I am selling a watch on eBay and this guy who I have been exchanging a few emails with just wrote this:
My offer is: £XYZ (including shipping to ,Scotland (United Kingdom) + Escrow fees NEXT DAY delivery)
I use a escrow for this transaction because is more safe for both of us ( www.guard-assurance.com ), escrow use like payment method PayPal bank transfer etc.
Is simple to use, just register, start a transaction i will agree and the transaction will be complete on 2-3 days top
If you agree I am waiting for you to start the transaction with my username ( XYZ ) on
www.guard-assurance.com and I will send the money as soon as you do that, and please do not forget to put the transaction fees to be payed by me .
I expect your answer asap.(if you need more info's please contact me or the escrow web site)
It's got scam written all over it, but how does it work? I assume the whole escrow company/website is complete bs?
Last edited by o u t a t i m e; 2nd March 2017 at 08:22.
It may well be legit as there are loads of money transfer companies out there but at the end of the day you sell it to whom you choose and payment via a method that's agreeable to you. Personally I couldn't be arsed with the hassle of that so would kindly decline unless he pays your way.
Well, Google hasn't heard of it.
The english would put me off, but it works like
-You sign up to the "escrow service"
-He sends money, and you'll receive some kind of notification/balance in escrow account showing he's paid and the payment is being held in escrow until the item arrives
-You send item
-He receives watch, and runs off into the sunset
And no way of getting money back, as paypal wasn't actually used,
quick whois showing the wesbite has only been up for a few weeks
Domain:guard-assurance.com
Registrar:INTERNET DOMAIN SERVICE BS CORP
Registration Date:2017-02-11
Expiration Date:2018-02-11
Updated Date:2017-02-11
Status:clientTransferProhibited
Name Servers:ns1.ipchina163.com
ns2.ipchina163.com
Have look at his http://pages.ebay.com/help/pay/escrow.html
I wonder if going outside this advice would invalidate any seller protection?
Last edited by Crispin; 27th February 2017 at 18:46.
I know a lot of people don't think we speak English in Scotland but the structure of the sentences smack of English not being the buyers first language.
For example - "escrow use like payment method PayPal bank transfer etc"
It'd probably read more like this if it was legit:Originally Posted by alanm_3
Mah offer is: £xyz (including shipping tae ,scotland + escrow fees neist day delivery)
i wid uise a escrow fur this transaction fur it's mair safe fur th' baith o' us ( www.guard-assurance.com ), escrow uses jiro methods lik' paypal bank transfer etc.
Is simple tae uise, juist set yersel' up, stairt a transaction, 'n' th' transaction wull be complete oan 2-3 days top
if ye gree, a'm waiting fur ye tae stairt th' transaction wi' mah username ( xyz ) oan www.guard-assurance.com, ah wull send th' dosh as soon as ye dae that, please dae nae forgoat tae pat th' transaction fees tae be payed by me
And exactly which part of our fair country would they be from if they spoke like that? :-)
Mind you it's got a bit o' Burns about it!
From the scottish part :P
I could shove a ken or two in there, and it'd be east coast.
Just realised the flaw in using an online translator, i'm sure "next-day" would be "the morn" or something like that
The wording alone would be enough to put me off.....
Lots of eBay scams lately. I have a watch on there and get similar best offer messages. Avoid.
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As you have already spotted! A potential buyer would only have to suggest 'Escrow' to me and he would be history!
Hahahahaha
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There's a few Kens doon the shire tae!
Not a chance that's legit, bank transfer or no sale I say
Two words. Walk away.
It's a scam
Isn't escrow used in the US for House buying? I'm sure I've seen it where the money sits in the account for a month and either party can pull out, so in theory you send the watch and he recalls the money. Might be wrong on that but that's my guess.
That said if you have the slightest inclination it's a scam, walk away.
no good for uk seals, but if selling abroad, ebays global shipping programme is a good idea. you send the watch to ebay who verify it and they take over the rest.
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
The fact that's it's writtem in the same pidgin English that Nigerian scammers use isn't the most reassuring of things.
As soon as I read the word "escrow", I knew it was a scam. Avoid like the plague.
I received something similar when I was selling a watch in eBay. Incredible how many scammers are out there..
Funnily enough, con artist in French is escroc. And yes, it sounds the same.
'Against stupidity, the gods themselves struggle in vain' - Schiller.
Escrow is a perfectly legitimate payment method for all manner of things.
But this stinks of scam.
I think OP knew it was a scam and was purely wondering how the scam actually works. Is it just a false website that leads to seller to believe some money has been paid in etc.
The wording is terrible. He'll probably want to send you$3,473,463 next week
It sounds like a scam to me, better to walk away and still have your watch imo
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Presumably you would have to give them your bank details to start with. How would it go on from there?
Exactly this.
Escrow only works when the organisation or person doing the escrow is impeccably honest and is trusted equally by both parties. The (scam) escrow service suggested by the "buyer" here does not meet that criterion by a very wide margin!
No need. There is no escrow service involved in this scam.
All that will happen is that the seller will receive an email purporting to come from the (non-existent/scam) escrow service saying that the buyer has sent them the money. The seller then sends the watch to the buyer. And that's where the story ends.
More than likely a scam, but I'd be tempted to see how far it goes. Just don't send the watch off. I imagine your account on that dodgy site will convince you you have a payment available or you'll receive an email suggesting as such, but it's what happens afterwards I imagine is the catch.
I wouldn't be surprised that at some point the victim in this situation is convinced the money will release to the bank account once the item has been shipped with tracking.
My best guess, and if in doubt, don't go through with it. Certainly would be interesting to see what the buyer does if I played along a little. Not that you should do that, mind you...
Beaten to it by PhilipK. :)
Any buyer not wanting to use paypal/ebay when they so heavily favour the buyer is very suspect.
Agreed. There's not really a downside for buyers when using eBay, right? Or maybe others know more about scamming techniques.
Would the buyer just say to the Escrow service - no mate didn't receive the watch, or watch wasn't in package - please can I have my money back.
There is no escrow service, that's the scam. The seller receives an email from the fake escrow service to say the cash has been paid in so posts the watch off. No money ever arrives.
It was very common on eBay about a decade ago but most people got wise to it very quickly. Particularly where escrow isn't common and well known.
In the USA, I believe it's quite common to use escrow services so the scam was more successful over there!
paypal or NO deal IMHO
Indeed!
It appears that the whole website is fake and probably set up in China.
The guy's been messaging me again, asking me to hurry up! :D
My policy is usually to step away quietly and ignore it. You never know who these guys are.
Agreed, it might make them try a more usual scam as an actual buyer so best to ignore..
Escrow is/was a service for placing intellectual property in when a service provider provides a service and protects the ip should the provider go bust. It ensures the client is protected to continue to use the system / software so bankruptcy or liquidation doesn't impact your business
It's a scam in this instance!
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It's a scam. I'm selling two watches on eBay and multiple people sent me this message. They usually hijack a legit email account and message you from that, so they have positive feedback and so on. If you agree, you will receive an email which purports to have come from the escrow site, but is in fact fake. If you're technically inclined, you can run the domain name through WHOIS and you'll see it was created a few days ago in China, not exactly an established escrow service. Just report them to eBay so they can lock the stolen account
LOL
I sold my El Primero using a valid escrow service.
If it's a real escrow service it's a very good way of getting paid, you simply make an agreement that says "x pays y when the watch arrives in good condition. Y has a right to start the release of the funds after zz days. " etc, etc, etc.
It's not hard to make safe terms and conditions for both parties.
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Any website that claims to be a trustworthy business and hides their whois info should be avoided at all cost.
hi op. ask him for his Scottish address.
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