Hello everyone just a heads up, I received an email today asking about my highest ticket item …
Hello seller,
How are you doing over there?Am Natasha by name,I saw your item posted in here and am ready for immediate purchase of the item,but before i proceed with the payment i will like to as you some questions about the item:
1)Is the Item still available for sales?
2)Are you the real owner of the item and what is the present condition of the item?
3)Do you accept PayPal as your mode of payment and how much is the final asking price ?
Please kindly get back to me on my private email for fast communication: natashabradford@yahoo.com
Hope to read back from you soon.
Regards.
Natasha.
After messaging back and forth for a while something didn’t seem right so I did a bit of digging (didn’t need to go too deep) and found it is a scam so please be warned! Xxx
I bet she was an Oceanographer … that’s the usual line!
If you let admin know they will block that address.
It always pays to be cautious, doesn’t it. Thanks for letting us know.
Yep an Oceanographer who needed a gift for her sister. She wanted someone to collect. I never do collection because you have no proof or tracking. Shame though I’m trying hard to boost my Folksy and it’s put a dampener on it. I have reported it xxx
Yes I have just had the same email and I immediately felt something was wrong. Basically she says she has a shipping agent who will collect and is buying for her sister but the vagueness got alarm bells ringing , especially as she wants to do it by the back door. She’s obviously not been blocked by folksy. So glad I found this thread
Yes, I’ve also received this one overnight. I was suspicious as the item they mentioned is just a sample of my commission work so not actually an item for sale as such. Also, i received an almost carbon copy of this email earlier this year but from a different sender. I was suspicious then and so deleted it straightaway. Such a pity as my heart always gives a little leap when I get the email from Folksy.
Not all queries about expensive items are scams - I was contacted asking if I could ship a pair of cufflinks to the US and once I’d added the appropriate shipping to the listing they purchased it all above board and nothing fishy (they were a surgeon not an oceanographer, amazing what you can find out via google).
However if you get any queries where they start off asking if you are the rightful owner of the item and what its condition is then alarm bells should start going off and if you do reply and get the response that they want to use their own collection agent or a non standard payment method then run a mile as it is a scam. If in any doubt about something then ask on here - many of us have been selling online for years so have seen or heard of a lot of the scams out there and are happy to advise.
Sasha
Yes I do a little happy dance each time I get a Folksy enquiry too, It was really disheartening to be honest. Oh well I’m sure the next enquiry will be legitimate hehe xxx
I have a lovely picture in my mind now of lots of individual sellers all around the country doing little jigs or robot dances. That’s really cheered me up…thank you. x
I love buying on Folksy for this very reason, last year I did a lot of my Christmas shopping on Folksy, this year I aim for 90% of my shopping to be done here, it makes such a huge difference to an individual. That makes it all the worse when scammers try and steal what little we do make xxx
Yes I got this message too, really thought someone was genuinely interested in my art until alarm bells started ringing when she said she couldn’t access her bank account and an agent would pick it up immediately after payment. It’s 11pm at night! I’m in bed and won’t be waiting up for an agent to pick up anything right now…! Thought I’d better check to see if anyone else had experienced the same. Thanks you folks for making me feel not so stupid!
Nope you aren’t stupid at all, I got excited at first then read the message and googled ‘Folksy scams’ almost identical message came up again and again. Glad people aren’t fooled by it xxx
Hi Natalie,
An oceanographer is someone who studies the oceans and seas - looking at changing currents, changes in salinity in response to melting ice caps, stuff like that. I went on holiday with one who spent a lot of time travelling the world advising on coast defenses and how they would affect wildlife habits (her passport had a customs stamp for the Antarctic). They spend large amounts of time at sea on a boat which is what the scammers have latched onto as a reason for all the unusual requests that the scam requires but it could work just as well with oil rig workers.
