Craigslist/Paypal Scam; New and Improved Version

We live in South Florida. Here's a new and improved version of the Craiglist/Paypal Scam. The good guys won. I listed some expensive 2 way radios on Craigslist. At 4:30 in the morning I get a text asking if they're still available. The text named the item and price so it looked legitimate but who texts at 4:30 in the morning except someone in a significantly different time zone?

The next text asks if I'll pay shipping and that the buyer will pay using paypal. I text back " What's the shipping address? Return text: Luntonyia Copeland, 2008 Forrest St., Tupelo, MS 38801. Next text is their paypal address: [email protected] along with "Send me an invoice for the $ and we're good to go". So we have a guy on the phone having the item delivered to a girl in MS. Hmmm? I text back, "Looks good but give me a call to discuss". I get a call from a number in Bradenton, FL which isn't far from me. 941-301-8430. It's a guy doing his best to hide his African accent. The quality of the call is terrible, obviously an internet connection. OK, he's a scammer but I continue. He wants me to ship ASAP. I say OK how about Monday. He says No, "ship them today" because he needs them by Sunday. Well, since no one delivers on Sunday how about if we meet halfway between us and he can pay cash. Well, OK sending them Monday is fine but he can't meet me halfway (Fort Myers) because he's in Indiana working on a contract. He keeps insisting on sending them right away, hasn't asked anything about the item and wants it sent to a girl in MS even though he lives in FL. Based on what I read on some other sites the scammer's next step would be to send a convincing but phony Paypal notice notifying me that the money is in the account. There are a few different variations associated with this scam: sometimes the Paypal notice prompts the victim to enter their paypal account info on this bogus email which then gives him access to your paypal account which he undoubtedly uses to scam someone else; sometimes the notice requires you to verify your paypal account information before the amount will be credited; sometimes the guy makes a mistake and appears to have sent you more money than he was supposed to and asks you to send him back the overpayment, etc.

It looks like he just picked the name and address of some poor girl off of the web to use as the shipping address. I guess every American is a legitimate target since they hate us and think they're entitled to steal from us if they can. Here's a case where meeting face to face was good advice.

You've almost got it rewfilmmaker.

Either he or an associate will be running another common scam which involves a person receiving goods for them, which they are then asked to post on. They will usually be rewarded with counterfeit cheques. This doesn't always follow an exact plot, but if they can get a victim, they can usually put together the connections that can catch you out if you don't have your wits about you.

It's great that you outwitted them, but they'll be trying the same trick on hundreds of other people, and they don't need too many successes to make it worthwhile.

We should figure out way to sting them.

The problem is, the scammer himself is not in the US, and the mule (person who is receiving and forwarding the merchandise) is quite often an innocent victim who has replied to a job for a personal assistant or for employment at a forwarding company (which often comes complete with fake website.)

The scammer has given all phony information to the mule, so when all is said and done, you end up nowhere.