Possible eBay/Paypal buyer scam, help please?

The check is most likely a fake, and may take weeks to clear before your bank gets notified it is fake.

Also, watch out for Paypal scams. They send fake Paypal emails, asking for confirmed shipping numbers before you get the money, which is all fake too. Some scammers may even include links to fake Paypal sites to try to trick you into logging in, so they can then steal your Paypal account.

If dealing with Paypal, always check your account by going directly to the Paypal.com web site. Always get your money first. However, some scammers may actually deposit money with a stolen credit card, then claim the goods were never received, messing up your rating with Paypal.

Bottom line, if it smells fishy, throw it back into the sea... An ebay buyer with only a 2 rating, and one negative is not worth dealing with in the first place. They often make up other Ebay accounts, and buy/sell to each other, cheap items, to improve their ratings - watch out for that too... If they buy a lot of cheap stuff ($1-$2) from the same person in a day or so, it is a trick to increase their ratings - so they can scam better...

This does seem peculiar. Here are some possible scenarios:

You receive the check, deposit it into your bank account then wait several days for it to clear. Afterwards you ship the laptop to the buyer. However, if the check is found to be fraudulent, even if it clears at first, you will be accountable for the $600 shortage with your bank and someone else now has your laptop.

Another scheme is very similar except that the buyer submits a Paypal E-check, such as in your case. The buyer intentionally has insufficient funds in his Paypal and personal bank account so the check will eventually bounce. Check the clear date in Paypal, if the date suddenly advances 2 weeks, then the check probably bounced and Paypal is giving the buyer some time to add funds to their account, at which point Paypal will attempt to process the check again. While this is going on, the buyer will probably contact you asking if the item has been shipped and insist that the dates in Paypal are incorrect because they have already contacted customer servcie. They will likely encourage you to ship the item or risk negative feedback for not shipping the item as promised. They "buyer" / scammer is hoping that the seller will ship the item while Paypal is still trying to create a check with their account. Potentially the buyer receives a "free" item and the seller is still waiting for money that will never come.

There is no protection in this instance since there is no proof that successful payment was ever submitted to the seller and cleared.

The most secure way is to receive electronic payment directly to your Paypal account. Don't let the other party forward emails from eBay or Paypal suggesting that everything is in order. Reference your own emails and accounts. Checks, cashiers checks and money orders can be forged / counterfeited.

Keep an eye open for this one.

you're on the right track.

let the check clear the bank first. once it does ship it.

as to insurance fraud, not your problem, if he commits, that's his.

To cover your rear i recommend the following:

1. take pictures of the computer, both inside and out(if a desk top), if a laptop, take pictures of all serial numbers. Also take a picture of the product in the shipping container. That covers you that it was the item you offered that was shipped.

2. get a copy of pc wizard(available at hardware secrets.com).

This will give you a printable system configuration(can be several pages).

Print two copies. keep one, ship the other with the computer.

3. keep the tracking number for the shipment.

4. if a dispute is submitted, he'll have to provide the documentation to substantiate his position.

Also, just because the buyer is new doesn't mean that he's trying anything. and the first thing he didn't pay for, could be an honest mistake on his part.

then again(fill in the blank).

did forget one thing, Don't deposit it in your bank account. let it sit on the paypal side for a little while. The reason is that if it is transferred to your bank, the person may be able to trace it. and then you could be a victim of fraud. The transfer generally doesn't show where the money went but that doesn't mean it won't, it depends on the persons bank.

Also if you're going to use ebay to sell alot i recommend getting the debit card. that way you can withdraw the funds and there's no paper trail.

Paypal Echeck Scam

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RE:

Possible eBay/Paypal buyer scam, help please?

Background Info: So I listed a laptop up on eBay. I've done some research as to what same model goes for and its around 200-300. So I listed it up along with a case and an external adapter for 600 obo.

Expecting that logically most people would lowball offer or offer maybe 300+, I would...

return or decline the e-check it is probably stolen or forged your bank will clear it and then six weeks later you will get a letter saying it is forged/invalid/fake and that they are removing the money from your account so you will be $600 and a laptop down. where is the buyers address? nigeria is a favorite for these scams. Always delete bids from buyers who have less than 50 feedback or less than 95% positive let someone else find out if they are honest

If it's too good to be true then it probably is

Get over it.