Buyer Scam?

[luna3716]

I am new to eBay and very wary of buyer/seller scams. I am trying to sell a cell phone and got a strange message from a potential buyer. The message they sent was this:

"Hello I'm interested in your Phone pls kindly reply me with this 669, 228, 1257"

When I click on the user it says they are no longer registered with eBay (and their initial registration date was today). Has anyone come across something like this, is this some sort of scam or are they just trying to confirm I'm a real person?

Thanks for your help!

[newnewnewmann]

Ignore it, delete it, don't call, it's a scam. If someone wanted to buy your cellphone, then they would do it through the buying screen. Cell phones are a high fraud item, lot's of people out there wanting to trick you. Sometimes they do this, sometimes they send fake emails that look like they are from paypal or ebay, phishing emails, never take it outside ebay and never click on links in emails, if you get a legitimate buyer, confirm payment in your accounts not from a message. If they are no longer a registered member, then there is no buyer.

[retrose1]

Just ignore the email - do not answer it.

Here is a piece of advice - if you are a new seller listing a high dollar item or a cell phone, the odds of you getting scammed are the same as a scheme by Wile E Coyote against the Road Runner ending up in complete failure.

Only list items that are over $35 if your id has as much recent (within the past 6 months) selling feedback as the dollar value of the item.  That way you can learn the risks of ebay and how it will work or not work for you in a scam situation.

[nawlinsron2]

Page 1 from the Scam 101 text book.

[newnewnewmann]

Also see

Ebay's safe from scammers page;
https://pages.ebay.com/securitycenter/stay_safe.html

Things to do;
-Create buyer requirements
http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/buyer-requirements.html?rmvSB=true

-Only ship to the confirmed paypal address.
-Use tracking or other proof of delivery.
-Keep records of phones serial numbers and EMEI number and take pictures.

[sandmansales]

I am new to eBay....I am trying to sell a cell phone...Has anyone come across something like this...

LOL. Yeah, about 10 times a day in this forum alone.

Scams on ebay have been out of control for almost a decade and growing. ebay's response - NOTHING except the scammer automatically wins every time.

[femmefan1946]

You would do better selling your phone locally through an online classified site, meeting the buyer in a busy coffeeshop and getting paid in cash.

If you think selling on eBay is a good way of generating some additional income, start small with inexpensive unwanted items from around the house. Books, knicknacks, lightly used clothing, purses.

These sales will help you learn how to sell. This is even more important if you have never worked in retail.

And shipping is the hardest part of online selling.

Scams (with the exception of newbies selling electronics) are few. Most people are honest.

If you've worked retail, you already know that there are differences of opinion, which have nothing to do with honesty.