Scam?

[rhodest]

I just sold my computer on ebay. The guy sent me an email straight after telling me that he had a michigan address but was in stationed in Iraq. He said this was for his wife and she was at the US embassy in Nigeria. He told me to send my paypal address to him and he would send it to me. He is also a new member and just joined today. Does this sound like a scam?

[jsw]

Um... yes.

It might not be, but lots of internal alarms are going off.

[Sun Baked]

Plead stupid, and run the other way.

Stationed in Iraq with a Michigan address, and wife in Nigeria -- so send it there. :confused:

[interlaced]

Read up on his grammar. If it's too proper or sentences sound weird, it's a scam. I'd believe him if he said he was stationed in Iraq, had a Michigan address, and that his wife was IN michigan. Nothing against Nigeria, but all the scams I've encountered want me to send something to Nigeria.

Even on The People's Court, some guy bought a kid's dirt bike and had it sent to Nigeria instead of picking it up. Ended up being a total scam.

[rhodest]

Does ebay or paypal help me out at all if it is a scam?

[Sun Baked]

Does ebay or paypal help me out at all if it is a scam?Don't count on it ... it is best to eat a little bit of money walking away from a scam than attempting to recover a big loss.

Since the scam may not be through e-bay, they may send you a link to grab your info and suck your paypal account dry.

[rhodest]

If I relist it on ebay, will ebay charge me another fee?

[atszyman]

If I relist it on ebay, will ebay charge me another fee?

Yes, but typically an exact re-list of an unsold item has reduced fees.

[dbhays]

No they do not help. This guy really got screwed.

http://darkmagess.livejournal.com/243133.html#cutid1

[CEAbiscuit]

Total scam. These Nigerian scams have been going on for years. Google Nigerian scam, and see what you come up with.

[rhodest]

I did just that and found the exact letter the guy sent me. Now can I just relist it on ebay or do I have to report him?

[WildCowboy]

Definitely contact the folks at eBay...if you've got good evidence that this is likely a scam, they may be able to waive relisting fees for you. They'll also want to shut down his account.

[CEAbiscuit]

In a stroke of irony, if you type "nigerian scam" in Google, the first ad on the right you get:

Sponsored Links

Nigerian Scam
Whatever you're looking for
you can get it on eBay.
www.eBay.com

Had to give up on eBay a long time ago... sad.

[ImNoSuperMan]

If I relist it on ebay, will ebay charge me another fee?

If you are talking about the listing charges, then you`d have to pay for it IMO. But in case you are asking wether you`ll have to pay the eBay selling comission(ie bout 2.5-5% of the selling value of the item) I dont think you`d need to pay for it.

Exactly the same thing happened to me while selling the G4 iBook on ebay. Someone created a new ebay id and Bought the iBook within minutes. After that I got an email from the buyer asking for my paypal id and told me a similar story, asking for the iBook to be shipped to NIGERIA. I mailed eBay support to check the buyer. And next day that buyer was no longer a registered ebay member. Also the selling fees was waived off my account. But I dont remember bout the listing fee.(Aint that free?)