[Closed] Possible con via my gumtree add - (humorous e-mail exchange content)

Evening all.

I've advertised a pushchair on Gumtree which resulted in the following exchange with a "buyer":

[i][b]Me [/b]- Hi Laura, I still have the pram. Are you interested in buying it?[/i]

[b]Laura Andre Phillips[/b] - Okay.........i have read through the advert and i'm totally satisfied with it.. will like to have it.....how much is the exact amount you want to sell?

[i][b]Me [/b]- Hi Laura, £95 for the push chair as pictured. The rain cover, not pictured, is also included.[/i]

[b]LAP[/b] - Ok!The price is a good buy for me... please remove the advert and consider it sold as i am paying your full asking price of £95 because i need to buy it for my cousin, i have done thorough check on the advert and i'm fine with it,sadly i would not be able to come personally to view or collect it due to house bound went through throat cancer surgery and couldn't talk more but will be ok soon but i have an agent that would help me to pick it up at your preferred location after you have received your money and i'll pay you via PayPal tonight or first thing tomorrowmorning and pick up will start after you have cashed your money..if that is ok with you.
Where is the pick up location so that i can inform the agent about it now and send me your registered paypal email,so i can make arrangement for payment.Thanks

[i][b]Me[/b] - Morning Laura, I've removed the advert. Can you make the payment to my Paypal account.
Many thanks for buying the pushchair. There's loads of use left in it - I'm sure your cousin will be pleased with it.[/i]

[b]LAP [/b]- Okay..I will complete the paymen first thing this morning as discussed and email you once it has been completed!

[b]LAP [/b]- Hello again, Goodmorning,I am glad to inform you that i have made the payment as discussed! PayPal said that they have sent you a confirmation email so kindly check the inbox of your registered paypal email address
I had a little problem with the agent they said they can only schedule the pick up date and time after they receive their pick up fee in their head office via moneygram,but due to me being house bound due to my throat cancer surgery,i'm unable to get to a moneygram shop to send it. I added the £155 they charged for the pick up and £40 for the moneygram charges t,you will receive the total sum of £290
You'll send £155 to them via moneygram today and here is the details needed for the transfer below:

Name: joanne Macclaughlin
Address: 472 John Street,bustan,Dubai.
Country: United Arab Emirates (UAE)

Please let me know once you've sent the money so that i can make necessary arrangements

[i][b]Me[/b] - Laura, Nothing received in my paypal account. I've got a better idea. How about you send £290 to your agent via moneygram and then they give me £95 cash on collection.[/i]

[b]LAP [/b]- The total amount is off my account already hold and pending to your account,I am so sorry for the hassle,due to health status and being on house bound..i could not get to the moneygram shop to sort the courier fee,so i paid through your paypal account.I have already sent the money and it has been totally deducted from my account,i dont even have access to the money again because the transaction has been secured by PayPal and it cannot be reversed or cancel!..I also received an email from PayPal and it stated that they would be holding the funds for security reasons,they said that they have sent you some instructions, so you will need to send the £155 cash via moneygram so that PayPal can credit the £290 into your account as soon as you have emailed the moneygram payment details to paypal as instructed.immediately the total amount is released to your account for cash. pls find any nearby moneygram shop and complete the transfer,so the total amount is released immediately to your account.

[i][b]Me[/b] - Can you forward me the e-mail from paypal please.[/i]

[b]LAP[/b] - okay.

[b]LAP[/b] - i have forward the paypal payment receipt to you.

[i][b]Me[/b] - Thanks Laura, You don't mind if I forward this entire email trail to PayPal do you, just for my own peace of mind? I'd hate to be the victim of a scam. Your collection agent fees seem extraordinarily high.[/i]

[b]LAP [/b]- okay,no problem.

[i][b]Me [/b]- Hi Laura, I've sent everything off to paypal for them to confirm that your e-mails to me are genuine but I've not heard back from them yet. I'm sure they will come back with an answer soon.[/i]

[i][b]Me [/b]- Hi Laura, Just thought I'd update you. It can take up to 24hrs for Paypal to investigate possible fraud cases. Are you happy to wait that long or shall I re-advertise the push chair? Can you let me know either way. Many thanks.[/i]

Funnily enough LAP has not replied since.

This is the email that LAP forwarded to me which was allegedly sent to her from PayPal:

[img] [/img]

So, scam or not? I smell a rat. A big one.