Internet Scam?

[silversmith76]

Hi all, I was bit unsure where to put this thread but as it relates to selling through websites here goes:

I recieved this email today through my website

"I am interested in purchasing the <specifies item>. I\'m wondering if you ship items to the U.S. I do have a Pay Pal account and delivery charges are not an issue for me. I love your Jewellery. It is very beautiful. What color are the crystals on the ring? I would be interested in purchasing a necklace and earings to match. Thank you and I await your reply. Best regards, <name>"

Has anyone else recieved something similar? I checked my logs and this person searched on the UK google website for "handmade celtic jewelry" and my google ad must have come up as it hit some keywords. I googled the name but nothing untoward came up.

I know I seem really cynical, but I am also a dance instructor and I recieve countless scam emails from people who say they want private classes and money is not a problem etc. I'm worried this is version of the 419 scam where at the last minute they have a problem with paypal and want to use, say western union, or that they have stollen another person's paypal account detail and once the money goes through and I've sent the items the rightful paypal user will be refunded.

I also believe "if it seems too good to be true, it usually is"!

Any ideas/opinions? Or should I just stop looking a gift horse in the mouth?

Thanks

Naffy

[Kay]

I would go ahead with the sale but only via Paypal, if they change their mind on payment types then its a no sale.

[Beadsage]

I think the rule with these is, if they don't order a specific item it's a scam. If they're only 'interested', then why contact you? I've ignored a few of these. :)

[beadsbydesign]

I think the rule with these is, if they don't order a specific item it's a scam. If they're only 'interested', then why contact you? I've ignored a few of these. :)

Me too on a very regular basis and they never get back to me so Ican only assume it's a scam!

[nattynetty]

Hmmm I quite often get emails from the US asking about a specific product and whether I ship there - more often than not they will then go ahead and place the order.

Generally speaking the scam emails I get don't mention specific products and are very general...been getting a lot recently apparently from Australia. I'd be inclined to treat the enquiry as genuine as they have taken the effort to ask specific questions and they found you from googling for a specific item. Many scammers (especially the 419 ones) are emailing as many shops as possible in the hope of striking lucky and I'd be suprised if they'd bother to look through your site or google anything more than simply 'jewellery' - I could be wrong of course.

Why not email back to give them the info they wanted on your products and ask a few questions, enter into conversation with them and it might help with sussing them out. Obviously run a mile if they then mention Western Union, shipping to their Auntie in Nigeria etc.

I believe if you follow Paypal's rules for posting out items (which includes sending items recorded delivery I think) then you'd be covered if it did turn out to be a con-artist.

[candles by lisa]

I agree with everyone about but also watch out the biggest scam going just now is the delivery charges one (I noticed that they highlighted delivery charges not a problem).

What happens is they pay for the item and delivery charges but arrange for a courier to pick up the item themselves and ask you to pay for the courier when the cheque has cleared. You wait for the cheque to clear and then phone up their courier to tell them to collect the goodies. What then happens is they stop the cheque, you have given your goodies away and the courier has the delivery money. Even though an international cheque has cleared your bank account it can take weeks to clear at their end so always always always treat these e-mails as a scam if they are asking you to pay the courier after their cheque has cleared.

Cheers.

Lisa

[nattynetty]

Even though an international cheque has cleared your bank account it can take weeks to clear at their end so always always always treat these e-mails as a scam if they are asking you to pay the courier after their cheque has cleared.


Agreed, I'd go as far as saying avoid any overseas emails/orders where they want to pay by cheque unless you know the customer. The other 'courier/cheque' scam is that they claim they don't know how much the courier will cost you so insist on sending you a big cheque with instructions to cash in the cheque and send them the extra back - you end up massively out of pocket when you send them the excess and then the cheque is returned a week or two later as a fake.

As I said before though, as they are happy to use Paypal I think you should be ok as long as you follow Paypal's rules to the letter....but don't sue me if I'm wrong :D

[candles by lisa]

One thing I remembered there about paypal. I got paid just before Christmas with a paypal cheque. Pretty much the same as an ordinary cheque only the customer paid the cheque through paypal and you had to wait for it to clear. Don't know if the rules for clearing are the same so watch out for that one just in case.

Cheers.

Lisa

[silversmith76]

Yes the person did seem to spend a lot of time going through pretty much all my product before emailing and asking about a specific item, so in that way I agree with nattynetty, why would they spend a lot of time on one site if they were a scammer.

I have heard of a scam where someone steals another's paypal account details, uses them to purchase items, you send out the the items nice an quickly because you are a responsible seller, but the real paypal account owner notices and rightfully asks for a refund and you end up with item/money/delivery.

I will enter into some dialogue and see if they are genuine, only use paypal and wait 5 days before posting insured post - hopefully I will cover all bases there.

Many thanks all for your input, I guess I'm getting bitter and cynical in my old age :D