Accepting payment on behalf of ______

Hey guys!
I recently found an offer on craigslist that is too good to be true, so I know it must not be true. I'm just wondering how this scam would work since I'm not very con-minded lol.

The guy says that he needs someone to accept a paypal payment for an apartment deposit of $3,000. Of this money, he'd be letting the person keep $500. The problem, he claims, is that he didn't know paypal had a 60-day review process where you can't "withdrawal money", so he's looking for someone who's account has been verified and established for a year.

Okay, yeah, sure.

But how does this benefit him? Is the money stolen? I'm confused

[AlanJones]

You will either be receiving money from another scam victim or he will send you an email pretending to be from PayPal saying the funds have been paid.

If it is the former then when the victim finds out they have been scammed, they will complain to PayPal (and possibly the authorities) and the payment will be reversed and you could well end up being investigated for fraud.

If it is the latter then you will end up down the funds that you send on as there never was a payment in the first place.

Either way, you're going to at the very least end up out of pocket.

Please can you post the details of the scammer.

I would but luckily I didn't contact him!
The post says his name is Ryan in Miami, FL but the post has since been flagged for removal. I'm guessing someone figured out the trick before I did.

Thanks for your help!