Scam mail?

paulleve said:
I've posted listings in the classifieds in recent months, and every one of them has gotten a response from a new account. I bounced messages with several of them who stated they definitely wanted the items I had listed, but no deals ever materialized. I have a new disclaimer I started putting into my classified ads:

Note: If you have a new account and have not interacted with the NES community (0 messages, 0 likes, 0 feedback), I am not interested in trying to work out a deal with you. These accounts have done nothing but waste my time in the past three months, so I will no longer respond to them.
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Most of these messages are from automated bots, which is why the messages are so generic and lack specificity to the actual item for sale. It's unlikely posting something like that is going to stop a bot from messaging you.
 
Camhabib said:
Most of these messages are from automated bots, which is why the messages are so generic and lack specificity to the actual item for sale. It's unlikely posting something like that is going to stop a bot from messaging you.
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I received very specific emails about the items I had listed, so they weren't bots. In several cases we even had meeting times and locations figured out, but then the buyers flaked out. I haven't had that happen when dealing with people who are invested in the NES community.
 
CrowCommand said:
Great. The thing that set my BS meter off was that his powder was "in great condition". They were quick to respond, so I figured I'd take the gamble....never again. I wonder if I dispute the transaction, saying I sent it to the wrong address, I could recoup the funds.
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Might be able to claim fraud and unauthorized access.
 
Scammers have attempted this at least once for each of the WTB ads I’ve posted here. I just forward the message to an admin/mod.
 
paulleve said:
I received very specific emails about the items I had listed, so they weren't bots. In several cases we even had meeting times and locations figured out, but then the buyers flaked out. I haven't had that happen when dealing with people who are invested in the NES community.
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I can’t speak to your exact situation, but more often than not, the initial message is just a bot, and when they get a hit or lead, the spammer / scammer will tailor subsequent messages specifically for you. It doesn’t make sense in almost all situations to actually have a human write those initial messages just given how poor the response rate typically is.
 
Robin Proctor said:
same guy contacted me. Steve from Texas right?...I told him that mama told me not to trust strangers on the internet and reported him as spam.
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I sell here via PP friends and family and I'm from Texas! [laugh]
at least I have a "rep" here. I might give you shit on the 'net but I have never jerked around a buyer here.
 
Camhabib said:
I can’t speak to your exact situation, but more often than not, the initial message is just a bot, and when they get a hit or lead, the spammer / scammer will tailor subsequent messages specifically for you. It doesn’t make sense in almost all situations to actually have a human write those initial messages just given how poor the response rate typical
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I know how the Nigerian Prince scam works. As I said, I had new accounts try to arrange meetings, yet they never worked out. None of them tried to encourage payment exchange prior to the planned meeting. They just flaked out at the last minute.
 
Got an email from Paypal, they are going to credit my account the $150 I paid. Pleasantly surprised, and lesson learned....seller/scammer has not contacted me in 24 hrs (they said they would have tracking info for me yesterday) which only further leads me to believe I was getting scammed.

Thanks to those who contributed constructively.
 
CrowCommand said:
Got an email from Paypal, they are going to credit my account the $150 I paid. Pleasantly surprised, and lesson learned....seller/scammer has not contacted me in 24 hrs (they said they would have tracking info for me yesterday) which only further leads me to believe I was getting scammed.

Thanks to those who contributed constructively.
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Wow, congratulations. I would have figured you were out your money. Nice. Did you just say you sent it to the wrong people/email address? Did they ask anything else?
 
I gotta say I was kinda thinking the same way, but I figured it was worth a shot.

Yes, I just stated that I sent payment to the wrong email address. They did not contact me again with any more questions. I was actually impressed how quickly they processed the claim.

The question now is, did the scammer still get paid? And there is a small possibility I will have 4 lbs of powder show up on my doorstep, courtesy of Paypal.[devil]
 
CrowCommand said:
Got an email from Paypal, they are going to credit my account the $150 I paid. Pleasantly surprised, and lesson learned....seller/scammer has not contacted me in 24 hrs (they said they would have tracking info for me yesterday) which only further leads me to believe I was getting scammed.

Thanks to those who contributed constructively.
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wait a sec! I send tracking info as soon as I mail the package. Am I not supposed to do that? I'm so confused. o_O I thought I was a "good seller."
 
FrugalFannie said:
I sell here via PP friends and family and I'm from Texas! [laugh]
at least I have a "rep" here. I might give you shit on the 'net but I have never jerked around a buyer here.
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I got a response to my WTB from Dustinx joined 2/23/2021 with 2 likes on 0 posts, 0 transactions, email Steve in Texas with a Gmail account! Is that you?? Why go under a new account?? LOL I dumped the message
 
Wow, go play the lottery now. You are the only person i know who has ever got a refund after sending the funds F&F to someone else, regardless of the excuse. That just does not happen with Paypal.
 
01906 said:
I had somebody respond to WTB a few weeks ago. He stated his friend could help me in Texas and gave me an email. I never responded because it was a new member account. I just went to find the message in my inbox but it's gone.
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Same here. Guy had a "friend" in Texas. I just looked back on my PM's and his message is gone now......
 
vario said:
Wow, go play the lottery now. You are the only person i know who has ever got a refund after sending the funds F&F to someone else, regardless of the excuse. That just does not happen with Paypal.
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Maybe that is Nature's Way of telling us that the scam is coming to an end.

Blue-skying, maybe some state AG is leaning on PayPal's "collusion",
and so PayPal is starting to tell the destination institution that they're going to eat the fraud,
or lose PayPal rights.

It's not as if PayPal isn't the 800 pound gorilla in the room these days.
 
There has been a Dustin Hooker who has been scamming a lot of people on sign collecting groups, he too demands PayPal ff and he actually sold the same sign to like 4 different people.
Could be a coincidence they share the same name, Dustin, but I'm betting it's the same group, one look at his fb page tells me to avoid him.
 
DustinX and Ziplux, have both responded to my WTB. Basically identical messages but one told me to contact Steve in Texas, and the other told me to contact Matthew in Texas. Both gmails.
 
Reptile, you can use PayPal for related gun items. PayPal owns E Bay and they sell gun parts. Basically, you cannot use PayPal for anything that requires a background check such as a firearm or serialized frame etc. As for cancelling the payment, if the payee has not accept it yet, I think you can cancel it. Worth a try.
 
I occasionally respond to Nigerian scammers' emails by sending this. No text, just this image. I like to think they think I have placed a Vodun curse on them. I have never received a reply after sending this.
 

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CrowCommand said:
I gotta say I was kinda thinking the same way, but I figured it was worth a shot.

Yes, I just stated that I sent payment to the wrong email address. They did not contact me again with any more questions. I was actually impressed how quickly they processed the claim.

The question now is, did the scammer still get paid? And there is a small possibility I will have 4 lbs of powder show up on my doorstep, courtesy of Paypal.[devil]
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PayPal probably had them on their radar as scammers. PayPal can pull the funds out of their account.
 
BigAl23 said:
Reptile, you can use PayPal for related gun items. PayPal owns E Bay and they sell gun parts. Basically, you cannot use PayPal for anything that requires a background check such as a firearm or serialized frame etc. As for cancelling the payment, if the payee has not accept it yet, I think you can cancel it. Worth a try.
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PayPal owns eBay?
 

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