Better Business Bureaus Warn Sellers on Craigslist About Rampant PayPal Scam

The Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB) warned consumers about the rampant scams occurring on Craigslist.

Better Business Bureaus posted a news briefing on its website that outlined how scammers are constantly fooling innocent PayPal users by sending fake payment confirmation message.

Scam artists usually target sellers on Craigslist who are trying to sell “big-ticket items” like vehicles, computer items, and furniture, said the Better Business Bureaus. Once the seller posts an ad on Craigslist, the buyer would approach the seller to set up a meeting.

Once they meet and the buyer agrees to buy the item, the buyer would say that they do not have the cash to pay for it, but they will send the money via PayPal.

In this particular type of scam, the buyer then sends a fake PayPal payment confirmation email to the seller. If the seller says they cannot see the transaction appear on their PayPal account, the buyer often insist that the transfer is “invisible.”

The Better Business Bureaus also warned Craigslist users that some scam artists even go a step further and try to make some actual cash out of these con games. In a few cases, the buyers even sent a fake PayPal payment confirmation email then asked the seller to pay them back through wire transfer!

By the time the seller realized the whole thing was a scam, the buyer was already gone with the item they were trying to sell, and some extra cash.

The Better Business Bureaus also mentioned that Craigslist has failed to respond to the complaint regarding these scams and as a result, the rating of Craigslist will reflect it.

They also pointed out that other online marketplaces, such as eBay, are Accredited by the Better Business Bureaus and take these complaints seriously.

The Better Business Bureaus argued seller to look for signals that may indicate the buyer is trying to con them. For example, they suggested that in order to avoid being scammed, sellers do not accept overpayments and “always confirm the buyer has paid before handing over the item.”