Don't ship/buy/trade to Nigeria!

After a recent scam and investigation, I will NOT ship to Nigeria.

I listed my laptop on Craigslist a bout 2 days ago. I got a e-mail from a lady asking if I had and she wanted it. I said yea I still have it for $500. She then replied with "Good to hear that . I want to present it as a gift to a friend but i can only pay for it through PayPal. Why i want to use PayPal is because i'm always safe with them also, i think it would be the best mode of payment for you. In addition, i'm always busy in the Hospital therefore, all you need to do now is just send a PayPal money request to this my email address in order to effect the payment ASAP but if you do not have one, you can visit www.PayPal.com, set up an account and get back to me immediately.". I sent the money request of $500. After I sent the request, she sent another e-mail that stated "Hi, Payment had been made and PayPal sent me a confirmation that they already sent you a notification about the payment. Kindly check your PayPal email address to see it. I added sufficient money for shipping it to him, i know it is not up to that shipping internationally but i just did it and the remainder would be yours after mailing it out. Kindly ship it to him through EXPRESS MAIL INTERNATIONAL under USPS and you can check this link in order to confirm how much it costs to send package internationally http://pe.usps.gov/text/imm/mo_028.htm . Pls make sure you send it to him today and pack it neatly before sending it. It's nice doing business with you.". I got a e-mail from "PayPal" saying she sent $600 and that I would not get it until I sent the tracking number. They told me to click the Request Money button, put 1 for the amount and the tracking number in the Notes section. However, if you use PayPal, you know that is NOT how you send a tracking number. I didn't think too much of it, until I started investigating. I compared the two e-mails I received from "PayPal" with a old e-mail. When PayPal sends you a e-mail, it will say "". These two e-mails said "" That tells me something was up. Also her friend is a GUY and the laptop is PINK. Can you tell me what is wrong with that picture? Guy's don't use pink laptops (unless they're gay or something). I sent PayPal a e-mail telling them about the e-mails (told them I still had them) and asked if it's real. I will hear back in 24-72 hours. The address is in Nigeria (no, I haven't shipped it). I did a "selling to Nigeria" investigation on google. 98% are scams. As if I wasn't already convinced it was fake, I found a story that was exactly like mine, except it happened on eBay. Here is his story.

"Note: I WILL NOT SHIP THIS ITEM TO NIGERIA! This is the fourth time I have listed this laptop on eBay. All three of the earlier auctions were ultimately won by Nigerian scammers trying to get me to use some phony escrow service to ship the item to Nigeria. Each time I got a slew of elaborate (but grammatically poor) spoofed emails explaining to me that payment had been made to my PayPal account but would not show up until I emailed the buyer with a tracking number showing that I had shipped the item. I may not be the smartest crayon in the box, but I'm not stupid either, so I (thankfully) haven't fallen prey. But each time this happens, I lose a few days of selling time, and I really need to get this laptop sold because I need the money for something else. I truly apologize if you actually ARE on a business trip in Nigeria or need it shipped to your cousin or fiancee in Nigeria, but I repeat: I WILL NOT SHIP THIS ITEM TO NIGERIA! I'm just a poor guy trying to sell his laptop ?on eBay. If anyone reading this has any ideas as to how to keep people in Nigeria from bidding on or winning this item, please send a message ?to me via my eBay profile! Thanks! :-)"

His story is exactly like mine. He received the same e-mails I received and everything. Please do not ship to Nigeria (unless you PERSONALLY know the person). If you get scammed, don't say I didn't warn you. I have posted links to other articles about this.

It's Now Completely Impossible to Sell a Laptop on eBay
Selling to Nigerian Buyers
Nigerian Auction Fraud and Counterfeir Cashier's Check Scam
Do Business with Nigeria?