How does this ebay/paypal scam work?

[Hetzer]

Bike's on ebay, had this email:

"Okay cool I hope it's in a very good condition? I will like to know if you haven't had an accident with it before and I believe you have PayPal as that's what I will be making payments with because it's the safest way to make online payment if you know what I mean by that! If you are ok with my mode of payment you can send me your PayPal email address, that's all I need to make the payment, I will make the payment ASAP, furthermore I have got a private courier agent that will be coming for pick up once the payment has been made. Stay healthy I await your reply."

I can't work it out but my bell is ringing.
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[ThunderGuts]

I'd just inform the buyer to pay using PayPal via eBay when the auction ends / the buyer buys it now. It'll come through. The rest of it is pretty arbitrary really as it's up to them how they want to collect it; man with a van probably. If it's PayPal via eBay then you've got some degree of protection already, you can validate you've received the money before accepting collection of the bike.

I wouldn't accept payment outside of eBay though as you're evading their system by avoiding final value fees, eBay can get pretty shirty about that sort of thing, plus you'll be losing some protection in the process. Part of what you pay your 10% for . . .

I don't think there's any suspicious about the email, just clumsy communication.
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TG.

[Hetzer]

Regardless, I've told him cash or bank-transfer only. Apparently the scam is they send you a mock paypal receipt (assuming the seller won't log into their actual paypal account and rely instead on the fake email...who the fuck does that?!).
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[t121anf]

Isn't it the lack of evidence for postage? Once they have the bike they claim to have never received it and PayPal gives them their money back.

[ThunderGuts]

Not really; if they pay to you directly you'll see it in your PayPal account - no way of faking that.

Ask the buyer's "agent" to bring a copy of the auction then photograph it with the van and bike in the picture as proof to be double sure.
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TG.

[Hetzer]

[Riejufixing]

If you are selling it on eBay, he does not need that e-mail address, as you know. He just presses "Pay".

However, if you send him your e-mail address, he will try to make you believe he has paid when he has not, by constructing and sending e-mails that purport to come from Paypal, and hope that you allow him to take away your item.

[ThunderGuts]

See post above; check via PayPal - if it's not there it's not there.

Try eBay general fees; I've just sold a valuable camera and my eBay and PayPal fees combined are taking a bit fat wodge out of the sale. I'd rather that than social media and some randomer turning up with convincing fake £50 notes or something.
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TG.

[Hetzer]

[Riejufixing]

I wonder if there is a way of exploiting this, by perhaps giiving false information about picking up. It would be good to break someone's hand, but unfortunately the law does not allow for this.

Anyway, report the e-mail if you can, otherwise ignore.

[Hetzer]

[Hetzer]

[xX-Alex-Xx]

Also what they do is send a legit payment, take the goods, then put in a claim with PayPal to say they’ve not received anything. 9/10 times PayPal will just take the money back and refund them.

edit:

https://www.comparitech.com/identity-theft-protection/ebay-scams/

Unwarranted chargeback
A scammer doesn’t have to try very hard to steal your money, as most transaction sites are built to protect the buyer. If you successfully complete a transaction and the buyer pays with a credit card or PayPal, they can easily contact the provider and cancel the transaction. The money will be recovered from you and you will be charged an additional chargeback fee (that’s $20 for PayPal, individual credit card companies vary). The scammer only needs to say they suspect something was wrong and most institutions will chargeback straightaway, regardless of whether they already have the item or what condition it’s in. Disputing the chargeback can take a lot of time and hassle on your behalf.
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DILLIGAF

[GSTEEL32]

I only ever use eBay through the App these days. Its much more secure from a payment point of view.

It'll be the app that notifies you of a correct payment (with evidence for your protection if there's an issue), not some random looking email. The guy doesn't need your pay pal address. If its his first rodeo, I really don't think a motorcycle should be the transaction to break his eBay cherry.

I also don't need to tell you that you can make payment "ASAP" anyway, there is no need to debate the tits off it after the purchase...

As with you, I don't like this one bit.

It pretty much comes down to the risk of how much your prepared to lose. If its an expensive item, I'd want protection, but as the buyer, I'd be more likely to turn up in person to ensure it is what you've described it is. If he doesn't feel the need, he clearly has more money than sense.

I've only ever bought 1 bike I've never seen in the flesh, and that simply came down to the fact it was worth more in parts than I was paying for the whole bike, so I had very limited downside.

[Ste]

The payment would be made using a stolen Paypal account, it would go through successfully with no problems and you would withdraw it to your bank account.

Their private agent courier person would come to collect the bike and everything would be great.

At some point the owner of the Paypal account would notice that they're missing however many thousands of pounds from their bank account and then of course the payment gets reversed very quickly.

The email will be from a stolen eBay account so you'd have zero chance of knowing who to blame, zero chance of ever seeing the bike again and zero chance of not being left out of pocket. Whatever way of looking at it or trying to play it to your advantage, there is no way to win.

I'm disappointed that you don't know all this stuff.

[Skudd]

Bring back sales via the local newspaper, cash in hand.
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Famous last words of Humpty Dumpty. " Stop pushing me "
Petty Anarchists look at "1984".............. The Visionary looks at "Animal Farm".

[Ayrton]

I've heard they pay you the money through PayPal then pay a courier to pick the bike up and then they get PayPal to refund the money. They probably want your email so they wont have to rely on ebay's refund policy.

[Hetzer]

[Hetzer]

Unreal, just had another email from a totally different 'person' using almost exactly the same words. This one got a mouthful.
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[slowside]

Not much to add here that hasn't already been mentioned. Either way it will be a faked payment confirmation email if he's a low rent opportunist, or a real payment followed by a charge-back from PayPal once your bike is gone and you are left with your pants down.

I always specify cash or cleared bank transfer and if it's the latter, make sure the buyer is aware that sometimes it can take hours for the transfer to complete - so if they plan to do it on the day, they should be prepared to kill some time weeding my garden.
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Triumph Sprint RS 955i - If I don't reply to your post, I'm probably busy fixing it.

[Ste]

Meh, they're easy to get if you look in the right places.

Before anyone reading this goes and gets themselves some stolen paypal accounts, it's not 100% straight forward so don't go and do anything stupid like trying to buy Hetzer's bike.

[GSTEEL32]

Presumably, the idea is to look like you've been paid..

A "courier" picks up your bike... then sets off into the sunset.... complete with your V5 details....

the only way around this from a sellers point of view is to access your paypal account direct and transfer the money to your bank account. ? but this can take a few days, if i remember right ?

is this why hetz and others insist on a cash transfer ?

[CorriganJ]

paypal scams are common. If he picks it up he can just say he never recived it and reverse the payment on Ebay / Paypal

[Easy-X]

If you try Gumtree this sort of email appears for everything you list Usually something along the lines of "if I pay you £100 more via PayPal can you pay the courier?" Well of course! That doesn't sound at all suspicious.

Same again though: cash, bank transfer or GTFO.
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Husqvarna Vitpilen 401, Yamaha XSR700, Honda Rebel, Yamaha DT175, Suzuki SV650 (loan) Fazer 600, Keeway Superlight 125, 50cc turd scooter

[wristjob]

the first answer on google when you put this text in says its a scam,
as if there was any doubt.

less trustworthy than moist mate tm