is this an ebay scam?

Question

I have a ps3 up for auction on ebay and someone sent me this email...I am not sure if its a scam or not! can you help??


Dear Seller, Am Jone Steve . I saw your item on EBAY and i know it will be good and everlasting item for my marketer...i will pay the sum of ($ 900.00 USD) for the item and the shipping... i will like to know the cost of the item including the shipping cost by via GLOBAL EXPRESS/UPS. to my marketer in NIGERIA. my terms of payment are......... 1. Paypal. 2. Travelex Express Moneyorder. 3. Western Union Money Transfer. So kindly get me the shipping cost of this item to NIGERIA via GLOBAL EXPRESS/UPS and kindly send me your full details so as for me to go and make the payment of the money. So kindly mail me back to this mail address ([e-mail]) or ([e-mail]) so i wait for your soonest reply. Thanks, Jone Steve.

Answer 1

yes

Answer 2

Yes. The next step if you replied to the email would be for him to tell you that he was expecting a larger payment, perhaps $2,000 or $3,000 and he would get it sent to you by cheque so that you could deduct your $900 plus an extra fee for your help and send the balance to him by Western Union. The cheque would not clear because it would be either forged or on an account with no funds and by the time you got the cheque back you have already sent his balance to him and probably the goods too so you lose it all.

The really disgusting thing about this is not only the maggots that like to trick you and abuse your trust by initing this scam, it is also that the police forces of each country in the world don't do anything about it because they all take the view that the crime is being perpetrated outside their jurisdiction so it is not their problem. Either that or, even worse, they are unable to work out how to stop it and it seems that Western Union don't initiate any security checks to stop it because they are getting paid for their service anyway.

What the British police, for example, say when they are informed about this type of scam being initiated is that they cannot pursue a crime until it has been committed, even when it is clearly being set up to be committed and I would think that attempted fraud must be every bit as illegal as fraud itself.

Answer 3

I jut got this one below today - given the exact same format ($ amnounts, Country, item name etc in brackets) I would say Yes it is a scam. Thanks for posting your note.
Turns out the "uncle's son" is in Nigeria :-) and in the second follow up email has become a "Brother-in-law" - also read this posting which will tell you more.

http://help.lockergnome.com/general/Ebay-Scam-ftopict29451.html

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"Hello seller i saw your item on Ebay Auctions and i have interest in buying it for my Uncle's Son as a Bithday Gift and he's presently in West Africa so you will need to send the item to him in the West Africa and let me know if you still have in selling the item and i will offer you ($800.00USD) for Mobile Phone and i can,t wait till the bidding ends and I want you to kindly tell me more about his condition at the moment and also more about the shipment.Payment shall be made by (Travelex Money Order Service) and i also preffer the Shipping through 3-5 days USPS Global Express or DHL Courier Service so i will need this information for the payment. NAME- ADDRESS- CITY- STATE- ZIPCODE- COUNTRY- EMAIL ADDRESS - and Let me know if we can continue the transaction? U can contact me directly ([e-mail] ) i will be looking forward to hear back from you Thanks and Happy New Year. "

Answer 4

As long as he pays you 900.00 via paypal why not let him know how much shipping is going to be to nigeria?

Tell him that it will be 100.00 and so his total is $1,000.00. Tell him that you will wait for him to pay you by paypal (money shows up in your account and you withdraw it) and then you will be sending the item on its way.

Tell him that you do not have a refund policy and cannot give his money back for any reason. Do not let him have shipping insurance as an option.

Good luck

Answer 5

My best advice is to click on all the pertinent links - check out the seller other items, contact the seller directly and see if they reply, etc. The person who said that using PayPal is fairly safe is correct about buyer protection. One thing you might do is like someone else suggested, check out that seller thru Googling them and see if you come up with anything. The fact that they have no rating bothers me a bit, but it is a Classified Ad and those do not participate in ratings. So... if it was me, I'd avoid it and find another listing (that has a seller with a good rating) and go that way. But that's just me... :)

Answer 6

Anything that requires any information about YOU as opposed to the item, is a scam.

ebay is set up so that inquiries to you can be made via ebay... Respond ONLY to those inquiries... and do not give out info about yourself under any circumstances.

The only person who REALLY needs to know about shipping costs is the winning bidder.

Also, contact ebay customer service and let them know about this email you received. In fact, I'd forward this email to them, so they can warn other sellers about this person.

Answer 7

just make sure you are paid by paypal BEFORE you ship. then you delete your ebay listing and it saves you the money ebay would charge at teh end of auction.

i sold my ps3 on ebay and the total auction costs were ~$35

Answer 8

Yes it is a scam never ever, ever, ever, answer such bogus emails. They are trying to fiche your private info and steal your identity and money. Just delete the email and block it.

Answer 9

If that isn't a scam, I am your uncle Rudy. Can't tell whether he is just trying to steal your item or do more damage than that. Steer clear

DANGER! DANGER WILL ROBINSON!

-Dio

Answer 10

Yes, the person who sent this email is trying to scam you, you will not get your money and you will lose your stuff.

Answer 11

Without a doubt. There is a lady who messes with these people. I think her website is BustedupCowgirl.com. Very funny reading.