Is this a nigerian scam?

[ikickpigeons]

Hello,

I was trying to sell my camera locally through craigslist yesterday. After a couple of hours, I got a reply from a woman claiming to be buying a gift for her fiance. Well, this morning I got her payment through paypal. The thing is, the shipping address is in Nigeria. And Nigeria has become a dirty word in the world of craigslist. Is this a scam? How is it a scam if she is the one sending money?

Some background info:

The account is paypal verified BUT with a different name than hers, and not the name of her "fiance". The account that made the payment was a generic male's name, and the shipping address is her "fiance's name". The paypal account has no name connection to her or her fiance which is alarming, but if we assume it is her fiance's account, then it's weird because why would she use her fiance's account to buy a gift for him when he can see the account histroy and thus the gift? Also, she has his last name already when they are technically not married yet. She mentioned that she works at a children's hospital in florida which was kinda unneccesary information and felt like it was planted info on her part (who wouldn't doubt a big hearted child's doctor?). Also, why look in chicago's ads if she was in florida? Her grammar is weird and lacks the fluidity of a native speaker.

Here is an email she sent to me:

"Hi i would have loved to pick it up and send it out my self but am a doctor and i am presently working with Shriners Hospital For Children 2900 North Rocky Point Drive, Tampa, FLORIDA that is why i am paying for the shipping cost, the shipping address will be sent to you by paypal because i have a verified address with them so get back to me with your paypal email address so i can make the payment to you okay"

After writing all this out, I feel like this is a scam. What questions could I ask to confirm? And if I already have the money in my paypal account, what do I do? How can I protect myself? And lastly, am I paranoid?

Thanks.

This is not a FORUM issue, moving to ATOT
AT Mod
Gillbot

 

[SunnyD]

Never. EVER. SHIP. ANYTHING.

Craigslist is for local transactions so you can meet face to face before you get shanked in the back and assraped.

 

[dainthomas]

The answer to "is this a Nigerian scam?" is always YES. Seriously, if you have to ask...

 

[rudder]

shipping address in Nigeria? yeh sure... go ahead and mail it... not a scam.

 

[dfuze]

Sure sounds like a scam in the making.

Why not take a look at the email headers and see where "she" really is.

 

[ikickpigeons]

Ha, I get it. But if I already have the money in my account, what do I do?

Sure sounds like a scam in the making.

Why not take a look at the email headers and see where "she" really is.

how do I do that? sorry, I am an email noob.

 

[illusion88]

If you have to ask..... it's a scam.

 

[SunnyD]

Ha, I get it. But if I already have the money in my account, what do I do?



how do I do that? sorry, I am an email noob.

Remove it/spend it, then close your paypal account immediately. As soon as the fraud alert on the hacked account comes in to paypal, they will try to recover the money from you in any way possible.

By the way, the "buyer" (scammer) now has YOUR paypal address. Your account is next to get hacked.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Hell yes that is a scam.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Remove it/spend it, then close your paypal account immediately. As soon as the fraud alert on the hacked account comes in to paypal, they will try to recover the money from you in any way possible.

By the way, the "buyer" (scammer) now has YOUR paypal address. Your account is next to get hacked.

How would they hack his account?

 

[Gillbot]

Remove it/spend it, then close your paypal account immediately. As soon as the fraud alert on the hacked account comes in to paypal, they will try to recover the money from you in any way possible.

By the way, the "buyer" (scammer) now has YOUR paypal address. Your account is next to get hacked.

I disagree, REFUND IT. You don't want to be caught in the middle of a stolen funds dispute.

 

[SunnyD]

I disagree, REFUND IT. You don't want to be caught in the middle of a stolen funds dispute.

Or this... this is the slightly more ethical thing to do.

How would they hack his account?

The same way they hacked the account they used to pay him with?

 

[ikickpigeons]

f*ck. What do i do then? should I remove my bank account and credit card on file? Should I call paypal and close the account.

 

[dfuze]

Ha, I get it. But if I already have the money in my account, what do I do?



how do I do that? sorry, I am an email noob.

It depends on who your email client is. For instance, if you have Gmail hit the drop down next to Reply inside the email then click Show Original. Next copy all that gibberish and paste it into a site that reads the header such as http://www.ip-adress.com/trace_email/ and it will tell you where the email originated.

 

[dfuze]

f*ck. What do i do then? should I remove my bank account and credit card on file? Should I call paypal and close the account.

They only have access to your bank info if they hack you. If you are worried, start by changing the PW to something long and confusing. Chances are they did not get your account though.

 

[JTsyo]

Who states thier address when saying where they work? sounds like a scam.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Or this... this is the slightly more ethical thing to do.



The same way they hacked the account they used to pay him with?

Phish him for his password or trick him into downloading some malware?

 

[JulesMaximus]

How would they hack his account?

$50 says it is an unauthorized charge on a legitimate account and will likely be disputed and the funds will disappear from the OP's bank account within a few weeks at most. Then he'll be out a camera.

 

[ikickpigeons]

really, all I want to do is ensure that my acount doesn't get hacked. I'm not looking for revenge.

 

[DivideBYZero]

$50 says it is an unauthorized charge on a legitimate account and will likely be disputed and the funds will disappear from the OP's bank account within a few weeks at most. Then he'll be out a camera.

+1

 

[gorcorps]

Jesus, you won't get fucking hacked. Just send the money back and go about your life... Just sell locally.

 

[Krazy4Real]

Refund the money and say that you don't ship internationally. There is just way too much risk here.

 

[ikickpigeons]

$50 says it is an unauthorized charge on a legitimate account and will likely be disputed and the funds will disappear from the OP's bank account within a few weeks at most. Then he'll be out a camera.

Not one week, one day. The funds aren't in my account anymore. Phew...

Should I close my paypal account? I am very paranoid because the account is my father's and he is even more paranoid than me and will kill me if I lose funds in a family bank account. Also, the credit card that was on file ( I removed it immediatly) has an insane amoount of credit or limit.

 

[dfuze]

really, all I want to do is ensure that my acount doesn't get hacked. I'm not looking for revenge.

Doubt they are even hacking, mostly likely they bought the PW to the acct from some hacker. If you are worried, just don't use any links in emails to go to paypal and you should be fine.

 

[gorcorps]

Not one week, one day. The funds aren't in my account anymore. Phew...

Should I close my paypal account? I am very paranoid because the account is my father's and he is even more paranoid than me and will kill me if I lose funds in a family bank account. Also, the credit card that was on file ( I removed it immediatly) has an insane amoount of credit or limit.

Dear lord... Why are you so worried? You're at no more risk of getting hacked now than you were before. Just make sure you don't click on links from paypal emails and you'll be fine...or whoever has the account email address anyway. Always type the address into the browser yourself and you won't have problems. Seriously, calm the fuck down.