Buyer asks me to buy gift cards, keep getting emails to buy more gift cards

[britmart-493]

Hi so I sold an item of a doll a few weeks ago, buyer wanted my PayPal and she sent me like 400 sum on PayPal but I never received any money. After that I kept getting emails to keep buying gift cards to “verify” my PayPal account because I’m new. I keep buying gift cards of 300+ and they say it’s the final step but once I send it they ask me to buy more cards. Am I getting scammed? Please help me, I’m tired of spending my whole paycheck on gift cards. 

[nocoolnamejane]

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@britmart-493 wrote:

I’m confused.

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By my question or…?

[britmart-493]

Yes

[dogchow747]

@frodobagginskennedy:

Not trying to get into it with you.

One reason these scams take advantage of people is because victims fell shamed and embarrassed.

Yeah, it was not a good decision by the OP... It is better that they get instructed on what to next so that eBay can remove the scammers from the platform, and hopefully, occasionally, there might be arrest made.

Some people are too trusting, I agree completely.

This is a help platform, If you want to help try to have a little sympathy.

You are not the only one, and I have definitely seen much worse.

Do you have older relatives or parents? I do and am concerned they will be tricked too.

Thanks.

Have a good one.

[simba6]

Stop.  That is a scammer liar and thief .    Your money has been stolen sorry to say.

[nocoolnamejane]

Did you not find it odd that a buyer was asking you to purchase a gift card?

Had you not heard of this type of scam in the papers, or on tv?

[maxine*j]

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@frodobagginskennedy wrote:

...  Unless you are 95 and of feeble mind or 10 years old and not supposed to be on e Bay anyway HOW does one fall for this?... 

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The thing is, though, that if these scams worked only on the senile or the juvenile, the fraudsters wouldn't make enough money to continue to operate their con-games.  In fact, they know how to make themselves seem perfectly legitimate to people who are competent, sane, intelligent adults but who are inexperienced, unsuspecting, and trusting.

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[britmart-493]

No I don’t really look at the internet much. This is my first time.

[kosmosattik]

OP must be spoofing.

[slippinjimmy]

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@nocoolnamejane wrote:

Without sounding snarky, I do wonder, did you not, at any point, think something was not on the up and up?

These scams have made the news over and over in the last 15 years or so, along with the Nigerian Prince wanting to share their inheritance and the online dating match asking for money to come and visit.

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They go back MUCH longer than 15 years, I got my first letter from a Nigerian Prince in the 70's and the gift card scam is just a slightly modern version of an old scam. That scam was done on the phone, cold call, "congratulations, you have won a special prize" the prize being either a color tv or a trip to Florida, all you have to do is send $xxx to release your prize. It was a biggie back in the 60's and claimed thousands of victims.

In the 60's, 70's and 80's (pre-internet) those scams were mostly coming out of boiler rooms in Montreal but the victims were all over North America.

[mtgraves7984]

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@britmart-493 wrote:

No I don’t really look at the internet much. This is my first time.

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@britmart-493 

My grandma always said, "Experience is something you get just after  you need it." For what it's worth, yours came fast.

[frodobagginskennedy]

@maxine*j  My Mom is 85 and to our dismay refuses to move in with anyone.  We ask her weekly to please come live with my sister or me.  NOPE.  She is always telling us NOT to fall for these scams.  SHe gets calls literally daily from one person trying to sell her a computer fix, an amazon credit card fraud or a car warranty.

Maybe it is my background in retail and loss prevention that I just cannot grasp anyone not having red flags going off when in the midst of something like this. 

[mrdutch1001]

and??? there are many posts following mine, saying same thing so why bash me?

C'mon give us a break here...we are all so sick & tired of this continual repetition of complaining about being scammed when it is something that everyone hears, sees everyday and there is little excuse anymore for people to not know that this buying gift cards to hand over to a total stranger IS A SCAM & totally unacceptable no matter what the venue...

[maxine*j]

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@frodobagginskennedy wrote:

@maxine*j  My Mom is 85 and to our dismay refuses to move in with anyone.  We ask her weekly to please come live with my sister or me.  NOPE.  She is always telling us NOT to fall for these scams.  SHe gets calls literally daily from one person trying to sell her a computer fix, an amazon credit card fraud or a car warranty.

Maybe it is my background in retail and loss prevention that I just cannot grasp anyone not having red flags going off when in the midst of something like this. 

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@frodobagginskennedy 

That's the thing, you see -- your experience.   People are not born knowing that not all other people can be trusted, and people who grow up surrounded by family and friends who are honest and law-abiding often remain innocents well into adulthood.   They themselves are guileless, and they don't recognize guile in others.   They will learn, of course, in time.

As for your Mom, I'll tell you a funny story:  I'm also elderly and I spend time at the local seniors center.  There are sometimes guest speakers.  One was there to tell us all about con-games, telephone and internet scams, and the like.  We were bored.  The person sitting next to me said, sotto voce, "He doesn't get it that if we hadn't all already learned to stay alert, watch out backs, think on our feet, use the brains God gave us, and know s**t from Shinola, we wouldn't have lived this long."   😁

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[suzysemporium]

Just adding. . . I'm not sure if it would help. Also call the company you got the gift card from. Let them know you have been scammed, give them the numbers, and maybe just maybe they will be able to help police track them down.