I am trying to purchase a plasma television from a seller over the internet. He is selling it for a really cheap price but it seems a bit fishy. What do you guys think?

This is what he emailed me

Seller responded:
The Plasma is still available for sale and in great condition. The TV is at fedex location in Maine. Please don't get confussed about the plasma at fedex location in maine the reason is due to the fact that I almost lost it to a scammer in maine so I had to call fedex to hold it up for me at their office. If you are still interested in buying it I'll not be able to receive cash because I'm kinda busy working on a case in Florida right now. all I will need to proceed is your contact info so I can get it shipped to you. As for the payment Money order or Western union will be ok. But, I would prefer you making the payment through western union money transfer because that will be easier and convinient to me. once I get the plasma shipped to you, I will provide you the shipment label and tracking number for you to confirm it has been shipped. Once you confirm it has been shipped you will send ($350) part of the payment upfront and when the Plasma gets to you, you then send me the remaining balance. get back to me if you are still interested and ok with my terms and conditions.
Thanks


I responded with:

Hello. I have ran into a bit of a problem with the wifey. She doesn't feel comfortable with this transaction. I am sure you are a honest and legit person but she has heard some horror stories when it comes to scammers. I would still like to purchase the item but through a buyer/seller protection site such as Paypal. I can send you a money order through paypal. I will also cover the paypal seller fees 2.9% +$.30 of the $xxxx.00 I will also throw in $25.00 more as good gesture. Please let me know if you are ok with this method and I will make payment asap. Thanks again.

He responded:

Thanks for getting back to me. I want to assure you that this is legit and I'm also aware of the scams out there. unfortunately I don't have an account with paypal and I really prefer doing it western union as it is much easier and convinient for me to receive my payment. I'm a trustworthy person and would really appreciate if you could confide your trust in me. I really know the way you feel sending an upfront payment for the the plasma you have not seen physically, if I were to be in your shoes I'll also feel the same way. I had to stick to upfront payment because I was scammed once when I sold my XBOX to someone in Alabama. I really know the way you feel about making partial payment but at least that will give me a bit assurance to trust you and I also want to assure you that the Tv is really in good condition. please advice if you still want to proceed.


What do you guys really think? He says he is working on a case in Florida? He doesn't have a paypal account. Maybe he has bad credit or no credit at all? How the hell did his item end up in Maine at the Fedex?
He said he was scammed but doesn't that mean he would've lost the tv, why would it be at a fedex in Maine?


One of the reasons why he may want me to wire him the money is because he isn't going to be in town very long so he doesn't want to miss the check or money order being delivered to his home but even that sounds stupid? Can someone please advise me? Should I wait to see if the tv arrives then send out total payment. IS there anyway I can check to see if the packagae en route is not a box of bricks?

You have to go with your gut instinct, listen carefully.

also there is not much you can do with western union against claims or anything its just for sending money to a trusted party not for payments

I wouldnt do it, the tv is in Maine, He's in Florida, no paypal, just western union. you have no way to recoup your money. did you hear about the super bowl ticket scam, this was thru e-bay and the seller had them send the money western union.

LOL...He's working on a case?! A case of beer maybe. It's a shame he doesn't have enough time to play his xbox on his big telly in between busting hoods.

Scam, dodgy, suss, whatever you want to call it. I'd be telling Columbo to get back in his Mystery machine.

Don't do it. With the kind of money I'm sure you're paying him for a plasma TV, he can afford to take a few minutes and SET UP a paypal account. As already stated, Western Union does not have the scam protection that Paypal does, which is why he's probably insisting on it...

Danger! Wil Robinson Danger! MY guts tell me dont do it. Its too convenient. If its in a fedex shipping facitily then he should be able to give you the tracking number...and the WU thing is too convenient. Even if he may be legit, I wouldnt take the chance. You could end up with an empty box...

Let me guess, you bid on a Plasma screen TV and lost, so you got contacted with a second chance offer. His first email to you was a simple question. (In order to verify he had the right email address) The guy selling the second chance if you look into it is not the same screen name as the ebay seller.
This is called phishing and is a huge ebay scamming problem.
People look thru recently completed auctions "Bid History" and send email directly to them offering a fake "Second Chance" They always send a short simple question as the first email, just to make sure the email they found is really you. They always are in a different location than the product (Because they did not put the auction up in the first place.) They alot of time spoof Ebays email address to make it look like a offical second chance. And they alway want you to use westren union or a money order (something not protected againist scams)
Basically, dont do it!!

Yep, I agree with alexandro98, this is a textbook scam. Just have a closer look at his argumentation - all about understanding, feelings and trust, whathever he can say to make a bond between you. And no hard facts.

I'd leave it well alone.

I asked him for a phone number and he responded with I'm kinda busy working on a case in Forida right now, we cannot call and receive calls while on this type of case because it is a discreet one. We can only e-mail and this is because all records are kept for nearest future reference. please advice if we are still to proceed.

Thanks for the advice guys, after his last email, I told him I would fly down to Florida to personally deliver his money. *wink wink* damn the craigslist!

BTW he was selling a phillips ambi light 50inch plasma for 800 bucks. Too good to be true!

Is this you ?


http://boston.craigslist.org/ele/129557737.html

THIS IS A SCAM!!! Here's the email I received from the assclown who posted this ("laura martins" ):

"The Plasma is still available for sale and in great condition. The TV is at fedex location in Maine. Please don't get confussed about the plasma at fedex location in maine the reason is due to the fact that I almost lost it to a scammer in maine so I had to call fedex to hold it up for me at their office. If you are still interested in buying it I'll not be able to receive cash because I'm kinda busy working on a case in Florida right now. all I will need to proceed is your contact info so I can get it shipped to you. As for the payment Money order or Western union will be ok. But, I would prefer you making the payment through western union money transfer because that will be easier and convinient to me. once I get the plasma shipped to you, I will provide you the shipment label and tracking number for you to confirm it has been shipped. Once you confirm it has been shipped you will send ($350) part of the payment upfront and when the Plasma gets to you, you then send me the remaining balance. get back to me if you are still interested and ok with my terms and conditions.
Thanks"

DONT DO IT. STOP WHAT YOU ARE DOING NOW, and report his ASS ASAP.

My fiance's parents were taken on the same BS scam.

They were buying a really nice shower off of Ebay, and they guy was in one location, while the product was in another, and he would only take Western Union as a form of payment. Well, they payed him and got screwed out of 2 grand.

How he got them, was he sent an email and disguised the headers as awconfirm@ebay.com . Itthe email contained the information on how to pay ect. They thought it was legit because it appears to have come from ebay. When you view the full headers the real email was shown, and it was from a Hotmail account.

To be in the company of such trusting souls...
Honors me deeply!



Sometimes I wish people were a little nicer.

Yeah, they are trusting.

They are from Poland, moved here about 10 years ago, they have learned something, but they are not used to scam artist and such, and werent leary of that as a possibility. They are from a mountain town, and its sort of your mayberry, everyone knows everyone situation.

$800.00 bucks will build you a nice LL projector!!!!

Yes I did report him to craigslist. However I did not post that statement on craigslist. Funny how it ended up in the Boston area. It originated in the NJ area. The seller responded "Your wasting my fn time, go f yourself". I wished him luck on his case.

OWNED!!

Hahaha