Am I about to get my identity stolen?

[Janarth]

Sold an account on ebay (hey, need the money :p), with all the info and clearly stating shipping is free as its just information, and accepting only paypal. I get this e-mail, with the subject "Answer my questions and give me your full name and address and telephone number":

I agreed to pay the amount you want as buy it now any aditional money for the shipping.but i am using this opportunity to inform you that the amount that will be on the moneyorder will more than ur item fees.i don"t realy know the exact amount it will be.bcos it will be issue by my client.and the reason of the over payment is that.the amount on the moneyorder has been signed,and it is more than ur item fees.so once you receive it.you must deduct ur item fees and westernunion the balance money to my client manager in africa.and the item is going to africa.

there will be no problem about the shipment.i want you to responsible for it.also make sure you deduct ur item fees and westernunion any aditional money on the m/o once you receive it.Here will go.i wolud have end the auction but i don"t know how to do it.so i want you to go and end the auction for me asap.to asure you that i am realy intrested in ur item.i will add extra $5.00 in ur payment if you end the auction for me asap.and email me ur phone# asap today.
Below are the questions i have for you.

1)is the item in good condition?

2)is any westernunion location where you to send the balance money money arround you?

3)can you make sure you get the m/o cash at ur bank the sameday you receive it?

4)can you allow me to send DHL for the pick up and complet the transaction the day you receive the moneyorder?

If yes too all my questions.kindly email me back asap today so that the moneyorder can be send asap,

Regards,


This f--k wants me to wire him money thinking he is going to overpay? Is that the deal? What the f? Now what do I do, he bought out the auction that actually had legit buyers :p

BTW Finished my triathlon today, 3 hours 4 minutes (towards the back, the pro's finished in 1 hour and 50 minutes, but hey, first one and I'm not exactly "fit", though far from a couch potatoe - legs were lead for the final six miles) :)

[Gan]

Smells like a phish email designed to get your info.

At the very least send it to ebay. spoof@ebay.com

Some helpful links:

One about western union payments: (big no no)
http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/mrkt_safety/instantcashtransfer.html#western

Spoofs and phish emails:
http://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/stop_spoof_websites.html

[DeV]

BTW Finished my triathlon today, 3 hours 4 minutes (towards the back, the pro's finished in 1 hour and 50 minutes, but hey, first one and I'm not exactly "fit", though far from a couch potatoe - legs were lead for the final six miles) :)Much respect for anyone who competes in and finishes one of these events. Sort of similiarly, my girlfriend's sister ran the Chicago Marathon last year and it was an overwhelming experience even as a spectator, especially seeing the exhausted runners crossing the finish-line, sometimes helping each other across the line because their legs turned to lead a couple miles back, but accomplishing something not many people will ever undertake in their lifetime. I gather that overwhelming feeling must have hit you too.

As for the e-bay thing, what Gan said, especially about the Western Union wire. I doubt e-bay condones such sales practices, on the part of the buyer in your case. It sounds like a scam right off the top.

[AestheticDeath]

1)is the item in good condition?

2)is any westernunion location where you to send the balance money money arround you?

3)can you make sure you get the m/o cash at ur bank the sameday you receive it?

4)can you allow me to send DHL for the pick up and complet the transaction the day you receive the moneyorder?


He doesn't even know what the fuck he is buying. DHL for pickup? What the...

And he's making too much of a hassle out of it.

I'd report him as a non-paying bidder, get the almost-free auction relisting, and sell it again, block him as a buyer.

[Bobmuhthol]

I couldn't understand the e-mail. :(

[Rolis]

triathlon... nice. Might I ask what distances the race was broken down into?

[StJimmy]

Relist it, don't deal with wankers like this. Too much trouble when there are other people who will buy no hassles. Maybe reslist it with a shorter time period and with a quick explaination about why you're relisting.

I couldn't even be bothered reading all of what the buyer said because it makes no fucking sense.

It actually reminds me of a version of a 419 scam. I'm sure I read something about them saying they overpaid and want you to western union them back.

[Gan]

Yea,

I advised Janarth over IM to relist, and specify some restrictions on the sale as no negative feedback for buyer, must be an established account, and payment via paypal only.

These are some things that will give him some added protection against buyers like the above.

Keeping in mind that paypal and ebay both do not warranty sales of intangible merchandise.

The letter above was sent to the spoofing department, it will be interesting to see their response.

[Jorddyn]

This f--k wants me to wire him money thinking he is going to overpay? Is that the deal? What the f? Now what do I do, he bought out the auction that actually had legit buyers :p


From what I've heard of this scam, they send you a fake money order. You send them the "change" and the item. Your bank then charges you back for the amount of the money order. They now have your item and some of your money, and you're screwed. So, uh, yea, don't do business with him.

And congrats on the triathalon :)

Jorddyn

[Celephais]

It's definatly a scam, it's called the pidgeon drop. They give you too much money or money by mistake, ask you to return it, then they take your "returned money" and chargeback the full amount they sent. So whatever you returned, you really gave them.

[Warriorbird]

Yes.

[JohnDoe]

Yea,

I advised Janarth over IM to relist, and specify some restrictions on the sale as no negative feedback for buyer, must be an established account, and payment via paypal only.

These are some things that will give him some added protection against buyers like the above.

Keeping in mind that paypal and ebay both do not warranty sales of intangible merchandise.

The letter above was sent to the spoofing department, it will be interesting to see their response.

Rarely do you get anything other than a canned response from fraud departments at eBay and PayPal when you forward the offending emails on to them. I receive several of these types of emails every week. Most are unsolicited. I generally send all of them to eBay's and PayPal's fraud depts.

As for added protection via eBay and PayPal, it really doesn't exist. Being careful, due diligence, dealing with a reliable buyer/seller, etc. are the only safeguards one can truly count on. Report it, ignore it, relist it.