This feels scammy… is it scammy?

[AngeloMysterioso]

Selling something on Facebook. £10. Have been messaged by someone who wants it and says she will pay by bank transfer and her brother will pick it up. But now she’s saying she wants to send it as a business payment and wants my email address as well as my bank details and address for collection.

Something feels off to me…

Absolute scam.

Don't do it.

Sounds like a scam to me. Cash on collection, at a time when another adult can be in the house with you, or in a public place.

Brother can pay the £10 on collection. Or they’ll say they never received it and put in a claim through PayPal. Barely worth it for £10 though. So that’s odd. Might be something worse. Definitely don’t let them do that.

I think business transactions give the buyer more rights - like refunds if not functioning etc. Given that you are presumably just selling a personal item (clearing out junk etc), there is no need to give the purchaser more rights. It should stay as a "sold as seen" cash-on-the-doorstep transaction. I would worry about being pursued for a refund/compensation at a later date otherwise.

The business account one is a known scam. Don't give your email address. Don't do bank transfer and someone else collect. Cash in collection or bugger off.

If you want to see it play out in real time. Give a bogus email address and see what happens. It might keep you amused for a bit.

Do they just claim a refund afterwards?

If you have to ask - then it's a scam. Even if, especially if, you can't see how it would work.

Of course it's a scam. If it wasn't the "buyer" would just back transfer the money to their brother and he'd pick up the item with cash.

I don't use Facebook marketplace place anymore as all you get are these scams

You don't get sent anything in the first place.

There's a variety of PayPal ones on here for examples.

https://www.paypal-community.com/t5/Security-and-Fraud/I-received-an-email-saying-that-I-needed-to-upgrade-to-business/td-p/3039078

Asking for your email is usually just the red flag you need. Just block them.

I wouldn't touch that with someone else's bank account !

Listen to your intuition OP! She doesn't need your bloody bank details!
Scammers are nasty people, and they show it whenever they are caught out and exposed. They do great harm!

If it sounds scammy/you're uncomfortable - for £10 it's not worth it.
If it's genuine, someone else will also be happy to pay £10 for the item and probably do it in a less weird way!

I'd also add - there are scams where once they have your details, they'll send you £100 or £1000 - and then message "whoops, i've sent you too much can you send the left over back" and then you are brought into money laundering or something similar. (No idea how this actually works!)

Anyway - don't do it!

Yes, It's an old scam.

They put in a claim for ''item not received''

But £10 is a low amount...It's not give these people an email number.

Paypal friends and family is another thing to be very wary of as a buyer.

A trusting man I know paid $1500 to an online 'antiques' dealer - she asked if he'd pay by ''Friends and family'' as it saved her fees.

He did- and never saw his items and couldn't get his money back.

Paypal said they get calls from upset people all day long.

The 'Friends and family' gives a buyer zero protection.

Bank transfer is fine. But not for collection. Because then they have your bank details and your address. Cash on collection, bank transfer for posted items.

Well foolishly I had already given that info before the whole business transfer/email thing set the alarm bells ringing… however I’ve contacted my bank and there’s nothing they can do with that info alone. Unfortunately though because it’s marketplace messenger I can’t unsend anything.

Cash on collection only for me! Also if it was a stranger wanting to collect, I wouldn't use my own address for collection.

Not only would they have your name and email but they would also have your address and possibly your DOB and mobile number depending on your security settings.

With that information, they can pass security on any credit/bank accounts you may have or even apply for credit in your name.

If it feels off it usually is!

Block

Scam scam scam. Don't give them your email and certainly not your bank details.

Not if they paid by bank transfer! You can only claim a refund through PayPal if you paid through PayPal and used the "goods and services" option.

No chance of a refund using bank transfer.

Not the "business" thing though OP, you're not a business. If they want a warranty or to be covered by the Sale Of Goods Act they need to buy from a business supplying goods, not a private individual selling off their own personal possessions.

Same reason you don't want to accept PayPal "goods and services" when you're selling off your own personal possessions. The law doesn't make you responsible for safe delivery, that's the buyers risk to take, as is choosing to inspect it prior to purchase or not. Your part of the deal ends when you post the accurately advertised item. PayPal "goods and services" makes you responsible for delivering though, so you're unnecessarily giving the buyer more rights than they're legally entitled to.

The rules for PayPal "item not as described" are much more lax than for legal "misrepresentation" too. You've pretty much got to go out of your way to lie about something to get sued for the latter. Whereas failing to mention a small cosmetic scratch that doesn't affect the use of the item might be enough for the buyer to get a refund as "not described" via PayPal.

The risk from handing over too many details is ID fraud. If people have your name, address, bank details, email etc that way too much for a random stranger to have on you.

There's no real risk from doing bank transfer itself as a payment method, all they can do with the info is put money in and it's perfect for if you have to post something.

Just watch out for the money laundering thing PP mentioned above. Report it to the bank/police if that happens to you or they may think you're complicit.

That's reassuring and at least the bank is now aware someone was trying to scam you.