Citizen Too Smart For Immediate Purchase Scam

(HURON COUNTY, ON) – Huron County OPP received a report this week regarding another online scam. A Goderich resident reported he was selling his pickup truck on a popular online website (Kijiji). He was contacted by two scammers via text messages and both of them wanted to immediately purchase his vehicle without inspecting the vehicle. The seller became very suspicious after learning the purchasers lived out of province and both supposedly didn’t have the time to talk over the phone. Some red flags the seller correctly identified as scam warning signs were:

The buyer wanted the vehicle immediately.
The buyer lived far away and had no problem paying for shipping expenses
They were willing to pay full asking price.
They were willing to purchase without inspecting first.
Both buyers were too busy to talk over the phone and would only communicate via text message and email.
Both were going to pay for the vehicle via PayPal

The scammers will often provide some elaborate tale as to why they can’t communicate over the phone. They will send you communication through text messages or email advising you the funds will be transferred to your PayPal account. PayPal is a secure method of transferring money however the scammers take advantage of this and create fake PayPal correspondence. If you don’t have a Paypal account they will instruct you to open an account and will provide you with a link to do so. This link will undoubtedly take you to a spoofed PayPal site. The scammers will also provide you with genuine looking email receipts advising the funds have been transferred into your PayPal account when in fact there has been no such transfer. In addition scammers will often try to create a sense of urgency and will report that there has been a problem with the transaction. They then request funds to be wired to cover unexpected fees.

If you send the money, you have been scammed. If you ship your item before verifying the funds in your account you have been scammed. Don’t become a victim. It is always best to make transactions face to face. If this is not possible, do your due diligence and protect yourself. Never wire money to people you do not know. And most of all, remember, If it’s too good to be true

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