15-year-old boy targeted through eBay/PayPal scam
MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Spelling makes all the difference -- especially when it comes to scams! FOX6's Contact 6 says some poor grammar and spelling errors led a mother and son to sniff out a scam before it cost them big time!
"The email was 'we have your funds' and I said 'yes' and then everything happened," Adam Perkins said.
Perkins is learning an adult lesson at a young age. The 15-year-old decided to sell his laptop on eBay after he got a new iPad. He listed the computer for $500 and got a buyer right away.
"I got an email from PayPal saying 'we have your funds,'" Perkins said.
The buyer asked Perkins and his mother to send the laptop immediately.
"He said 'It`s my son`s birthday and we`d love for you to overnight it," so we broke our backs trying to send it," Susan McConnell said.
Fortunately, they missed the Friday deadline for overnight shipping, which helped them unravel a massive scam.
When they took a second look at the notice allegedly sent from PayPal, it was full of grammatical and spelling errors.
"There was a line in there that most people would have picked up on. We did not. If you`re selling a bunch of stuff, not something like legitimate language for PayPal," McConnell said.
They immediately called postal inspectors, who issued a mail recall and kept the package from being delivered.
"I was angry. I spent 48 hours sleuthing. I pretty much did everything I could because I was really determined. That`s somebody stealing money from your kid, and you know don`t get between a mother and her children," McConnell said.
Here's how the scam works. First, the suspect buys an item.
"She would use a `Buy It Now` option. She would find out the sellers email address and send a phony mail pretending to be from PayPal," U.S. Postal Inspector Laura Carter said.
The note would say the funds had been sent to the seller's account. In reality, no payment was made.
The suspect ends up with the merchandise without paying a cent.
Inspectors recommend always logging in and checking your PayPayl account.
"See if there is anything from PayPal because they do send you an email to your account not just your email," Carter said.
Perkins and his mother learned a valuable lesson.
"I`ve learned you have to check someone`s user rating, their history on eBay," Perkins said.
"Your trust is being violated and someone has stolen something from you and it`s a stomach churning feeling. You feel foolish that you weren`t smart enough to pick that up and you feel violated and even more so if it`s your kid," McConnell said.
Here are some of the red flags. Be on the lookout for an immediate purchase of the "Buy It Now" option price with no questions asked, or if the buyer requests overnight shipping.
Contact 6 advises always being weary of PayPal notices sent to your email.