Payment with Paypal? Is this a scam?

[911Rob]

Morning,
I've got my car for sale on autotrader.ca and have this guy emailing me from an @gmail.com account. He says he wants to pay me with paypal, what does the brain trust of PPOT think about this? Scam?
I can't see the harm in giving him my paypal email address, but doing some checking before I do; who else would I ask?
Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the mail, i am buying this for my Cousin and i am a petroleum engineer currently on a rig offshore i really want this to be a surprise gift for my Cousin so i wont let him know anything about the this until it gets delivered to him , i am sure he will be more than happy with it.I can only pay with PayPal here, i will need you to give me your PayPal email address so i can make the payments asap and pls if you dont have PayPal account yet, it is very easy to set up, go to www.paypal.com and get it set up , after you have set it up i will only need the e-mail address you use for registration with paypal so as to put the money through.for you and they will let you know how you will get the money,tell me more about the advert,the price is okay by me

Note Well
PS:Pick up agent will come for the pick up as soon as i have made the payments, i would have loved to talk to you on phone but i am a petroleum engineer I work mainly offshore, our phone is down on the rig right now due to bad weather, we can only communicate with our base for now.
Cheers.

[Zeke]

That looks like total classic BS to me.

[speeder]

PayPal is ok to pay with but sucks to receive with because of the large fees. On something as substantial as a car, the fees would be a lot. Most sellers will only accept PP on large amounts if you are willing to pay the extra fees.

That said, this email screams fraud in extremely large letters. All of the language in it, (can't talk on phone/surprise gift for relative/ "pick-up agent"/etc.), is textbook Nigerian 419 scammer talk. There is no such thing as a fking "pick-up agent".

They are trying to get your PP info for some nefarious purpose. Tell him that he must include a very young virgin for this transaction to work for you, see where that goes. Good luck...

[aigel]

I would not do any high dollar transactions on pay pal. Not because of the nature of this guy's request rather than the potential of loosing money to pay pal. Paypal is not a legit financial institution you can trust. They are shady:

PayPal Alternative - Pay Pal Lawsuits, PayPal Complaints & Fraud

Personally I only use them on $200 or less transactions using my credit card now and keep my account cleaned out.

George

[targa911S]

wire transfer to a new account set up just for this transaction. Remove money immediately. Close account. If he works he has a bank.

[RRico]

I personally woundn't do it.
most usually pay a deposit only with PP.

scam key words:
"agent"
"advert"
"communicate only by email

[911Rob]

Thanks very much, doing some homework and this does look very scary. I've been emailing this guy about the car, so now have replied as such:

Hi ***,
Great news and lucky cousin you have there! This is one sweet car

Sorry to advise that there are too many scams with paypal or wired funds; therefore to proceed can you provide me with some personal information such as:
"Full" Name/Home Address/home phone number/ employer and info.
Also if I can telephone a person here in Canada that can vouch for you; such as wife or mother/friend?

Then I'll ask for a small deposit through paypal and hold the car for you’re the balance of funds and pickup.

I have a lot of interest in this car right now and a local person also wants to buy it; so no time to waste either.

Thanks, Rob

We'll see where that goes?
Whatever happened to meeting the guy, test driving and paying cash?

[stomachmonkey]

Scam

Move along

[Rick Lee]

Why so nice to the guy? I'd insult him and his religion while I was at it.

[dad911]

Pick up agent? Buying sight unseen without concern of price or ppi? Total BS Scam.....

[Por_sha911]

Go read PayPal Alternative - Pay Pal Lawsuits, PayPal Complaints & Fraud
I've had to fight with paypal due to crooked sellers and IMO they have no interest in seeking the truth but will do whatever is quickest/easiest.
As others have said, this screams SCAM and the fees would be stupid.

[porsche4life]

You're selling the TT! No!

[Oh Haha]

Scam.

Something eerily similar was posted in the past few months. The offshore rig rrang a bell for me. The other one was worded the same. Sorry, I don't recall if it was in the parts section or cars here.

[Geronimo '74]

SCAM!
But I would take it further and see how far you can go.
Waste his time a little.

[Jagshund]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

Why so nice to the guy? I'd insult him and his religion while I was at it.

Since you probably don't know his particular religion, just go ahead and send a message insulting all of them.

[tcar]

Originally Posted by Geronimo '74

Waste his time a little.

By totally wasting your own time...

Forget him.

[Rick Lee]

Originally Posted by 1968Cayman

Since you probably don't know his particular religion, just go ahead and send a message insulting all of them.

That works too.

[Joeaksa]

Its a typical scam. Guys who are on oil rigs and such have as good telephone and internet access as we do. After all, how it he emailing you?

Either play with it or move on but do not give the car away to anyone. Even if you have cash in your hand there are ways that PayPal can come back after you even 10 days later and force you to pay the money back.

[Geronimo '74]

Originally Posted by tcar

By totally wasting your own time...
.

True true

But hey, if there is one thing I've got plenty of, it's time. (money, I could do with some more )

[porsche4life]

Rob if you are giving the car away I offer a nice warm home in OK... It will be very well loved... I promise.