Scammers are always looking for some new way to scam people. I think they sit there all day and come up with ways they can scam people out of money and property. One of the latest things they are doing is scamming people through Paypal. Yes, you heard me correctly! You think that when it comes to completing transactions through Paypal that you are safe, but not anymore. There are scammers that use Paypal to scam you out of money and property. I know this firsthand because I have had a few things happen to me and just this past week, my son almost fell victim to a scam. Allow me to explain how you can be scammed through Paypal.
What these scammers will do is offer to buy something from you. Most of these scammers are overseas. They will insist that they can only pay you through Paypal. Which at this point, you think you are safe. Wrong! The buyer will sometimes offer you more for the item than what it is worth. When you find out that it has to be shipped overseas, you contact them because you are worried about the shipping. They then offer you an outrageous amount to coverage the shipping for the item. At this point you should be alarmed, but if you are not familiar with this scam, they are about to hook you.
So, you agree to sell them the item and accept the money along with the extra amount for the shipping. The buyer asks you to send them an invoice through email and they pay you right away. Everything seems good so far, right? This is where the scammer wins! They will report to Paypal that they never received the item that they paid for. Since you shipped the item to an overseas location, you didn’t get a shipping confirmation because the United States does not provide shipping confirmations for outside the United States packages. So, guess what? They buyer then gets their money back through Paypal and they also have your item. And no, there is nothing you can really do about it.
This is a huge problem with people who sell stuff on Craigslist or other places like that. The scammers are mostly going for iPhones, iPods, PSPs, any gaming system, and just about any technology. The way to protect yourself from this is by not selling to anyone overseas. Also, if they are offering you an amount that is unreal and an amount that is unreal for shipping, be alarmed. If you ship something in the United States and feel like something in your gut is not right, make sure you get a shipping confirmation or make them sign for the item. Without proof that you sent the item, they can get their money back through Paypal.
Sources: The author of this article has fell victim to this scam a few times and her son almost fell victim to this scam.
