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Request to use Moneygram or Western Union

by Narf
8 replies
Hi
I have recently purchased a site on flippa and I can't work out if the circumstances are suss or not so I'm hoping you can advise.
I paid for the site using paypal, which I'm comfortable with, since they have some level of buyer protection (I know you can still get screwed, but at least theres something).
The seller then transferred me the domain and the web files onto my cpanel account and set everything up. Everything does look fine with the site.
He's then told me that his paypal has been restricted and as such can't withdraw the money. He's asked me to accept a refund on that money and to pay him via western union or moneygram. Neither of these are services that I've used before but from what I gather there is zero recourse once the money is sent.
He has actually sent me the money back via paypal refund already. The domain is in my hands and the site files are also.
I know I could just be being insanely skeptical here, possibly partly because I know he's in Africa where scams commonly originate but is there any risk here if I accept this request to send him the payment via either of these methods?
Thanks in advance
Narf
#moneygram #request #union #western
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  • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
    There's a reason Flippa doesn't allow payments by Moneygram or Western Union. I would definitely not send any funds by those methods.

    This has all the hallmarks of a scam operation. If you still want to go ahead, insist on either PayPal or, better yet, use the Flippa escrow system.

    Anything else is asking for trouble.
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  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
    If everything is now on your own hosting and the domain is in your registrar account I would immediately delete any access the seller has and change all passwords. I am not sure what kind of access you gave the seller in order to transfer the info but I would also look for any back doors he/she might have opened and close them

    al
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    • Profile picture of the author The Real Harry Mitchell
      Originally Posted by agmccall View Post

      If everything is now on your own hosting and the domain is in your registrar account I would immediately delete any access the seller has and change all passwords. I am not sure what kind of access you gave the seller in order to transfer the info but I would also look for any back doors he/she might have opened and close them

      al

      What you wrote and RIGHT NOW!
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  • Profile picture of the author Kay King
    I'd wonder if he has a rep on Flippa - has he sold before? Is this a new 'problem' or an old scam?


    If paypal is 'restricted' and there is honestly gained money in the acct - he will eventually get the money. I'd be extremely skeptical and unwilling to do business by those two options for payment.


    The biggest paypal scams are those people who use paypal as an excuse to avoid using that well regulated payment option....
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  • Profile picture of the author palmtreelife
    As others have said, this sounds very shady.

    I know hindsight is 20/20 and I don't want to add insult to injury, but ....why didn't you use escrow.com? Why did you buy a website from someone in Africa where online fraud is rampant? Was there really no one else in the world selling a business like theirs?
    #toughlove
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  • Profile picture of the author jmosticc22
    I would never use these services under any circumstance, always use an escrow service also.
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  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Listen to the advice above. Sounds much like a scam. Folks use those money transfer systems to leave no reliable paper trail, in most situations.
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  • Profile picture of the author Narf
    Thanks everyone for the advise. I am really not comfortable with either payment method, as per the advice given.
    The seller has sold a lot of sites on flippa so his rep is flawless with 100% feedback including transactions over a month old (which I presume would have disputes raised by now if there were issues)
    To answer why I choose to buy from someone in Africa, they don't actually disclose where a seller is from. My research prior to purchase didnt bring anything up.
    All of my other research through looking at other sites sold by this seller hasn't revealed much and I can't find anything on the interwebz that makes me suspicious either.
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