# What happens in this email only scam **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 27, 2014, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-this-email-only-scam/684686 "2014-03-27T16:08:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wisernow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@wisernow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wisernow)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-this-email-only-scam/684686/21 "2014-03-27T22:56:12Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > I hope you didn’t give them your real email address. You should have created a throw-away. I am afraid I did. Does it matter though? What can he do with my email address? > [@Alley Dweller](#): > > 1. Find some pictures of a rare exotic car on the internet. Send him a message that you want $200 for it. > > 2. Find some pictures of a rusted-out junker. Send him a message that you want $20,000 for it. > > Tell him they are in excellent condition. Ask if the price is satisfactory before you send details. And, yes, I know the car won’t match what was in your ad, but it would be interesting to know if he even read your ad. Doing either of these will turn him off I think. I would like to do something such that the payoff is reversed, that is he gets scammed instead of me. But I guess these guys have been in the game long enough not to get duped themselves. It would be nice payback though. Maybe I should ask him for an advance payment of 500 dollars or something in the form a certified draft/money order. Will he bite? ---
**Author:** ![wisernow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@wisernow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wisernow)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-this-email-only-scam/684686/22 "2014-03-27T22:59:42Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > They are just trying to get your bank account numbers. He has given me two options. Wire transfer to my account or Paypal. How does the latter work. I don’t even have a Paypal account but even I did, what will he do to accomplish his motive? ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-this-email-only-scam/684686/23 "2014-03-27T23:14:04Z")
Tell him to pay by wire transfer, but you will not release the car until his money has actually been deposited in your bank. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-this-email-only-scam/684686/24 "2014-03-27T23:36:55Z")
> [@wisernow](#): > > I am afraid I did. Does it matter though? What can he do with my email address? > > Doing either of these will turn him off I think. I would like to do something such that the payoff is reversed, that is he gets scammed instead of me. But I guess these guys have been in the game long enough not to get duped themselves. It would be nice payback though. > > Maybe I should ask him for an advance payment of 500 dollars or something in the form a certified draft/money order. Will he bite? Two problems with asking for a draft or money order: 1. You have to give him your address. 2. The draft or money order will certainly be counterfeit. Your bank will charge you a bounced check fee and turn the matter over to the police and you will become the first suspect in their investigation. Perhaps they will even start looking into you as the mastermind in a series of recent fake check cashing incidents. Do the same thing that scammers do. Accept money only by Western Union. They do it because it is anonymous (under $1000) and because there is no way the cash they walk out of the WU agency with will bounce. There are various things people could do with your email address if you got them pissed off at you. Sending you a virus is the least of your concerns. They could for example, post your email address on boards all over the world with a message that says “SWM seeks boys 10-14 years old. Generous finder’s fee paid.” You will be deluged with junk that will make your email address useless. And certain there are people who know the real name behind your email address. Somebody may casually google your email address or perhaps a future employer may google you and discover your activities with young boys. Most likely, nothing like this will happen. The scammer will probably just stop wasting his time and move on to the next mark. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2014, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-this-email-only-scam/684686/25 "2014-03-27T23:41:22Z")
> [@wisernow](#): > > He has given me two options. Wire transfer to my account or Paypal. How does the latter work. I don’t even have a Paypal account but even I did, what will he do to accomplish his motive? He will probably tell you he needs your password to transfer the money to your Paypal account. He will then use the password to drain your linked bank accounts. (Or he may send you to a “secure Paypal transfer site” that requests your password.) ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-this-email-only-scam/684686/26 "2014-03-28T00:23:23Z")
I would refuse all contact with anyone using txtspeak. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-this-email-only-scam/684686/27 "2014-03-28T01:22:40Z")
The paypal scamworks this way. He pays you and a shipper comes to pick up the car. You get whatever paperwork you think proves you gave him the car. A couple days later, he files a report with paypal that you neve sent the car. “Wait a sec, here’s proof.” you say. Paypal says that’s that not proof because you need a tracking number like UPS. No amount of proof will prevent Paypal from issuing the chargeback. They got your car for free. Pretty popular scam. Google search it. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-this-email-only-scam/684686/28 "2014-03-28T02:40:59Z")
I googled [“paypal car shipper scam.”](https://www.google.com/#q=paypal+car+shipper+scam) I didn’t find a single report of an actual car shipper coming to pick up the car. Cars are big and bulky. They leave a paperwork trail. But perhaps you could point me to a report of an actual car shipper coming to pick up the car? Yes, there are plenty of reports of people picking up small (and sometimes expensive items) and filing chargebacks. Almost all of the [actual reports](http://scamvictimsunited.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=4414) that I found were some variant of the buyer sends fake messages that look like they are from Paypal that say the funds have been transferred and will be released as soon as the seller sends a few hundred dollars via Western Union to the shipping agent or some other party. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-this-email-only-scam/684686/29 "2014-03-28T03:14:43Z")
Its not the shipper scam Search for “Paypal chargeback scam” ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2014, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-this-email-only-scam/684686/30 "2014-03-28T05:51:38Z")
Who’s paying to ship that auto to Nigeria? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-in-this-email-only-scam/684686.md?page=1)