Bizarre Names want to buy my item on FB Marketplace

[Hessian]

I KNOW some of you have encountered this....
What is the scam?
Alih Bish Amur want to buy my item...wants my phone number...will not respond to the question "Where in the county are you located?"
They post ph # from distant locale.
I posted cash only sale...local PU...and NOT post the county I live in....only the township.
Their FB link will not open to a person. Their avatar is hazy/non-personal.
What is going on?,...and can't we simply drop these idiots out in the Atlantic from a helicopter?

 

[vraiblonde]

I posted cash only sale...local PU...

They're going to convince you to take a money order or cashier's check, then send some sucker over to pick up the item. This sucker may or may not know they're perpetrating a scam.

That's the only one I know of, there may be more.

 

[Kyle]

FB market is the latest Ganges Grift.

 

[Hessian]

I just had a request for zelle....transfer $$. I AM NOT FOND of digital connections with strangers.
Any body aware of goofiness with zelle?

 

[Clem72]

I just had a request for zelle....transfer $$. I AM NOT FOND of digital connections with strangers.
Any body aware of goofiness with zelle?

Google might be your best bet, but I haven't heard of a zelle specific scam. Zelle I think does clear the same way an ACH transfer does, so it's possible they "send" the money, then 2 days later its pulled from your account when it doesn't clear on their end.

The other thing they like to do is accidentally overpay, and ask you to refund them the difference.

 

[black dog]

I just had a request for zelle....transfer $$. I AM NOT FOND of digital connections with strangers.
Any body aware of goofiness with zelle?

The only safe way to get paid besides cash in person with a unknown is with
PayPal Goods & Services.
Not PP friends and family.
Everything else you can get burned easily.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

The only safe way to get paid besides cash in person with a unknown is with
PayPal Goods & Services.
Not PP friends and family.
Everything else you can get burned easily.

Paypal does back you up. I got a refund of $400 on something I purchased online. Turns out it was a kid, who lost the tracking number and the item eventually showed up, it was a PO mistake but because he had no tracking number to give me/paypal they refunded my money. And yes after I got the item i sent him the money back with a note "if you only had the tracking number this wouldnt have happened".

The kid flipped out, I asked to talk to one of his parents and he wouldn't put me into contact with them so I went the PP route.

 

[Hessian]

See,...this is WHY I rely on the accumulated experiences of my So Md colleagues. Yes,...I managed to divert someone trying to play the Zelle bait-Add & switch game. Well done... well done.

 

[PrchJrkr]

See,...this is WHY I rely on the accumulated experiences of my So Md colleagues. Yes,...I managed to divert someone trying to play the Zelle bait-Add & switch game. Well done... well done.

This is why I'm sitting on items for projects long forgotten instead of converting them into cash I could use for current projects. Some items I could sell through eBay and pay their fees just for piece of mind, but others are too large to ship easily (Beetle fenders). Thanks for posting your experiences so that others are aware.

 

[DogWhisperer]

I had an add on this site and got an email from someone in Washington State asking that I send the item to them. They'll send me a check including for shipment but they ask that I don't cash it until after my item has shipped. Too many red flags to count. I told them they must think I was born yesterday in so many words. Scammers will review any and everything looking for an easy way to get your merchandise no matter where its posted.

 

[wubbles]

Paypal does back you up. I got a refund of $400 on something I purchased online. Turns out it was a kid, who lost the tracking number and the item eventually showed up, it was a PO mistake but because he had no tracking number to give me/paypal they refunded my money. And yes after I got the item i sent him the money back with a note "if you only had the tracking number this wouldnt have happened".

The kid flipped out, I asked to talk to one of his parents and he wouldn't put me into contact with them so I went the PP route.

Good on ya. Hopefully the youngin learned a lesson about e-commerce with that one. Especially with something so expensive! I was selling things on eBay 20 years ago as a teenager and knew to get tracking even though it cost extra at the time.