To be or not to be.... scammed

[thirdshiftdj]

So check this out. I was on craigslist and found an iphone 3g 16gb for $245 which I wanted to purchase. Price didn't really tell me it was a scam because I've bought one for $250 before, same model and everything. I emailed the person which sent me a message to reply w/ "want to buy" in the subject box. So he emailed me saying that he would get the ball rolling by sending me a paypal invoice from his wife's email. I checked out the email by having my bro send me a request for money and its legit. I checked out his Paypal acct. and it was made Jan 4 2009 which got me paranoid. He also said he's in NC until the 5th and will ship it after payment was made. So I asked for a phone number to call which he ignored and then I asked where it was shipping from. He said " KY" which was another red flag. I told him I thought he was in NC until the 5th which at this point he said he was a field technician and was flying out this evening to KY. where we would ship it it tomorrow. A quick search for his email address shows this

winjump898 - Google Search

posted in an L.A. craigslist. I can't see the page because it has expired but the text below says "... in the subject box WANT TO BUY Thanks for your interest!" From: winjump898@ yahoo.com. Please flag this ad and be on the look out for these type OF ADS. ..."

Definitely a scam right?

 

[hikaricloud]

Sounds like it to me.

 

[thirdshiftdj]

update. He's given me his phone number 620 area code that points to Kansas.

 

[CrazeD]

As long as you use Paypal you should be alright. If it does happen to be a scam, Paypal will favor you since you're the buyer.

 

[hikaricloud]

NC, to KY, to KS? Wow. Thar be a well traveled man.

 

[thirdshiftdj]

As long as you use Paypal you should be alright. If it does happen to be a scam, Paypal will favor you since you're the buyer.

Well craze thats the thing. Paypal makes you think they care about you but in reality if the seller empties the money into his account and I dispute it, even if they find it in my favor it does not mean I will get my money back. Chances are I'll have to fight w/ them to get it back and its still not guaranteed. How do I know? Because I was involved in a scam before at TPU that involved 10 people. I got my goods shipped but the others not so lucky and some were out $300 because he emptied the money into his account.

NC, to KY, to KS? Wow. Thar be a well traveled man.

yea. I asked him if he would ship from KY since he said that he was on a flight going over there this evening. Which he told me last night that he would. I checked his phone he gave me and its a land line. So I asked if I called right now would he pick up? I did however check other phone numbers I knew off the top of my head and they registerd correctly as either land lines or cellular. So my gut is telling me this is a scam for sure.

I sent him money and found these red flags so I filed a dispute just in time. It seems that he's trying to talk me out of the dispute by saying he was going to ship tomorrow morning and if I would lift the dispute until tomorrow afternoon to give him time to ship. My response was that all he would have to do is give paypal a tracking number in the resolution center and paypal would lift the dispute themselves.

 

[Poizen22]

i wouldnt pay until package has been confirmed to be mailed.

 

[Apokalipse]

If you have to ask if it's a scam, the answer is probably yes.

 

[thirdshiftdj]

I got him. I used Craigspal and searched for iphones for $245 and found it in several cities w/ the same listing and stuff. Called him out on it and he isn't answering me now. Hopefully he hasn't taken the money out of paypal to his account yet. It usually takes 3 days right? I think I disputed it in the nick of time. He's been trying to talk me out of the dispute which tells me that he hasn't gotten his money out yet and refuses to provide tracking to paypal.

 

[hikaricloud]

****, nice catch then.