Accepted Solutions
@tyker_3054,
Yes, it's a scam.
You have done the right thing in specifying postage to Australia only.
Just be aware that new or inexperienced sellers selling relatively expensive items are targets for scammers. The seller receives a much higher offer from a buyer who is overseas, working on an oil rig, working in a remote area, anything of that sort. The buyer says that he'll arrange for courier to pick up the item, etc. Usually there will be talk of PayPal holding the funds in escrow (although there are several other scenarios). If it's the escrow scam, you'd receive a very convincing email purportedly from PayPal stating that the payment had been made and that the funds are being held in escrow until they receive proof of shipping.
It will, of course, be a lie. The PayPal email will not be from PayPal, but the sender's address will have been spoofed to fool you. There will be a link in the email, supposedly leading you to your PayPal account, but it will only appear to be PayPal. The actual destination is disguised, and you will be redirected to another site, or you may download a keylogger... The bottom line is that clicking onto the link is not something you should do. In fact, you should avoid opening any such email, as there are even some behaviours that can be triggered merely by reading an email.
Were you to click onto the link and be redirected to what you think is PayPal, you would be gifting the scammer with your login details. That's just a nice little "fries with that" bonus for the scammer.
Often the scam also involves the seller making some sort of payment (the buyer having apparently overpaid and asking the seller to "refund" that overpaid amount)... and of course whoever picks up the camera (or whatever item it may be) will deliver it to the scammer as well.
Needless to say, the fake PayPal web page would show that a payment has been made... but in fact no payment will have been made.
The unfortunate seller who falls victim to this sort of scam is conceivably out the expensive item, some cash, their PayPal access (for as long as the hacking of the account remains undetected), and probably their computer integrity... along with saved passwords to other accounts and whatever else the scammer can take.
Best Procedure
Ignore the buyer. Do not reply. Block the buyer's username (see Blocking a buyer) in your Blocked Buyer/Bidder List.
Also, avoid any further messages from "buyers" located in a country to which you don't post (i.e., any eBay users whose primary address is not in Australia) by setting up your Buyer Requirements as follows:
Select requirements
Important: Select buyer requirements carefully - they may reduce your selling success. The requirement(s) you select will be applied to your current and future listings, except as noted. eBay encourages you to learn more by visiting the Buyer Requirements Help page. Buyers with Unpaid Item strikes
Buyers with a negative feedback score
@tyker_3054,
Yes, it's a scam.
You have done the right thing in specifying postage to Australia only.
Just be aware that new or inexperienced sellers selling relatively expensive items are targets for scammers. The seller receives a much higher offer from a buyer who is overseas, working on an oil rig, working in a remote area, anything of that sort. The buyer says that he'll arrange for courier to pick up the item, etc. Usually there will be talk of PayPal holding the funds in escrow (although there are several other scenarios). If it's the escrow scam, you'd receive a very convincing email purportedly from PayPal stating that the payment had been made and that the funds are being held in escrow until they receive proof of shipping.
It will, of course, be a lie. The PayPal email will not be from PayPal, but the sender's address will have been spoofed to fool you. There will be a link in the email, supposedly leading you to your PayPal account, but it will only appear to be PayPal. The actual destination is disguised, and you will be redirected to another site, or you may download a keylogger... The bottom line is that clicking onto the link is not something you should do. In fact, you should avoid opening any such email, as there are even some behaviours that can be triggered merely by reading an email.
Were you to click onto the link and be redirected to what you think is PayPal, you would be gifting the scammer with your login details. That's just a nice little "fries with that" bonus for the scammer.
Often the scam also involves the seller making some sort of payment (the buyer having apparently overpaid and asking the seller to "refund" that overpaid amount)... and of course whoever picks up the camera (or whatever item it may be) will deliver it to the scammer as well.
Needless to say, the fake PayPal web page would show that a payment has been made... but in fact no payment will have been made.
The unfortunate seller who falls victim to this sort of scam is conceivably out the expensive item, some cash, their PayPal access (for as long as the hacking of the account remains undetected), and probably their computer integrity... along with saved passwords to other accounts and whatever else the scammer can take.
Best Procedure
Ignore the buyer. Do not reply. Block the buyer's username (see Blocking a buyer) in your Blocked Buyer/Bidder List.
Also, avoid any further messages from "buyers" located in a country to which you don't post (i.e., any eBay users whose primary address is not in Australia) by setting up your Buyer Requirements as follows:
Select requirements
Important: Select buyer requirements carefully - they may reduce your selling success. The requirement(s) you select will be applied to your current and future listings, except as noted. eBay encourages you to learn more by visiting the Buyer Requirements Help page. Buyers with Unpaid Item strikes
Buyers with a negative feedback score
