Mods please move this to the correct place, or make it a sticky in the Want to Buy section, as that's where members are being taken advantage of. If this has been going on for awhile and I simply didn't know about it feel free to delete this thread.
***There is a new scam going around POTN (and possibly other similar forums)***
So far there are two reported cases of this that I know of. One to me and another to a different forum member.
How it went down for me:
I posted a lens I wanted in the Want To Buy Section. I was contacted on an outside email by someone claiming to be a member of POTN who didn't have enough posts to PM me on here. He gave me a good price for the lens I wanted (not such a low price red flags were up, but a good one) and even sent me an Ebay username for feedback verification and pictures of the exact lens. I said let's make a deal. I told him to send an invoice for $650 for business purposes. He told me that PayPal wouldn't let him print shipping labels for any transaction over $20, so he was going to send me an invoice for $15 and then after that was paid and shipping was printed, send another for $635. I told him that was odd, canceled the invoice, and sent screenshots showing him how to print the label when payment is sent. He again told me his PayPal wouldn't let him print labels for anything over $20 and made me feel like it was my fault for not understanding. He sent me another invoice for $15. Red flags started popping up everywhere now, as I noticed the name on the invoice was completely different than his. I asked him about it and he told me that was his business partner. He had told me his location in an earlier email, so I researched high and low for any company resembling his name or the name on the PP invoice in the area he said he was from, and found nothing. I again cancelled the invoice and this time told him I was going with another seller, because this was giving me a bad feeling. About 30 minutes later I magically get another invoice, this one for $650 like I had originally asked. He told me he would just add the tracking number instead of printing a label. I again reiterated my concerns, canceled the invoice, and told him I was going with another seller. He got really pissed at this point, telling me I had wasted hours of his life and saying it was my fault he almost died in a car crash coming home to send the invoice.
First of all, this was no ordinary scammer. This was a real person communicating in real time. They had knowledge of the lens I was interested in, knew the right things to say, and even made a few comments about the pictures on my website (they navigated through there to send me an email.)
I don't know how this scam would be pulled off. Possibly when you send them the $15 they print the shipping label, and may even send something to make it look legit. Then the larger sum of money to complete the purchase is actually the amount they will try to steal. Since it looks like there are no "goods" associated with the larger sum, it may be harder to get back in a claim. Who knows, the scammer may even try to get you to send the large sum as PayPal gift.
Always remember: NEVER USE PAYPAL GIFT. ALWAYS PAY THROUGH PAYPAL WITH A CREDIT CARD FOR ADDED SECURITY. USING A CREDIT CARD WILL ALSO PREVENT TEMPORARY FUND LOSS SHOULD YOU NEED TO OPEN A CLAIM. DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS. QUESTIONS WILL AGGRAVATE SCAMMERS. ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU FEEL 100% COMFORTABLE WITH WHO YOU'RE BUYING FROM. IF THEY CAN'T ANSWER THE QUESTIONS IN A WAY THAT MAKES YOU FEEL AT EASE, SIMPLY WALK AWAY. IF IT DOESN'T FEEL RIGHT, OR SEEMS FISHY, ALWAYS WALK AWAY.
EDIT: If any mods want to contact me about this "member" I have multiple names, and multiple email accounts from our communication if you wanted to check the database to see if he's actually signed up.
