Attempted scam on my For Sale 15” MacBook Pro
This morning I had the bad kind of interest in my 15” MacBook Pro listed on Craigslist.
(More info about my MacBook Pro)
The following email:
is this item available and please do you ship?
My reply:
Thanks for your interest. Yes the MacBook Pro is still available. I prefer not to ship, however I’d be willing to if you were to pay all the shipping expenses and pay through PayPal before I ship. I sold my last computer this way without any problems. Let me know if this still interests you. -Nathaniel
Her reply (yes it was all in bold):
I’m in Birmingham right now but I’ll be leaving for London for a soccer coaching job in a 2days time.I want to buy this item for my son that is studying photography at a university in Africa. .Does it come with box?I’ll have to add $100 for you to send the item to him as soon as possible through the global express mail (ems)..I’ll be paying you through paypal as soon as you make your decision i will pay you $1550 for the item . it’s secure and protects two parties in a transaction. Get back with the following information so that your payment will be delivered as soon as possible.
Full Name:
Full Contact Address:
Tel Number:
All this information should be provided correctly please to avoid wrong payment. I will forward my son’s residential address to you for shipping as soon as the payment reaches you. Get back to me with your paypal id so that i can pay on time. I will be very grateful to hear from you soon.
Best Regard
Mrs jennifer
The “son” in Africa that I was supposed to ship to was when the first red flag went off. The poor grammar was also suspicious. Also why the heck would you be buying a new computer for your son 2 days before moving to London?
My reply:
Jennifer,
Forgive me for being cautious, but there are too many online scam situations resembling yours that involve shipment to a 3rd party in Africa etc and fake PayPal transaction emails. I promise you I am not worth the trouble if this is a scam.
I am only willing to rush ship the computer to a US address confirmed by your PayPal account. If your son does indeed live in Africa you can then take care of international shipping yourself. Please let me know if you would like to continue the transaction on my terms, if not I suggest finding another computer to buy.
I will be checking my PayPal account directly to confirm any payment emails I receive, and I will not ship until payment is confirmed.
Thanks for your interest. -Nathaniel
It’s really funny next because this person is obviously an idiot now. The reply:
pls can you send me your payal id
My reply:
No thank you. I’m sorry but I am not convinced your are not attempting to scam me. Please do not email again. -Nathaniel
