Anyone dealt with 'Gregory John Collins' ?

[splat]

I have a bike up for sale on Facebook, BikeHub and Gumtree. There have been a few nibbles, one oil rig worker and now I get this guy.
Google isn't coming up with any hits as a known scammer, but the Modus Operandi feels similar (he is in America, but wants to buy this bike for his son etc).

I don't know which advert he is responding to.
He contacted my via SMS (smscaster.com), which raised the first alarm.

collinsgregoryjohn@gmail.com is his 'personal email'

Edited May 3 by splat

[NC_lurker]

20 minutes ago, splat said:

I have a bike up for sale on Facebook, BikeHub and Gumtree. There have been a few nibbles, one oil rig worker and now I get this guy.
Google isn't coming up with any hits as a known scammer, but the Modus Operandi feels similar (he is in America, but wants to buy this bike for his son etc)

Throw out bikeHub pay and see how he responds 

[BuffsVintageBikes]

Is your bike so unique that it's not available in America?

[Mook]

1 hour ago, splat said:

I have a bike up for sale on Facebook, BikeHub and Gumtree. There have been a few nibbles, one oil rig worker and now I get this guy.
Google isn't coming up with any hits as a known scammer, but the Modus Operandi feels similar (he is in America, but wants to buy this bike for his son etc)

This is a dead end. They never use the formal platform to communicate, but rather request you to forward them your personal e-mail address. This is how they move under the radar.

Here's what I did. Handed the "buyer's" e-mail address to 5 mates to e-mail him the exact same response - yet from different addresses. The result was predictable ........................ never heard from the dingbat again.

[Bike Dewing]

Is it a kids bike.? This **** baffles me.. how young is the kid that can’t look for his own bike if you out the country.? give the mother the money and come buy my bike.. or if he’s old enough send him the money and he can come buy the bike.. wasting time entertaining this overseas buyer bull****..

[Bicycle Yard WESTERN CAPE]

1 hour ago, splat said:

I have a bike up for sale on Facebook, BikeHub and Gumtree. There have been a few nibbles, one oil rig worker and now I get this guy.
Google isn't coming up with any hits as a known scammer, but the Modus Operandi feels similar (he is in America, but wants to buy this bike for his son etc)

Just ignore, scam.

[babse]

Seems legit 🤣

[splat]

Ja, this all seems to familiar.
Spidey senses are tingling.
Thanks for confirming.

If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck...

I will not continue the chat with him.

[Lexi Daoussis]

A Gregory John Collin’s has also emailed me, same story he’s in the U.S. but wants to buy his bike for his son. He’s asking to send me money via PayPal.. is there a way one can even scam you via PayPal? 

[BaGearA]

3 minutes ago, Lexi Daoussis said:

A Gregory John Collin’s has also emailed me, same story he’s in the U.S. but wants to buy his bike for his son. He’s asking to send me money via PayPal.. is there a way one can even scam you via PayPal? 

Yes there is, I was very surprised to lean this but yes in the right circumstances it is possible 

[Nick]

@splat & @Lexi Daoussis Were these approaches made through Bike Hub? I've checked your accounts and do not see any obviously suspicious accounts interacting with your adverts.

13 minutes ago, Lexi Daoussis said:

A Gregory John Collin’s has also emailed me, same story he’s in the U.S. but wants to buy his bike for his son. He’s asking to send me money via PayPal.. is there a way one can even scam you via PayPal? 

Yes, PayPal is often mentioned in scams. One trick is to lead you into believing it is PayPal when it's actually a fraudulent service.

Here's our guide to safe trading online: https://help.bikehub.co.za/en/articles/3538876-safe-trading-tips-bike-hub-classifieds

[Lexi Daoussis]

Thanks so much for the help. 
 

Nope he messaged my via text then asked for my email. I didn’t suspect anything wrong at first, thought maybe just an older person who couldn’t navigate an interface. Then it started getting sketchy. 
 

I had no idea one could get scammed on PayPal. Good to know. I’ve stopped communicating with him. 
 

thanks for this helpful community, really appreciate it. 

[Nick]

10 minutes ago, Lexi Daoussis said:

Thanks so much for the help. 
 

Nope he messaged my via text then asked for my email. I didn’t suspect anything wrong at first, thought maybe just an older person who couldn’t navigate an interface. Then it started getting sketchy. 
 

I had no idea one could get scammed on PayPal. Good to know. I’ve stopped communicating with him. 
 

thanks for this helpful community, really appreciate it. 

I'm glad you've dodged this.

While an honest, eager buyer may also contact you directly, it's one more signal to look out for if you are feeling uneasy about the transaction. Scammers like to do their "business" away from the Classifieds platforms where possible. There is less chance of getting caught and interrupted.

[Lexi Daoussis]

Just as a note, PayPal has helpful info on sophisticated scams, might be helpful to others on here: 

https://www.paypal.com/us/cshelp/article/what-are-common-scams-and-how-do-i-spot-them-help201#

[Corlia de Beer]

The same guy Gregory John Collins contacted me regarding my bike I have up for sale....

Same story, in US wanting to buy a bike for his son using pay pal for payment....

 

 

Edited May 1 by Corlia de Beer

[Nick]

31 minutes ago, Corlia de Beer said:

The same guy Gregory John Collins contacted me regarding my bike I have up for sale....

Same story, in US wanting to buy a bike for his son using pay pal for payment....

 

 

Hi Corlia

Welcome to Bike Hub!

Did this fraudster contact you before or after you placed your advert on Bike Hub?

I'm trying hard to see where this guy is getting everyone's contact details but I can't find anything on the Bike Hub logs.