how to deal with a scammer?

[xaviertheawesomeseller]

i recently sold my PS3 on ebay. The day after it was bought the buyer contacted me asking for my bank account details, i responding by informing him i do not accept a bank deposit. Later that day he sent me another mesage saying that he had to use a bank deposit because he had problems with his paypal and that it wasn't for him and that it was for his son abroad and he would add another $150 for postage. I saw another post on this forum saying someone had done the exact same thing. I told him i would open  sellers dispute if he didn't pay what he owed, he responded with, (these are his exact words)

"i am not trying to scam you or anything like that, and i have simply request that you cancel my bid and you refuse, if anything to go wrong with my account, be it feedback or what so ever, i will have my cousin who works with ebay to report you and you credit card and paypal information's to the authorities. so just have my bid cancelled and go your way, i am beginning to think that you are a scammer."

Too me it sounds like a threat, i'm not sure what to do at the moment so if anyone could advise me as to what action i should take that would be great. thanks  

[horizon1907]

Report the buyer to ebay. Keep ALL messages you have. Ebay will be able to read what was going on. Cancel the transaction, use Buyer has changed mind & let it run its course.  Do not use Seller changed mind or you will cop a defect. This sort of activity ( threats  etc ) is not allowed.

[cherry*135]

Is there any reason  why you don't want to cancel the transaction?

He sounds dodgy especially offering $150 extra for postage and the son overseas details and not wanting to use paypal.

He isn't allowed to threaten you via ebay messages. They do appear empty threats, however still not on.

[i-love-my-sheep]

Screams scammer to me. Let me bet that the son is in Africa....... Too many things ring scam. Have read it on here too many times for this one not to sound alarm bells.

As the others said, report him to eBay. Call them on the phone, don't waste your time with emails. I'm not sure I'd cancel either because he can still trash your feedback. I'd wait until 4 days after the sale, open a non payer dispute, then close it 4 days later. He'll get a strike on his account and he won't be able to leave feedback.

Just out of curiosity, how many feedback does he have and what does his feedback for others look like?

[lizzy6107]

Definitely a scammer who does not want his ebay account to come under suspicion .. report it to ebay..

I dont know how or what they do, but this is how it starts..

[digital*ghost]

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@i-love-my-sheep wrote:

 I'd wait until 4 days after the sale, open a non payer dispute, then close it 4 days later. He'll get a strike on his account and he won't be able to leave feedback.

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Ditto - best thing you can do in situations like this. 

[xaviertheawesomeseller]

he has 2 positive feedbacks and no others, his ebay account said he was located in NSW but the seller tag said USA and he has been a member since 2005

[i-love-my-sheep]

You also have an iphone listed. Number 1 target for scammers. I would strongly suggest you set buyer requirement blocks to try and slow up potential scammers.

Click on this link to set up blocks http://offer.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?BuyerBlockPreferences

Buyers with unpaid item strikes, set to 2 in 12 months

Buyers in location which I don't post, tick

Buyers with policy violations, set to 4 in 6 months

Buyers with negative feedback score, set to -1

Buyers who haven't gone through phone verification, tick

Apply to current and future listings, tick

Don't allow blocked buyers to contact me, tick.

Click submit.

At the end of the don't allow blocked buyers to contact me, there is a link to your blocked buyers list. Click on that and bookmark it. Add this scammer to that list. Add anyone else who causes you issues. Always check a bidders feedback left for others before any auctions finish as you can learn a lot about a person by their feedback.

Most scammers don't go through phone verification because they don't want to be caught, so setting these blocks should stop most of them. This will also protect you from serial non paying pests.

[go-tazz]

Just follow this guide as it deals with this type of situations:

http://www.ebay.com.au/gds/Nigeria-is-a-scam-Fake-shipping-agent-Contact-Live-Help-/1000000001695207...