how do craigslist paypal scams work?
 

listed a laptop on craiglist and I am getting people with african IP's offerring to pay me over the asking price by paypal if i will ship the item

so how does it work? they pay me on paypal, i send the laptop then x weeks later paypal refunds the monye because it was a hacked paypal account?

From Africa, it's a scam and just forget it, who cares how it works...

They say you never shipped it
They file a buyer complaint
you lose

so they use their real paypal?

and you can do nothing if you send? :(

send them a box of rocks lol

:2 cents:

Jerk off on a box of candy and send it, works like a charm and they always send a thank you:thumbsup

I am not convinced that it does work.

only use cash with craiglist, if they buyer wants to use anything else 99.9% chance it's a scam...

are they offering Paypal? or a check

those guys are die hard

Are you kidding me? People are making tons of money with PayPal scams. It's piss easy to get a refund. I got scammed a few weeks ago. Guy seemed legit, paid, I gave the item and he fucked off and got himself a refund.

Item not received /chargebacks as they claim the item isn't as described

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh
Well I stand corrected, I just didn't think anyone was actually stupid enough to fall for it.

just stay away from it ... prob a stolen account or something

btw he has a good warning page about common scams : http://www.craigslist.org/about/scams

So glad I don't use PayPal to buy or sell anything....

It wasn't on craigslist. And I googled the guy he seemed legit. He had a myspace page and talked perfect english etc. He was from UK even. The problem is when you get scammed online you can't do shit about it.

I'm no going to UK to threaten the guy, as much I'd love to. I just accepted it as a loss.

well, I was referring specifically to the craigslist ones, since it is so well known for scams.

Fake email from paypal telling of payment received then a letter from buyer asking if you can ship item fast.

If they are out of the country, 99% chance you are correct. they use someone elses paypal account and by the time that personal realizes their account has been hacked, item has been shipped.

if they are US based, chance is they will dispute the charge. Many times they will ask you to send the item USPS or UPS and select "wave the signature for delivery." That way the can claim it was never delivered.

A lot of people are scammers out there. I just sold old my iPhone on CL last week and I must of got 50+ scam emails and maybe 2-3 real ones and i posted in a small CL area.

With search tools and programs to mass email CL postings, it is easier for scammers than ever IMO. My :2 cents: NEVER ship anything you sell on CL. Meet in person and dont accept money orders. Why would someone make you take a personal check if they have the cash in their account? Make them take out the cash or go to their bank.