This must surely be a scam

Sterlingtimes

I received an offer to buy my webdomain and data for £700.

Email in the form name.name4458@yahoo.com

I am pretty sure that a genuine offer would not come from such an address.

This has got to be a scam, but what is their malicious intent? How does it work?

System

They send you significantly more money than you want either as a bank transfer, cheque or Paypal payment, say £1700. You tell them they've made a mistake and being a good citizen refund the £1000 difference which they put in their pocket. You then find out a few weeks later that the initial amount was paid for using a stolen card and the money is taken out of your account/Paypal account. They've got the money you sent them, you're out of pocket not only the whole of the original £1700 amount but the £1000 you "returned" to them as well.

DoaM

You're not out the £700 ... you never had that in the first place until they "sent" it. But you're right about the £1,000.

Starting balance = £1,000
Payment "sent" = £1,700
Current balance = £2,700
Overpay refunded = £1,000
Current balance = £1,700
Original payment retracted = £1,700
Current balance = £0

Sterlingtimes

Thank you for your helpful explanation.