Someone is trying to scam me - BEWARE!

Well, I read a lot of posts here about people trying to scam many of you through buying your stuff for sale through PayPal and shipping your goods off.....

It is always good for us here to have another reminder of the scammers that lurk everywhere.

I have never had it happen to me, until this morning.

I put my TT rebuild project for sale on Craigslist. A few replies, nothing solid yet.

Then I got one yesterday as follows:

" I'm interested in the listed ad and is it still available? You should reply me
back to my email address : danieltimore@gmail.com for further discussion.

Thanks
Mandi
"

It sounds fair enough so I responded:

" Hi Mandi,
I have a lot of interest in it and two people say they want it, but until someone shows up with cash in hand, it is wide open for anyone to come see it.
So, if you want, come & see!

Bob "

Then I get this:

I will appreciate more pictures , Is there any history I should know
about and why are you selling it? Sorry am litle bit curious.
However, I'm buying for my son who will be graduating from the
University because I want it to be a perfect surprise gift for him as
my family always love surprises so much and he's so much of an
enthusiast.

Though, I won't be able to come for the inspection personally due to
the nature of my work and I would have love to call but we have call
restrictions due to bad weather conditions but can access my e-mails
easily anytime. I am already scheduling pick up with my
freighters/shippers that will handle shipment and deliver it to my
home.


As regards the payment, I can pay you through instant transfer using
paypal transfer service , because its fast, convenient, safe and
secured. I insisted on PayPal because I don't have access to my bank
account online as I don't have internet banking but my bank account is
linked to my PayPal.

Kindly get back to me with the following so that I can proceed with
the payment ASAP :

PayPal Name :
PayPal Email :
Final Price :

I’ll also want you to take off advertisement to be rest assured you
are selling to me and I will really appreciate if you can email me
with payment information so i can complete the sales and my
freighters/shippers can arrange for time and date to come for pick up.

Hope to read from you shortly.

Thank you,
Mandi "

RED FLAG - RED FLAG!!! Somebody is trying to scam me!!
OK, I'll play along with their game to see where this goes.
So I sent a response back:

[COLOR=]" Hi Mandi,

Thank you for your information and requests,
On the ad I posted a link to my website that has hundreds of pictures of the whole process. I thought that these pics more than adequately illustrated the unit. Do you need more than that? If so, kindly let me know what kind of pictures you would like.

I am selling it because it has been years since I have had the time to work on it. I would love to finish the project, but my needs have changed. It was initially rebuilt for me to use as a portable motel when I travel all over the province for my work. Because it was taking too long to finish, I bought another RV trailer to use. I wore that one out and just bought a newer bunkhouse model with a floor plan that better suits my needs. I now have 4 grandchildren and like to take them camping with me. My project RV's floorplan is unsuited for this. So this is why I have decided to sell it.

It is unfortunate you cannot come see it in person, as there is so much to see about how much work has gone into this project. Perhaps you could have a friend or family come see it. I am within easy travel of the entire lower mainland.

Shipping is not necessary, as it is quite towable on its own. Just hook up your truck and tow it away.

When you or your agent comes to get it, just bring the money with you. It is a whole lot easier than any of this Paypal nonsense. The price is clearly stated in the ad.

I will take the ad down when the unit is sold. I have had a lot of interest in this RV, but it is only fair to allow the first person to show up with payment have it.

Kindly let me know how you would like to proceed.

Thank you "

I soon got an answer back from them as follows:

" Am satisfied with everything and Payment will be sent using PayPal and i will handle the PayPal surcharge as well. i will be glad if you can set up an account with PayPal is very easy and safe just log on to http://www.paypal.com/ and set up the account. PayPal is the only online payment company that i trust i have been using it for for the past 7 years and i have never have problem with them.i will be glad if you can get back to me asap so i can know if you are still interested in this deal. i can assure you that am a faithful person and this transaction will be a legit transaction. "

My last answer to them was this:

" Hi Mandi,

Thank you for your prompt reply again.

I do not have a PaypPal account nor do I intend to get one. I am old school in the way I handle things, and will be happy to wait until you or your agent shows up at my door with cash in hand. This will be a much safer transaction for both of us.

Thank you for understanding, and I look forward to seeing my project RV going to a great new home!
Thank again,
Bob "

That was only a few minutes ago and no reply back yet. I do not expect to hear back from them.


So BEWARE everyone!!! Watch out for these scammers!!

A little note about this one. Be observant when you sell on CraigsList or anywhere else:
They responded to my ad and instructed me to reply to the email indicated. So I did. The response I got back was from a different email address.

Of course the poor English and bad grammar are a tipoff too.

Sorry it is a bit long but I just wanted to share a scam attempt with you all.

Be careful!
Bob