Up until about a week ago, I thought PayPal was an excellent method in which to pay buyers when I purchased goods online. I was always very pleased when the option to pay via PayPal was offered and always opted for that over paying via credit/debit card.
However, what I had originally perceived to be a reliable method of payment has turned out to be not so true.
Recently, my significant other had posted an ad on Gumtree wanting to sell his car. Prior to that, he had an ad on carsales.com.au, but had very little response, so decided to choose to sell via Gumtree as it had next to no fees associated with it.
About a couple of hours after he posted the advertisement, he had about 5 different messages all keen on the car. And all wanting him to email them with an email address they had provided.
As he had to go away, I dealt with a guy named Stuart via email.
And this is how it went down.
On Fri, Sep 2, 2011 at 11:30 PM, Harvey Nguyen <XXXXXX@hotmail.com> wrote:
Hi Stuart,The car is in new condition as described, there is only a few minor scratches but other than that, everything is perfect.And the price is $19,500 as advertised, but if you are wanting to negotiate please call my parents on XXXX XXXX as I will not be available until Tuesday.I hope that helps.Thanks,Harvey
Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2011 23:53:47 +0100
Subject: Re: Car advert
From: stuart19560@gmail.com
To: XXXXXX@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: Car advert
From: stuart19560@gmail.com
To: XXXXXX@hotmail.com
Hi,
Thanks for the prompt response. I will like to know more about its condition and possibly have more pictures of it. I will be very glad to have more pictures of it. I will be very glad to conclude this as soon as possible.
I am a Flight Sergeant (FSGT) of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
As to the price, Do as well advise on the least amount you will like to sell it. I will be very glad to make the payment through my PayPal account as it is very reliable,fast,secure and easy to use and I have my bank accounts linked to my PayPal and shouldn't have any problem making this payment.
Due to the nature of my work, I will not be able to come for the inspection. I will however be needing your address so that I can forward it to my shipping agent who will be coming over there for the inspection and shipping.
Thanks again and hope to hear from you soon..
Stuart
Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2011 3:52:19 +0100Hi Stuart,This is Harvey's girlfriend. He is currently away on a training weekend and won't get back until Tuesday. So I'll let him know about your situation and get him to take more photos of the car and give a more detailed description of its condition.Other than the photos that are currently online, were there any specific photos that you wanted to see?Also, in regards to the price, the least he is willing to sell it for is $18,500. But I think if you're going to pay via PayPal, he may have to increase the price because they take a percentage of the money, if you get what I mean. Other than that, I guess you could deposit the money into his bank account?Email this address if you have any further queries, I will be checking it and will answer them as best as I can. But it won't be until Tuesday when you get more details regarding the condition of the car.Thanks,Lynh.
Subject: Re: Car advert
From: stuart19560@gmail.com
To: XXXXXX@hotmail.com
Lynh,
Thanks for sending me more information about the car. It was really of immense help. This car is meant to be a surprise gift for my wife who just gave birth to a baby boy but unfortunately I am not around to witness the arrival of my little bundle of joy. She moved to United Kingdom to be with her mother.
I think $18,500 sounds good. I will be making the payment as soon as i have your PayPal account Email and Account Full Name. I am well aware of the charges that will be incurred in PayPal payment and i am willing to be responsible for it.
As to shipping and documents like transfer of ownership and the rest, you need not worry yourself about that as I will contact a shipping company that will handle it. I will get in touch with the shipping company and know the shipping price.
Do get back to me asap with your account details so that I can remit the payment asap.
Cheers,
Stuart
I think $18,500 sounds good. I will be making the payment as soon as i have your PayPal account Email and Account Full Name. I am well aware of the charges that will be incurred in PayPal payment and i am willing to be responsible for it.
As to shipping and documents like transfer of ownership and the rest, you need not worry yourself about that as I will contact a shipping company that will handle it. I will get in touch with the shipping company and know the shipping price.
Do get back to me asap with your account details so that I can remit the payment asap.
Cheers,
Stuart
And I stopped emailing him.
Why?
Call me naive, but I genuinely believed his story. I did not see any problem in allowing him to pay via PayPal and getting his shipping agent to come get it.
But one thing came to mind. Why not buy a car from the UK and not have to deal with shipping costs and importing it etc?
So I called the significant other and told him about it, and he said maybe. He didn't sound too keen, and when I asked him why, he said it was because he had read of such scams through the forum www.nissansilvia.com.au and was a bit iffy on the whole situation.
That put me in defense mode and I researched it and heard of different scenarios where the buyer was unable to come out to the car due to other commitments and was also really keen on paying via PayPal.
Then I also learned that PayPal doesn't protect users outside of eBay. So that made me think. How is PayPal safe?
After much research, I found out that PayPal is owned by eBay. And in theory, it should be safe because you're paying for the product through PayPal and therefore, your credit card information should be displayed.
And I guess it is, but by reputation one would assume that nothing bad could possibly go wrong. Well, I did.
I could probably be a minority. But I'm now a LOT more cautious...
So here's my question for this blog entry, have you ever been scammed online? Tell me about your experience!
September 7, 2011 at 4:42 PM
I got scammed on Ioffer through Paypal... I paid in advance and never received the product. I lost quite a significat amount. Found out the hard way that Paypal only protects eBay buyers. GRRRR!!
September 7, 2011 at 6:05 PM
And on a side note that is unrelated to this entry.
Please do continue keeping up with posting entries on this blog once it is no longer a course requirement.
I've found the entries really enlightening and a joy to read =)
September 9, 2011 at 8:45 PM
At the end of the day, there is no such thing as a perfect system. People are always out there trying to create scams, and defraud people of their possessions and their money. We simply need to weigh up the cost vs. reward of trusting people, websites, and companies with our money.
September 15, 2011 at 10:12 PM
For some reason, online scammers tend to be pretty obvious via their poor use of English. The first email from "Stuart" is not very well written, especially if it's coming from a senior person in the RAAF. My alarm bells were ringing as soon as I read that email.
It's unfortunate that we don't yet have a foolproof online payment system... as soon as something like this is available, online trade will accelerate even further.
Keep up the good work, and as Trang suggests, please keep blogging after this semester is over! :)
September 17, 2011 at 10:09 PM
Guess I was really naive. I think the bells did ring, but didn't listen to it! I guess you live and you learn.
I think its situations like this why there are people who choose not to put their details online and don't trust it!
October 4, 2011 at 6:42 PM
this same guy has just contacted me about a car I have advertised on gumtree. I replied to him before having seen your post (I googled his email address, which got me here). If I get a reply, I'll let you know :)
October 4, 2011 at 8:18 PM
Hi Pratty,
This guy is definitely dodgy. My boyfriend emailed him back asking for a contact number to call him and verify his identity. He refused so badly. We ended up saying you either give us your number or we weren't going to sell.
Never heard from him again. Don't waste your time!
October 7, 2011 at 9:17 AM
This guy (Stuart McCoy) is attempting to scam my father as we speak. I also googled his name and RAAF title and came up with a dead canadian of the same rank and title.....
When I googled his email address I found this site and confirmed my suspicions. I have some time up my sleeve so intend to play along to see how far this guy will go (for my own morbid amusement).
October 7, 2011 at 9:24 AM
Hi Simon,
Let me know how it goes! And don't give away any personal details :)
October 8, 2011 at 9:04 AM
I had the same email from Stuart and I told him to come to Australia if he wants to buy the car- crazy!