Email transaction scam? PLEASE HELP!

[smekenkamp]

Please help!!

I am selling my Macbook Pro via eBay, but the buyer reached out to me via email and then later text message, which has been our method of communication ever since. She said she directly paid me on Pay Pal (and didn't go through the advertisement on eBay) and I received an email from CREDIT PAYMENT and the email address is creditpayment @ consultant.com. The subject in the email is NOTIFICATION OF PAYMENT. The email is addressed to my first name only--read somewhere that Pay Pal always addresses first AND last name but cannot be certain if this is a mistake on my own profile, or not. The message in the email states that the payment is now in pending balance but temporarily unavailable. 

 
Here are a few steps you can take:

• Ship your item quickly. Then send the receipt you get from the post office to us at:Creditpayment @ consultant.com in other for us to mark it as shipped on the Transaction Details page. We would estimated your payment release date: Within 36 - 48 hours of the delivery date immediately, If you provide a UPS, FedEx, USPS International Priority Mail Express tracking number, your estimated release date is within 12 - 24 hours.
• Have a product or service that doesn't need to be shipped (e-book, piano lessons, etc)? We would mark your order as processed and provide details. Estimated payment release date: Within 12 -24 hours as soon as we veify the picture of the receipt you get from the post office proof.

When I login to my pay pal there is no transaction in my activity. How long does this take to show up in my history?

Please, can somebody help me find out if this is legitimate or not? I am not getting hate text messages from the "buyer" accusing me as an illegitimate seller. 

Thank you!! 

[kernowlass]

@smekenkamp

THIS IS A TYPICAL PAYPAL SCAM.

They encourage you to use paypal and often ask you to send the item as a gift to a relative somewhere often Nigeria.

You will get/got a "fake" email that looks as though it is from paypal.....it isn't.

It will say the buyer has paid ...you won't have been paid.

They will tell you that the payment is released when you provide paypal with a tracking/shipping number......this won't happen.

They also threaten legal action...have a laugh at that one and ignore it as its rubbish.

Paypal NEVER tell you to send trackable, they advise it for seller protection etc but it is not compulsory.

Paypal NEVER tell you to send an item before the payment is showing in your paypal account.

Delete any emails and ignore the scammers.

[smekenkamp]

@kernowlass Thank you for your reply!

This is a buyer from Florida who wants to ship the "gift" to a relative in Mississippi. Requested I send the item via USPS in 2-day shipping. The email simply says "Katie just made a payment through Pay Pal" with MERCHANT --and then my first name and the amount. It says "pending" but cannot be found in my activity in my profile on paypal. It only states that the funds are pending and temporarily unavailable and will be moved into my account in 24-48hr (given nothing goes wrong with the order). Is this normal for Pay Pal to take these actions? Or would you still say this is a definite SCAM?

[kernowlass]

@smekenkamp

Its a definate scam. Did you read the bit where i said paypal NEVER tell you to send an item unless the funds are showing in your paypal balance, even if pending they would still show in there but have pending by them.

[smekenkamp]

@kernowlass Thank you for clarifying. I missed that part because I have been so caught up doing the research and investigating online. Once again, thank you!