I am selling my jet ski on craigslist for a pretty cheap price. I got this email saying that the buyer is out of town and is going to send a pick up person and pay pal me the money. The thing that got me is that there were no arguments on the price and no talking on the phone and this person sounded too excited. Also the buyer s name is Barry Johnson(shows up on scam websites) but I looked up the guy s email and phone number and it doesn t show up. I don t see how I can get scammed other than the guy claiming fraud on the pay pal transfer. I have asked to meet at the police station and trade cash. Did i almost get scammed?

It?s a scam. Nobody buys a jetski without seeing it first.

There are three main Craigslist Paypal scams

1 - they send you a fake but real looking email from Paypal saying the money has been sent but won't be credited until the shipper has picked up the item

2 - they pay with a hacked paypal account hoping to pick it up before the real account holder discovers the theft

3 - they pay with a real account, pick it up then file a dispute with Paypal claiming their account got hacked. Paypal contacts you asking for signed proof of delivery to the buyer's verified address. You won't have this as they picked it up from you, and paypal refunds their money

You are correct, you avoided a scam. If you read the Craigslist scam warnings page they specifically tell users to never give out Paypal details

You don't get scammed unless you are a fool. Its simple with transactions like this, simply don't give them anything until money is present. If the money is there and you have it sell it.

Do not give anything away untill you have the amount of money asked. Paypal is fairly safe. Keep proof that you gave them the product and they gave you the cash like picture or signature of them picking up the jet ski or something.

I doubt you almost got scammed unless they wanted the jetski before you got the money, and I am not sure why you would even do that. Think things through instead of having people think for you most of this stuff is common sense.

yes it's a scam. you avoided/ recognized it...good for you.

anytime you see something with PP or an "out of town" situation, it's a scam.............be sure to report the ad to craigslist

SCAM