Quoted from practicalsteve:My I ask why you are so insistent to sell on ebay? sell it on here or craigslist for Ca$h and then don't worry about it.
Larger audience and the potential to get a higher price.
(Topic ID: 98967)
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1 year later
Typical example of a craigslist scam I got this week in response to one of the ads I have up. The first message was obviously a scam (since the email included asking about "the items"), but I wanted to see where it would go if I responded:
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robyn knowles:
Is this items available for sale and will have to pay by paypal you
don't have to worry about the fee i'll handle that.
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Me:
Which item are you referring to?
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robyn knowles:
4x Pacman boards
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robyn knowles:
Thanks for your swift response... First and foremost you need to know that I'm impaired in hearing, every communication will be via text or email. You also need to know that i have a shipping agent [FEDEX PICK UP AGENT] that will be coming for the local pickup of the item at your choice of location as I do have other items that needs to be shipped. I don't live in your area for me to come have a look at the item meanwhile I'm satisfied for seeing it online... So therefore you don't have to worry about the shipping and the paypal fees,i will handle that...So, there will be an excess funds on the payment which is meant for the shipping and handling of the item as soon as you get the paypal payment confirmation email from paypal you can send the shipping agent fees to the shipping agent in order for he/she to come for the local pickup of the item. Hope you understand? if yes,do get back to me with the details:
Your full name ?
Paypal email account ?
Phone Number ?
Do get back to me with all this details asap. So i can make the payment on time....
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2 weeks later
Quoted from swanng:Cash, split between family members, deposited in multiple accounts at different banks. That's the way to do it.
Technically, that might be considered "structuring".
1 month later
Quoted from KornFreak28:Ok, let me ask you this, if I sell a machine on ebay, is the risk the same as selling it via just paypal? I mean as far as people trying to scam you by making disputes and claims (paypal scam) but through ebay. Do yoi run the same risk selling on ebay?
ebay generally rules in the buyer's favor in disputes, and payment is made through paypal anyway.
Quoted from KornFreak28:What do you mean?
The ads are there, the "buy it now" option is there. Anybody can choose it buy it now and must pay via paypal no? Thanks
You can still message the seller and make a cash-on-pickup arrangement.
3 months later
Quoted from Lermods:Have a long distance buyer for my fish tales who seems legit, but he wants to pay via PayPal gift and have someone pick it up for him. It's not a Nigerian scam so let's not go there. Guy has been on pinside a while and has ties to the industry. I'm just not comfortable with PayPal and am insisting on cash or a bank wire. Am I making the purchase a hassle? I feel a wire transfer is a simple 5 minute thing to do. What would you do?
I *always* say no to paypal for large amounts. It can always be charged back.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-to-not-get-ripped-off-in-pinball-vids-guide#post-1813448
Quoted from vid1900:IF SOMEONE PAYS ME AS A "GIFT" THEY CAN'T FILE A DISPUTE, RIGHT?
Ah, here is another False Belief that is exploited by scammers to steal from you.
Paypal says that if you pay someone by "Gift" there is no disputing of the transaction through Paypal allowed. So people get the idea into their heads that this must the only safe way to accept money from Paypal.
What Paypal does not tell you is that all the buyer has to do is file a dispute directly with their Credit Card company and then the Credit Card company will chargeback Paypal, who will then Chargeback you, the seller.
And as a super bonus, although Paypal's dispute period is 45 days (180 days for some items), most Credit Card companies allow chargebacks for 6 months. So even months latter, you can get a chargeback from Paypal.
If you have already removed the money from your Paypal account, Paypal will try to take the chargeback amount from any bank account or credit card you have attached to your Paypal account.
If they can't get that money from any of those sources, they sell the debt immediately to a collection agency.
Quoted from cheshirefilms:Another test case. Cashier's check in my name from a Wells Fargo in another US state- deposited by my buyer into my Chase bank account. I get a picture of the check and the deposit slip into my account. I call the number on the bottom left and reach Wells Fargo's automated validation number. I press multiple prompts and get to a person who verifies the check is legit and in process. After the funds are available- on Wednesday, presumably- when can I say I'm legitimately in the clear? Would a visit to a local Wells Fargo branch conclude 100% the funds have been actually transferred and not subject to charge-back?
There's a big difference between funds being available and the check actually clearing.
Quoted from cheshirefilms:Right. So when can I legitimately say this check has actually cleared. Can a local Wells tell me?
Quoted from vid1900:PERSONAL CHECKS, CASHIER'S CHECKS AND MONEY ORDERS ALL TAKE 3-4 WEEKS TO CLEAR YOUR BANK !!!!!
Got it?
Your bank is not special.
The teller at the bank knows nothing about the length of time a check takes to clear. Tellers are minimum wage workers who cash your payroll checks - same as Rocco at the party store.
Quoted from Lermods:My feeling exactly. Wire transfer, cash or nothing. Makes me suspicious if people only want to pay via paypal. Buyer can transfer funds from paypal to their bank, then initiate a wire transfer, very simple.
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/how-to-not-get-ripped-off-in-pinball-vids-guide#post-1813449
Quoted from vid1900:MONEY WIRING SCAM
===============================================
Another favorite of the CONfidence part of the game is the Money Wiring Scam.
Everyone **knows** that if someone wires money to your bank account, they can't take it back. So you are confident that wired money must be a safe transaction.
But of course, that is not the case.
Here the scam works by the buyer saying he want's to wire money to you "because it's safer for both of us".
You give him your bank account number, your address, your bank's address and wait for the money to be wired over.
Of course the scammer has a different plan:
1. He overnights a check made out to you, directly to your bank's branch.
2. The bank receives the check with your name, address and account number on it, and deposits it into your account.
3. You check your balance and see that a deposit has been made for $7,000
4. You believe that the money was WIRED, so you are CONfident that the funds are good.
5. You ship or allow pick up of the item.
6. 3-4 weeks latter, the bank gives you a Chargeback for $7,000 + a $30 Bounce Check Fee.
-
In the USA, most banks charge a fee of $30-50 to accept a wired money transfer. If you see your account received the $7,000 without the transfer fee - be very afraid!
In Europe the wired money fee is often only .60 cents for the same service, so it is harder to notice such a small fee.
Did nobody here read the original posts in this thread?
6 months later
Quoted from SadSack:Please do not suggest that I'm incapable of validating not only the check, but the bank itself. This stuff isn't rocket science. Perhaps you are confusing bank drafts with money orders. There is a big, big difference.
I think Vid meant that the phone number on the check could be fake and would be something the scammer set up. Some people would blindly call that number, rather than researching the bank's info for themselves.
3 months later
Quoted from gripwhip:Any thoughts on using Zelle? It is a peer to peer service banks are promoting for individuals to send money. It is similar to Venmo, but if both banks participate the money can arrive in minutes. There are some cap limits. I am not sure how disputes work. Chase has QuickPay now using Zelle. It looks like Zelle used to be clearXchange. Since this is going from checking to checking, it would seem like the chargeback issue would not be a factor. Thoughts?
https://www.usaa.com/inet/wc/mobile_banking_send_money_zelle_faqs_index?akredirect=true
https://www.finder.com/zelle-payments
There are no buyer or seller protections.
Also, it sounds like it could take a few days to clear, so a buyer could send you money and a few days later, it could be removed from your account if the buyer has insufficient funds. So, like plenty of other scams, you would be out both the money and the item.
For disputes, it says to call them. Somehow, I don't think they will be very helpful with mediating a dispute.
Quoted from gripwhip:I read about the delay issue, but it seems like once it clears much like a wire transfer the money would be hard to get back unlike a credit card chargeback.
...which is then risky for a buyer if the seller doesn't follow through.
4 years later
Just spotted this on reddit: 
pasted_image (resized).png
Don't forget to inspect bills during cash transactions.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Wellthatsucks/comments/rv2mui/sold_my_ipad_in_public_space_at_night_in/
9 months later
Apparently, the scam business is booming...
Warren, [...], requested data on fraud and scams on Zelle from seven banks starting in April. The report cites data from four banks that tallied 192,878 cases worth collectively $213.8 million in 2021 and the first half of 2022 where a customer claimed they had been fraudulently tricked into making a payment. In only roughly 3,500 cases did those banks reimburse the customer, the report found.
3 months later
Two recent posts on scammers & remote sales:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/beware-of-this-fb-scammer
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/scammer-chris-giroux-aka-mike-shonevis
2 months later
A reminder to always count the cash during a transaction:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/i-was-handed-a-nice-thick-envelope
2 months later
Quoted from vid1900:If someone hacked my account, they could rip you off, even if the entire community said I was legit.
All the latest AI ransom scams call with a voice so convincing, that even a mother thinks it's her own daughter .
Is it me, or just an AI doing a deep Eastern European accent voice?
I know saving $200 in escrow fees seems good, but the devil is getting smarter all the time
We were alerted to a scammer a few days ago who signed up for a new account and start spamming people with links that lead to a website that appeared to be a clone of the Pinside login page. So, if you submitted your username & password on that page, you would've handed your login info directly to the scammer.
However, there is an authentication method in place for logging into Pinside, so that's another roadblock for the scammer.
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