Don't get scammed!

Buffalo.com photo by Bill Parker.

Bad news...I received this email from one of the members of our internship program today. It's a good reminder that you need to be careful dealing with buyers and sellers online...

I just wanted to send a word of warning to anybody who is selling any higher end electronics on Craigslist.com I posted my Canon 40D and Canon lens package on Craigs list for $850.

I was contacted by a gentleman who asked if I would mind shipping the item to his son overseas. I of course said no. I would just need $ for postage. He said he would include $150 to ship and package it as a gift. When I accepted the offer he asked for my PayPal account address. Then when I gave him my address a few hours later I received two e-mails. One is the one below and the other one giving me the ship to address in Nigeria and complete financial details of the transaction. However it had a notification that payment would be held until a confirmation was received that the item had been shipped and a tracking number was received. That was to protect their client from being scammed. I checked my PayPal account and to my dismay there was no $ in it. I called PayPal and they confirmed my intuition – the whole thing was a scam. She said that many people without much experience selling etc with PayPal often ship and then receive no $. She asked if the country was Nigeria and when I confirmed she said that was a well known scam on Craigs list.

Needless to say I still have my Canon 40D and 18-55mm Canon lens for sale for $850 so if you know anybody looking for one let me know.

And if someone is interested in buying that camera, let me (Ben) know and I'll put you in touch with the intern who wrote this.