Could this be a phishing scam?

It's in connection to a set of tires I'm selling. What I can't figure out is what is being phished? He already has my email address and SMS and how can that be all that useful to hack my PayPal (or anything else) anyway?

[quote]Hello, thanks for your response. I'm totally satisfied and interested in the item. Pls consider it sold to me and remove the advert from the site to avoid further disturbance.I would appreciate it if you could email me with more photos (if available) since i am unable to see it in person due to my work schedule.I will be paying you directly through paypal. If you do not have a paypal account it is quite fast and easy to open just loggin to www.paypal.com. I have a courier agent that would help me pick it up at your preferred location after you have received your money. Kindly get back to me with your Name, Paypal email address i mean the email you use to register your paypal account, Total Price and Cell Number.

I will be looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Glad to be dealing with you.
[/quote]
There are a few things that are unusual about this:
• Contact was initiated by sending me an SMS asking me to respond to an email address
• It's a bit naïve to expect me to delist the product before receiving the money
• The instructions I'm given are pretty comprehensive
• Offering to pay for something he hasn't even seen is also pretty naïve

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thisguy20 · 41-45, M

Almost certainly a scam. Tell them you accept "cash only" and see what the response is.

Jenny1234 · 51-55, F

The entire message is fishy. Block him

OldGrandDad · M

How does he send you a SMS text message without your number? He would need your account email address to have your PayPal account deposited with the money I am pretty sure.

ImperialAerosolKidFromEP · 46-50, M

@OldGrandDad actually he sent me an SMS with his email. When I sent him an email, he couldn't immediately match my email address with the phone number.
I'm starting to think that the scam is about more than just this interaction, and that giving away some of my biographical data will allow them to match that data with other data they already have on me and complete the scam

OldGrandDad · M

@ImperialAerosolKidFromEP Perhaps. And if you feel leary, you should avoid it. Scam or not. I don't give out personal data either. He would have to meet somewhere, pay me in cash, and depart with his property.

ImperialAerosolKidFromEP · 46-50, M

Ah fer cryin' out loud..! I just realized that the SMS I was sent was from a 682 area code; nowhere near me!

SomeMichGuy · M

@ImperialAerosolKidFromEP That means little now.

DDonde · 31-35, M

Yes, this looks like a scam.

ImperialAerosolKidFromEP · 46-50, M

@DDonde sure does. But to get what though?

DDonde · 31-35, M

@ImperialAerosolKidFromEP I'm not sure, but the whole thing reeks of scam.

ImperialAerosolKidFromEP · 46-50, M

@DDonde quoting https://www.aura.com/learn/what-can-someone-do-with-your-name-address-and-phone-number#:~:text=Scammers%20are%20disturbingly%20persistent.,in%20popular%20data%20broker%20lists.
[quote]Scammers are disturbingly persistent. If they know your name, address, and phone number, they can use this as a launching point to find out more about you online and on public databases. For example, they could research your social media profiles or see if you’re included in popular data broker lists. [/quote]
They haven't asked for my snail-mail yet, but that will probably come next. I think I'm just going to ghost him

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