Recently, I decided it was time to try selling the Medela breast pump I barely used. I was going to use eBay, but I feel their fees are a little steep. So, I gave craigslist.com a try. Well, someone from California [who obviously knows English as a second language] contacted me and wanted to buy the pump....the fact that they weren't local should have been my first clue.....
Well, after several e-mails [that were usually one, very long, rambling paragraph], I agreed to sell them the pump and pay their shipper from money they were sending me via PayPal. Hey, it's PayPal, right? I figured I would be safe....how can they screw me over with PayPal....??
We paid about $320 for the pump, and I had it listed at $150. I figured shipping would be about $35 - 50, so I was looking for about $185 to show up in my PayPal account.....NOT $975! I suddenly get an e-mail from PayPal regarding this rather large deposit and then another e-mail from the "buyer" giving me details on what to do with this money.
Seems they had bought several items from sellers in Cincinnati, and they were entrusting me, a total stranger, with making payment to their "shipper" in Washington, D.C. And payment came from somebody in Arizona and was marked "UNICEF." Oh, and I was supposed to use WESTERN UNION to wire the money. And I was supposed to keep an extra $50 for my "trouble" of going to Western Union. However, the math didn't add up, and they didn't send me enough money nor did they tell me where to actually ship the breast pump....hmmmm.....
Are there really people who are THIS stupid or naive that they would fall for this scam? How many red flags do YOU notice in this scenario? Let's see....the horrible English.....all the different locations.....WESTERN UNION [major red flag]......not enough money......
Needless to say, I immediately contacted PayPal and explained the situation to them. They agreed it was a stolen account and scam and are supposed to put a freeze on the payment. Actually, they didn't seem all that concerned....which really surprised me! Wouldn't they have some interest in going after these people who are using THEIR system to scam others out of money.....? You would think so, but maybe not.
Luckily, a local woman contacted me about the breast pump, and I sold it to her instead. She's due in July, and I hope she gets more use from the breast pump than I did! Now, can I interest you in a Chicco carrier.....?
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