub

[cyberglass]

[Hazylogic]

[metalangel]

Is that like being a mental?
____________________
Previous: 2002 Honda CB500 (sold), 2007 Suzuki SV650SK6 (crashed), 2005 Yamaha FZ6 Fazer (sold). Currently bikeless
"A faired bike will get you 10x more clunge than a unfaired one." -Marlboro Matt

[ws4936]

Sounds like a story from dontevenreply[dot]com.
____________________
If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough.

[Bubbs]

Can't you agree to it, give him your email, take cash, and not send the bike?

At what point does this scam take money off you? Surely they can't get cash off you via paypal?

I know it's a scam, just wondering how they get paid from it?
____________________
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

[Moonie]

Only needed to read the first line, it's a scam.
____________________
Don't practice it until you get it right, practice it until you don't get it wrong.
Presenting the one and only Chinkmobile

[Ste]

Payment is made using stolen paypal accounts. When the account holder notices the money gone from their bank account, the payments will end up being reversed leaving you without any money.

The best thing you can do with those emails (or emails from any scammer) is to ignore them completely.

Say you do get them to send you the money and then you try to not let their 'pick up agent' collect the bike, I wouldn't want to bet on them just walking away, do you actually want to get involved in that?

[Bubbs]

[That-Kid-O]

After I little research on the web I have figured out how the scam works (I found a forum of people that fell for it).

The buyer asks you for your PayPal address and sends a fake email to your PayPal email address using a email address such as Service@PayPal.com to make it look legit along with some fake logos etc claiming the funds are being withheld until you send the excess sum paid to you to some Western Union Money transfer account. (The buyer claims he needs to send you an excess fee ranging from £100-£1000 that you supposedly need to send to some Western Union Courier service for them to come and collect the item).

Now since the whole email is a fake you end up sending a sum over Western Union to a somebody, somewhere and that's the scam.

Just a heads up to all that come across these buyers, they will also keep trying with various stories and email addresses.

[SamJL]

Wind him up, and then post it on this website, some of the stuff on there is amazing!

https://www.419eater.com/
____________________
2009 CBR1000RR
2004 KTM 200SX
2004 KTM 65SX

[chris-red]

General rule is if you post a thread with the title 'Is this a scam?', it is a scam.
____________________
Well, you know what they say. If you want to save the world, you have to push a few old ladies down the stairs.
Skudd:- Perhaps she just thinks you are a window licker and is being nice just in case she becomes another Jill Dando.
WANTED:- Fujinon (Fuji) M42 (Screw on) lenses, let me know if you have anything.

[davedixon]

A deaf marine engineer, at sea, you must be joking!

[Stowelly]

can easily get scammed on paypal!

if they pay by credit card, and whoevers actual card it is questions it a few weeks later they can dispute it, and it almost always goes in there favour the money will be taken back off you! by all means take the cash, just wait a month or so before sending it!

[T0MMY]

No offence but I can't believe you even had to ask if that was a scam

[Ste]