I got the same message 10 pm in CA, checked the # and see that it is FL, suspicious. PayPal is generally safe, but not w/o flaws. I can't imagine handing my car over to someone for a payment that would not be verified by my credit union in person.
In CA we frown on the idea that a person would buy a car without a test drive. Sad that they are using the name of our military in the transaction. I hope no one gets scammed!

I got a message from that number. He said he is interested in my car on cars.com and was OK with the proposed amount. He was even willing to pay full amount in advance before testing or inspecting the car. He will send an agent after payment to inspect and ship the car. It did not feel right. I told him I do not deal with PayPal and googled his number to find this.

Guys says his name is steve asks if vehicle is still for sale he wants to condition and my asking price. He then texts back he is ok with my stated price and then he`ll send a shipper agent to look at vehicle after payment has been done via paypal

Good for you!  Glad you didn't.

I received text messages from Connelly Saltsman at (904) 800-8743, on 8 November. I was so eager to sell my car I fell for the exact same scam; got me fro $2,000. I've worked in IT for over 20 years, I saw all the red flags, and still went forward with the deal. On that day my stupidity knew no bounds. The scam used GreenDot cards and PayPal. These [***] need to be stopped.