What could this scam be...

[Question111]

Anyone been "scammed" this way via Facebook marketplace or can tell me what the scam may be?

So, I've put up a coat for sale. It's an expensive item, band new etc.
Within 15 mins I had a message via Facebook messenger. I know there are many scams and the last time I tried to sell something on fb, I had so many of those "I'll send a dpd driver".

So a message from someone very quickly offering to buy the item (full price). It says her profile was created 2023, she has 4 pics, profile pic looks grainy and apparently went to uni somewhere in America. So obviously she isn't going to buy my item.

She says she will collect, so I ask where I live. She names a town which is actually only 15 mins away and says she will send her wife to collect (I've not given my address obviously). Without asking my address, asking for any discount etc she asks for my PayPal to apparently pay £200 for an item when she doesn't even know my address. I provide my PayPal details. I don't know why but I'm playing along at this point waiting for the scam.

10 mins later she says she's paid and can I check the money has gone in. Obviously it hasn't.
She's tried calling me via messenger! I'm not answering.

So... obviously she's not genuine but where is the scam? Any ideas?

That meant to say *I ask where she lives

Probably would end up somewhere along these lines

https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/19791386/facebook-marketplace-scam-fedex-ups/amp/

Money laundering? She may have paid the money (maybe hasn’t arrived yet), then will demand a refund and not collect? Sounds risky but maybe worth the risk to run the money through someone else’s account.

I put a thread up last week for the same thing
But my item is a tent

Loads of messages saying their brother would collect

The advice on here is cash on collection only no pay pal no couriers etc

Oh no. I've just had this email...

All I have was my PayPal email address!

She might send a link saying it's paid but it's a fake PayPal page. If she sends any links, don't click on them.
Or she'll send a fake screenshot saying it's paid and must be pending your end and then collect your goods but you never get the money.
Or there's one where they send money, but then say oops I sent too much and rush you to send the different via your bank or something then they put in a claim on PayPal and get that money back too.
Just so many different scams it's hard to know.

Don't click on anything on that email!

Go to PayPal the official way and change your password just in case.

This. And set up two factor authentication while you're at it.

The email you've received will be the scam. You'll panic and use it to sign in.

Hover over the address you've received it from and it'll probably be a nonsense email.

Cash on collection only.

Yes they've used your email address to send the scam email. A pp said you can check the sender. Do not do anything just ignore and don't do it again.

That makes sense, likely the email would send you to a fake page up login and then they have your details and will hack your PayPal.

The email says it's from PayPal...

As above, don’t click on anything in that email. It will be a fake. I work in fraud and see this all the time. It may show a fake account with the money in so you return it, often by PayPal friends and family which has no come back at all. Delete everything and block her. She hasn’t sent any money, don’t think twice about it.

It's an alias.

I changed my password but then received another email stating "login from a new device"... but it genuinely seems to be from PayPal. It's the PayPal email and has my full name (surname on my PayPal account is different to the one on my FB).

You can unlink your cards and bank account from PayPal. Might be worth doing that just in case they do manage to hack into your account?

@reallyworriedjobhunter an alias in what sense?
I think the email has come from PayPal. It's the [email protected] email and has my full name which wouldn't have been known.

Did the first dodgy one have your full name on it?

I am selling a Shark Flexstyle on Messenger and had a query today from someone in the US who claimed her son would be coming to see it tomorrow. From Manchester and I am in Aberdeen in a storm! Not sure of the angle but I blocked her. Had a few enquiries from random locations.

An alias in that if you hover or click on the actual email address (in the sender bar), it will display something that isn't PayPal...

click on the address. they have put the paypal email in as their name - instead of john smith.

do not click on links in that email.

What does it say behind if you click on the service@paypal part.
eg this is an email really from secret sales:

@JustWhatWeDontNeed yes it did. So they must be actual emails from PayPal because she wouldn't know my surname as it's not on Facebook.

It's just odd that it states someone has actually logged in but I logged in the same time to change my password, so maybe it didn't recognise my device - but that wouldn't make sense. However if it's a genuine email from PayPal then I don't see how she would have logged into my PayPal account.