Scammer in action: I have a camera on craigs list for sale and the person wants to use pay pal and for me to ship it to her cousin in Colorado. I'm surprised it's not Nigeria.

WayneL Loc: Baltimore Md

I have a camera on craigs list for sale and the person wants to use pay pal and for me to ship it to her cousin in Colorado. I'm surprised it's not Nigeria.

via the lens Loc: Northern California, near Yosemite NP

Why would using Pay Pal be a scam? I use it all the time to receive money.

tommystrat Loc: Bigfork, Montana

Yes, you ship it and then they back the payment out of Paypal and you're dusted... Craigslist is notorious for this type of "pay now and ship later" scam. They use Paypal and Venmo, or Western Union - avoid like the plague...

Now, I have a lovely piece of lakeside property for sale...Oh, never mind....

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

WayneL wrote:

I have a camera on craigs list for sale and the person wants to use pay pal and for me to ship it to her cousin in Colorado. I'm surprised it's not Nigeria.

Paypal requires you to ship to address on their file. I never deviate. I also transfer the money to my account immediately after creating my shipping label.

WayneL Loc: Baltimore Md

via the lens wrote:

Why would using Pay Pal be a scam? I use it all the time to receive money.

Because they know how to send you a fake pay pal notice of payment. And if you are not smart enough to check your account before you ship you are ripped off. I've seen those fake notices before and they look real.
The ship to my cousin was a red flag for me, different address then your pp address makes it easy for them to say they did not get it.

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

You should never ship until the money has landed and successfully transferred to your bank account.

Paypal is reliable, for both buying and selling, it just takes common sense and discipline.

There is nothing wrong with shipping to a different destination once the payment has been successfully processed.

If you have the audit trail including a request for the destination address prior to payment and shipping you should be safe.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

It's a shame.
I don't trust Craig's list or Ebay any more. Did YEARS ago though.

I ordered a book from a genealogist in Canada, payment by personal check in US funds. Told her to hold the book, I will let her know when the check clears my bank. It cleared, told her what bank she deposited to, she shipped the book the same day. I figured sellers are probably just as leery as buyers.

Larry Swearingen

Western Union works great for receiving payment.
They send you the Payment Information and you go
to your nearest WU Office (a nearby Krogers Grocery
has one) and collect the Ca$h.
You have been paid the full amount in actual dollars.
What is wrong with that ?

Larry S

WayneL Loc: Baltimore Md

Larry Swearingen wrote:

Western Union works great for receiving payment.
They send you the Payment Information and you go
to your nearest WU Office (a nearby Krogers Grocery
has one) and collect the Ca$h.
You have been paid the full amount in actual dollars.
What is wrong with that ?

Larry S

Yeah if you are on the receiving end

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

WayneL wrote:

Because they know how to send you a fake pay pal notice of payment. And if you are not smart enough to check your account before you ship you are ripped off. I've seen those fake notices before and they look real.
The ship to my cousin was a red flag for me, different address then your pp address makes it easy for them to say they did not get it.

and according to @PixelStan77, against the rules. Just don't do it - and 'blame' Paypal.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

via the lens wrote:

Why would using Pay Pal be a scam? I use it all the time to receive money.

I only use cash with Craigslist - it is a local classified service - and the best way to not get scammed is to do face-to-face transactions. Scammers will insist on shipping somewhere else, and then claiming the goods were not received, etc etc etc. If the guy needs it shipped to somewhere else, make the transaction local and cash, and let them ship it.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Gene51 wrote:

I only use cash with Craigslist - it is a local classified service - and the best way to not get scammed is to do face-to-face transactions. Scammers will insist on shipping somewhere else, and then claiming the goods were not received, etc etc etc. If the guy needs it shipped to somewhere else, make the transaction local and cash, and let them ship it.

Absolutely. Craigslist purchases and sales should always be cash, face-to-face, in a safe, public place (never at your home). Here in Raleigh, there is a “safe place” for transactions at the police station. Simple.

DaveJ Loc: NE Missouri

Just because you receive the money on Paypal and transfer it to your account, Paypal can and does take back the money for any number of reasons. You are helpless to stop it. Does not happen often, but does happen.They have your bank account and usually credit card info and the authority to pull from your account.The buyer is always right, even when they are wrong. I have a friend who sells used computer gear online. He sold a perfect condition scanner (police)for me. He packs very well. Buyer changed his mind and said it was broke when he received it. Friend paid for buyer to return item. It was obvious he took a hammer to it. Nothing he could do. Money was refunded. I'm more concerned selling than buying.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

WayneL wrote:

I have a camera on craigs list for sale and the person wants to use pay pal and for me to ship it to her cousin in Colorado. I'm surprised it's not Nigeria.

Nothing wrong with paypal, you get paid, it is in your account. What is your issue?

Peterff Loc: O'er The Hills and Far Away, in Themyscira.

DaveJ wrote:

Just because you receive the money on Paypal and t... (show quote)

That’s what shipping insurance is for. Everything in life comes with some degree of risk, but that doesn’t mean that we should be paranoid and do nothing.

Be cautious, don’t be reckless.