How to avoid fake eBay buyers

Hi. I've currently just started to sell on eBay and was wondering how can I avoid these fake buyers who want their items sent to Nigeria, etc. Does paypal ask for a shipping/tracking number before they deposit money into your account? or is this all fake?

I don't get what your trying to say. Try to reword it a little bit.

okay i had somone buy a item off me, Paypal sent me a email saying when i give them a Item Tracking number they will deposit the money into my account. Is this true? is this how paypal works? or am i being scammed?

you being scammed. Once you post the item and give them the tracking number, then how do you know if they're going to pay or not

yeah its definately a scam. avoid buyers from places like nigeria and don't do a thing until they pay for the item. report this person to ebay ASAP.

yes...im more concerned about how paypal works. Does paypal ask for the tracking number before they deposit money into your account?

I think somthing should be pinned in the forum.
'Avoid people who want items sent to nigeria'.
'recieve money before posting item'.

yes...im more concerned about how paypal works. Does paypal ask for the tracking number before they deposit money into your account?

i honestly have no idea what this is talking about. I have never had this come up before. All paypal is, is a way for people to send a secure payment to you. Once your auction has ended, the person sends their money to you through paypal and it goes right into paypal account. It's as simple as that.

Yes well thats what i thaught happened....until i get this fake email from 'paypal' saying that they have my money and all that they need to complete the transaction is the tracking number for the item sold.

hmm this could or could not be fake. if there's no money in your paypal account, but you know the buyer in fact payed already then it might not be fake, but if you know the buyer hasn't payed then it probably is fake.

But how do i know? does paypal not transfer the money until you have provided them with a tracking number for the item that has been paid for? or does it automatically go into your bank account?

My advice is try not to make it complicated. Go with your gut instinct. If something seems elaborate, listen to that lil voice in the back of your head warning you. If you try to push it forward, odds are you will pay the price in the end. I think you are perhaps trying too hard to make a deal that isnt going to work work. Let me ask you this, when you go to ANY online store, do you pay first, or make them give you a tracking number before you pay?



-Benjamin

Also, paypal is a merchant, not an escrow service that verifies tracking and such.


-Benjamin

yeah definately. took the words out of my mouth.

If your really in doubt that its a scam (believe me it is) just pick up the phone and call Paypal.
Unlike Ebay you can actually talk to a human being live at Paypal. By the way they dont ask for tracking numbers,, ever.

okay i had somone buy a item off me, Paypal sent me a email saying when i give them a Item Tracking number they will deposit the money into my account. Is this true? is this how paypal works? or am i being scammed?

You have to log in to your Paypal account to check to see if your money is there - it will have a list of each person who has paid you and a description. Paypal is sorta like a checking account, except you are sending funds electronically ....

Paypal is used for Ebay, and other different means of sending money......

If the sale is through Ebay, Ebay automatically sends your winning customer an invoice, which provides a link, that has them login in to their own paypal account to send you money - and your Paypal email address will be defaulted .... so the funds will be deposited direct to your account - just like a checking account.

If you want to send money to someone you can login to your Paypal account, you have to have the other persons Paypal address, sorta like a checking account # - that's how Paypal knows where to send funds ... or deposit funds...*you'll see many options*

You can even have your Paypal funds sent direct to your own checking account ... there is even a Paypal debit card ... that you can use ... that debits your Paypal funds.

Plus you should get an email that you have money from Paypal. You should never ever send anything or provide any tracking #'s until your items are paid for? Paypal is just an account you can use to send and receive money --- your funds should be sitting in this account after the item is paid.

Not sure if you have figured this out yet or not - if not post or send a pm message.

I've got a question. Could a customer pay through paypal with their credit card, and since you see that, you send the item, but later you find out they have no money on their credit card and it bounced?

Well, I haven't had that happen - normally if you are using a credit card, and their isn't enough funds or credit limit, I don't think the card would work?

However, I had something weird happen to me, I paid for an auction through Paypal (that I had won), like 6 weeks ago, and this past week, the money I paid was deposited back into my Paypal account, it said this person was not a registered user? But I did win the auction, and did receive the item. Paypal told me to contact the person I won the auction from, but I didn't do that yet?

I found that wierd.

Theres a lot of scams on Ebay and PayPal and people that will send you emails claiming to have questions on your products or saying that your account will be suspended if you dont update it.
Heres some TIPS:

1.) NEVER login to either site through a link on an email

2.) Do type in the url and login to your account to see if it is actually on your ebay messages/ or paypal account.

3.) Forward the mail that is fake to Link hidden: Login to view or something like that. This will get ebay to catch them so that other people Don't fall into the same tricks.

Now about PayPal, like stated earlier they will NEVER ask for a tracking number. and my only tip for using Paypal is

1.) NEVER ship the item unless you have received the payment notification through email AND you login to your account and see it on your balance.

Well good luck and I hope some of this was helpful
-Aida :D

Hi, I am not sure if you were still concerced with the fake paypal email. But this has happened to me several times and it is definitely a scam. Never ship the items without receiving the payment. I have even had fake money orders sent to me and it takes the bank weeks to find out they are not real!

This is a scam! I've had so much I have my own folder in email account full of fraudelent nigerian scammers that said they paid already. Believe it or not i was selling one ipod nano and he bought it for $2000. is that reasonable?

well anyway this is what i do to make sure the buyer pays. I check my paypal account because money is usually transferred automatically and promptly. then i transfer the money to my bank account. if the money has been transferred to my bank account then it is legit. If no money is transferred. then the custmer did not pay, then you wouldn't have to worry about bounce checks or credit cards.

I agree that a simple phone call can always help you decide. I avoided a scam once by calling western union. They told me that the type of transaction I was making could still allow for fraud. It was a weird transaction where I would allow them to view the information but not give them the code. Western Union told me that some sales reps would accidnetally still give them access to the funds. So in general it wasn't safe so I cancelled the transaction.

anyone knows if an overseas buyer transfers money directly into my bank account, could it afterwards be withdrawn by the bank because of stolen account, no funds or any other reason?

Of all the replies to the original question, no one person seems to know that you can forward the questionable email to Link hidden: Login to view. They will confirm if the email is from them. Done this numerous times. Paypal does not do an escrow service (ie. buyer pays for item you are selling, payment is in your name, you ship item to buyer, you provide tracking number to escrow service, they send you your payment) This would probably be a good method if you knew that the escrow service was legitimate. These companies have been used to try and scam me, they are verified as fakes: Paypal, Paypal International, USPS, TNT Express. Verify with the company directly. Don't use the links in the email to verify. I have had these companies used to try and scam me wit money order or checks: Qchex, Wachovia Bank. A fraudulent check from Qchex cost me $9.00 from my bank after it was returned as a fake. You need to be very careful accepting checks and escrow services. Verify the payment method and have the funds in your possession before shipping anything. Let the buyers know this up front. 'You will not ship an item until payment is verified and in your account'. You may loose some sales but you will protect your self from loosing money and some crook getting something for nothing. Let the scammers know that we are not as dumb as they think we are.[/url]