Gift card scam

[genevag222012]

Buyer indicated s/he wanted to buy the duffle I had listed. She included her phone # and asked me to text to answer a question. That should have been my first red flag. Question: If s/he sent $300 to my Paypal account would I go to Walgreens and buy a $300 gift card to put in the bag s/he was buying and send it to her cousin. S/he became persistent when i suggested she just buy the bag and do the gift card thing on her/his own. Then s/he suggested I ONLY do the gift card purchase!! When I said it sounded like a scam the texting stop. I have been all over eBay trying to report the incident, but they sure don't make that easy. Is there a straightforward place to do that? Thanks a lot.

[duffy4444]

   You're right - it's a scam usually perpetrated on new sellers who have recently joined, or those with few feedbacks... totally ignore them, as they may not even follow thru with purchasing the item because they couldn't care less about the item.

   You responded to it perfectly, except for suggesting he/she buy the bag on its own. The best thing to do is to put that "buyer" on your Blocked Buyer List and never even respond to them.

   I'm sure others will chime in with more information and advice for you.

Cheers, Duffy

[rebell45]

Not really, just report the buyer here:  https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/report-issue-buyer?id=4084&st=12&pos=3&quer...

And read this: https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/paying-items/protecting-gift-card-scams?id=5156&st=12&pos=3&query=P...

Then add them to your Blocked Bidder List.

[wesk_36]

These gift card scammers are a sleazy bunch! They keep at it because some people fall for it.

I don't know how to report them.

I wish this type of scam/criminal activity could be stopped.

I have never had this happen on my selling account but if I did, I would be tempted to snare them.

[Anonymous]

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@genevag222012 wrote:

Buyer indicated s/he wanted to buy the duffle I had listed. She included her phone # and asked me to text to answer a question. 

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Instant BBL right here, no hesitation.

[justafemster]

On the plus side, you realized it was a scam and didn't follow through.  

Next time (and it will happen again), don't communicate off ebay.  

[southern*sweet*tea]

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@genevag222012 wrote:

Buyer indicated s/he wanted to buy the duffle I had listed. She included her phone # and asked me to text to answer a question. That should have been my first red flag. Question: If s/he sent $300 to my Paypal account would I go to Walgreens and buy a $300 gift card to put in the bag s/he was buying and send it to her cousin. S/he became persistent when i suggested she just buy the bag and do the gift card thing on her/his own. Then s/he suggested I ONLY do the gift card purchase!! When I said it sounded like a scam the texting stop. I have been all over eBay trying to report the incident, but they sure don't make that easy. Is there a straightforward place to do that? Thanks a lot.

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Do NOT, under any circumstances, give your phone number or email address to a buyer.

NEVER.

No legitimate buyer needs either one. Your "buyer" wants your email or phone number so they can send you a very real looking, but very fake Paypal payment email. They are hoping you are too inexperienced to log directly into Paypal and verify the payment. There will be NO PAYMENT, only a fake email saying you've been paid. This person wants you to ship your item without being paid. They want to steal your stuff.  The gift card is just the icing on the cake. They figure if they can sucker you for that too, all the better for them.

Report the "buyer" https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/resolving-buyer-issues/reporting-issue-buyer?id=4084 Use the reason "asking to complete a sale off eBay".

Add the "buyer" to your blocked bidder list: https://www.ebay.com/bmgt/BuyerBlock

Ignore any further messages.

If there was an actual purchase, cancel the sale using "problem with buyer's address". You can do that here: https://www.ebay.com/help/selling/getting-paid/cancelling-transaction?id=4136 This will credit your seller fees and you will be able to relist.

[1tuna]

the best way to put an end to it is to educate folks about it.especially the seniors who have been known to fall for the grandma scam.  I think the younger set goes for gift cards

most people  do not want to say they were ripped off because  they feel foolish but it really needs to be talked about to stop it from spreading to new victims

[genevag222012]

Great help. Thanks for the good tips.

[d-k_treasures]

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@wesk_36 wrote:

These gift card scammers are a sleazy bunch! They keep at it because some people fall for it.

I don't know how to report them.

I wish this type of scam/criminal activity could be stopped.

I have never had this happen on my selling account but if I did, I would be tempted to snare them.

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The best way to report them WAS to report the message. But they took that simple functionality  away.

I'd bet they would care more if the scammers asked for the seller to purchase Amazon gift cards ...  but since ebay gift cards are only good on ebay, well ......................

[na_833338]

[chapabargain]

https://www.ebay.com/help/buying/paying-items/protecting-gift-card-scams?id=5156

https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/gift-card-scams 

@genevag222012 

[kh-gary]

Hi everyone,

If you believe that you or someone you know was scammed into buying eBay Gift Cards, visit our gift card page to contact customer service and find additional information related to gift card scams.

Thank you.

[titipeo]

Many years back, I was selling a multi disc player on another platform, as I didn't want to deal with shipping, and wanted to do a local sale. A prospective buyer (future scammer) contacted me with this story that my item was what his nephew was looking. Scammer then asked if they paid more, could I buy a Birthday card and a gift card and ship it to his nephew, they will add $20 extra for my troubles, as that will save them some time since they've been looking for this exact same model.

I laughed at the message, and replied how will I be trusted to buy the gift card and ship the package when I could keep the money, just as how can I trust them to send me the money to begin with. That was the end of it. 

[justafemster]

And now the loony toons is PMing me.  

I'll say it again (publicly), stop messaging me!