Selling on Amason: offered payment by Western Union, collection by Fedex. Scam?

grumbler

Yes, I searched this board before posting this question. Yes, I suspect that this is some well-known scam for everybody here. Not for me. Could anybody explain me how this scam works (or give a link to some source of clear information on this)? Thank you.

Situation:
My friend is selling his old mobile on Amazon Marketplace. Received two e-mails from two different(?) buyers from nowhere offering payment by Western Union and collection by Fedex. They also ask him to send his name, address and phone number that is quite understandable. I do not see anything dangerous here unless mobile is collected before receiving money.

stavros_2

That is exactly what will happen. The fedex guys will turn up asking for the mobile while the "buyer" fobs you off with tall tales of why the payment is delayed. Just delete the emails and forget about it

VH

Yep, classic scam. Money appears in your account then is reversed out afterward when your bank identifies it as fraudulent funds.

Anything involving Western Union is almost always dodgy.

Usually targeted at mobile phones or high value, small, electrical goods.

If you have a look on the EBay community boards you can find a fuller explanation.