The start of a scam?

[Ivor Saw]

Just selling my car on PH (AutoTrader have become a joke!). I got an email asking if it was still for sale (and hour after it went up), then another email this morning...

My name is ****** ****** and I serve in the U.S. Air Force. FYI, I'm purchasing the vehicle for my brother as a special birthday gift but he isn't aware of me doing this because I am making it a surprise for him. So can you assure me I won't be disappointed buying it from you? Also, I do have a few questions I would love to ask.
What's the condition, any damages?
Are you the original owner and why are you selling it?
Does it have any mechanical issues or faults?
Do you have the title in hand?
Is there a lien on the title? (If yes) how much are you owing if I may ask?
Do you have an account set up with PayPal?
Do you have any offers yet?
Is there any additional information I need to know about it?
P.S. I have a carrier agent that will come for the pick up after the payment is completely confirmed.

It's the PayPal question among others which leads me to believe with 99% certainty that this is a scam. He's put the PayPal question among other innocent questions. What thoughts others?

[InitialDave]

110% scam. Possibly higher.

[juice]

"I have a carrier agent that will come for the pick up after the payment is completely confirmed"

SCAM !!

[Ivor Saw]

Thanks. I've told him I don't have a PayPal account (I actually don't) so I think that's the last I'll hear of him.

[Tyre Smoke]

I know they're Americans (allegedly) but even they don't speak like that.

[steveo3002]

200% scam , they claim to be airforce or something trustworthy to gain your trust

[AlexRS2782]

@ OP

If you have time, also report the details to [e-mail] and / or [e-mail] as that way the team at PH that manage the classifieds can add them to the block of relevant email domains / addresses.

[Canon_Fodder]

Well done OP, it's always the right thing to ask when in doubt about cyber scam (as this certainly is)

[snoopy25]

250% a scam!!!

[super7]

It took you to the PayPal question????

[Ivor Saw]

AlexRS2782 said:

@ OP

If you have time, also report the details to [e-mail] and / or [e-mail] as that way the team at PH that manage the classifieds can add them to the block of relevant email domains / addresses.

Thanks Alex, I will. I have his email address.

[saladdays]

How does the scam work? I'd play along for a bit just to waste their time.

[Tyre Smoke]

saladdays said:

How does the scam work? I'd play along for a bit just to waste their time.

You agree to sell the car. They pay via PayPal. Man comes and takes car away. Buyer then says car not received. PayPal refund buyer. Car is in a container to Estonia, never to be seen again.

Or...
As above but pays by bank transfer. Car disappears and a few days later your bank says the transaction was fraudulent and money disappears.

[Its Just Adz]

What's the car OP? Out of interest.

[rotaryjam]

Tyre Smoke said:

You agree to sell the car. They pay via PayPal. Man comes and takes car away. Buyer then says car not received. PayPal refund buyer. Car is in a container to Estonia, never to be seen again.

Or...
As above but pays by bank transfer. Car disappears and a few days later your bank says the transaction was fraudulent and money disappears.

On the 2nd one, I had a situation with a suspected scammer when selling and my bank told me without a doubt that it doesn't happen basically, you can't just go to your bank, claim fraud (when it's not) and reclaim cash out of someone's bank account

[zarlak]

More likely to be an "overpayment scam" - https://justt.ai/paypal-chargeback-scams/#:~:text=...

[Tyre Smoke]

rotaryjam said:

Tyre Smoke said:

You agree to sell the car. They pay via PayPal. Man comes and takes car away. Buyer then says car not received. PayPal refund buyer. Car is in a container to Estonia, never to be seen again.

Or...
As above but pays by bank transfer. Car disappears and a few days later your bank says the transaction was fraudulent and money disappears.

On the 2nd one, I had a situation with a suspected scammer when selling and my bank told me without a doubt that it doesn't happen basically, you can't just go to your bank, claim fraud (when it's not) and reclaim cash out of someone's bank account

Unless the cash comes from an account where an innocent party has been hacked. I've heard of that, but not recently that's true. I've also heard of cloned/fraudulent bankers drafts.

[williamp]

Deffo scam. No mention of "pulling the trigger" or "itch to scratch" or asking if its been used for "track work"

Ignore, but if they come back say you only sell to a certain type of person: powerfully built company directors. Have they tried Mumsnet??

(Mapped)

[romeodelta]

Now we’ve cleared that up, is the saw still available?

[ninjag]

romeodelta said:

Now we’ve cleared that up, is the saw still available?

haha