Craigslist Scam

[bodyguy]

These are emails from a potential buyer to me, these idiots are probably going to be out in numbers these days


Hi there, i am mark . . I have taken a keen look at your advert and am completely satisfied.I will be purchasing this from you if its still available for sale,kindly let me know a.s.a.p

My reply
I still have them 512 350 ****

Hello i really appreciate your response to my earlier mail.like i said
i will like to buy this item so pls do withdraw the advert from
Craigslist. I will also like you to know that i will be paying via
check.I will need you to provide me with the following information to
facilitate the mailing of the check.

1.Your full name to be on the check
2.Home or work address
3.Your phone number.

**I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for moving
i will have my mover come over for the pick up as soon as you have
cashed the check**

Have a nice day.

N.B UPS does not deliver to a p.o.box address.

My reply
I will remove the ad in a few minutes

Joe Vavricek
234 Murchison dr
Cedar Creek Tx 78612
512-350-****

Thanks

Hi Joe,
How was your day?I want you to understand that the deal is on as my
secretary as mail out the payment already,but there was a slight error
i guess we can handle with care,instead of the actual amount $150 for
the item,she mailed out payment for $1750 she claim that was what i
requested for,but she didn't get that straight.So once you have the
payment please cash it and deduct the money for your goods plus $50
that for your run around expenses.
The excess fund should please be sent to my mover via western
union,this fund will be use in offsetting the cost of the shipment he
as undertaken for me recently.
**Please email me at once to let me know that i can trust you to have
the excess funds sent to my mover**
Best Regards and Stay Blessed

My reply
Do you think I am an idiot, so how exactly does this work. I cash the check covering it with the funds in my bank account then send you the excess funds once you are aware of me sending the funds you cancel the check and I am out the $1550. I don't think so I wasn't born yesterday and I am smarter than the average idiot. If you actually want the upper doors then you show up in person and pay me in person with CASH and I will hand the upper doors to you.


.............................................

I guess he was no longer interested:thefinger:

[karnuvore]

Id fwd it to the cops....

[jacktuttle]

These are emails from a potential buyer to me, these idiots are probably going to be out in numbers these days


Hi there, i am mark . . I have taken a keen look at your advert and am completely satisfied.I will be purchasing this from you if its still available for sale,kindly let me know a.s.a.p

My reply
I still have them 512 350 ****

Hello i really appreciate your response to my earlier mail.like i said
i will like to buy this item so pls do withdraw the advert from
Craigslist. I will also like you to know that i will be paying via
check.I will need you to provide me with the following information to
facilitate the mailing of the check.

1.Your full name to be on the check
2.Home or work address
3.Your phone number.

**I will like you to know that you will not be responsible for moving
i will have my mover come over for the pick up as soon as you have
cashed the check**

Have a nice day.

N.B UPS does not deliver to a p.o.box address.

My reply
I will remove the ad in a few minutes

Joe Vavricek
234 Murchison dr
Cedar Creek Tx 78612
512-350-****

Thanks

Hi Joe,
How was your day?I want you to understand that the deal is on as my
secretary as mail out the payment already,but there was a slight error
i guess we can handle with care,instead of the actual amount $150 for
the item,she mailed out payment for $1750 she claim that was what i
requested for,but she didn't get that straight.So once you have the
payment please cash it and deduct the money for your goods plus $50
that for your run around expenses.
The excess fund should please be sent to my mover via western
union,this fund will be use in offsetting the cost of the shipment he
as undertaken for me recently.
**Please email me at once to let me know that i can trust you to have
the excess funds sent to my mover**
Best Regards and Stay Blessed

My reply
Do you think I am an idiot, so how exactly does this work. I cash the check covering it with the funds in my bank account then send you the excess funds once you are aware of me sending the funds you cancel the check and I am out the $1550. I don't think so I wasn't born yesterday and I am smarter than the average idiot. If you actually want the upper doors then you show up in person and pay me in person with CASH and I will hand the upper doors to you.


.............................................

I guess he was no longer interested:thefinger:

Yep it looks like the same format as the Room Scams that have been running on Craig's List for as long as I can remember. Those run along the same line, but the excess is for their travel expense's or for furniture etc.

[Sandtoy]

I had ths exact same thing from probably the same person. Couple of us at work decided to have some fun with it so we kept it going. Eventually we receive a check for $1,750.00. When the check arrived it had no routing numbers on it and I am not sure how anyone could deposit or cash it anyway.

Over the following couple days he was in great pursuit of the funds. Told hei we rere taking it to the bank for deposit then going straight to have his funds transferred. Thanked him for such a great transaction.

After a couple days guess he cought on and just stopped making contact. Put the check on the wall for a couple months then eventually shredded it.

Fun while it lasted.

[Dustoff '68]

Sounds like a low level Nigerian scam job.

[BeerMonkeY]

thats funny, samr thing was sent to my friend selling some furniture on craigslist, he kept telling the lady to call him so everything coul dbe setup, but all he got was emails, he did get a check but just threw it away and emailed the lady telling her to f-off

[airric00]

Yeah its terrible... You will get like 50 of those in a matter of weeks.. I contacted craiglist when I got the same messages.. They said that they actually send a money order that is fake, however you can't tell and the bank doesn't either.. It gets cashed then the bank finally finds out that it was a fake and come back after you for the money. So in the meantime your items are sold and gone, and you're out the money and possibly busted for forgery!

Pretty ****ty.... Oh and don't respond to them, because then they have you're email, name and info... They can really screw u over..

[Broncojohn]

Had the same thing happen to me when I was selling a house By Owner. I even got the check no paperwork involved. As soon as I saw it you could tell it was a fake. I called the bank and asked to verify the funds; as soon as I go thru reading out the number I was told to hold on a minute and they connected me with their finance manager. She then told me about the bad check and who at the FBI to get in contact with. It was an educating experience.

[dcj090]

Someone was interested. I sent an email back requesting their phone number to talk with them. They would send the same original email back. I finally emailed them and told them that they were liars, cheaters, foreign POS terrorists, scammers, garbage, fu****s, and quite a few others and I have never received another one from them again. It was not a normal email from the get go so I was unsure the minute I got the email and got on the defensive. Have a good one

[PKDailey4]

Its always obvious because they are ready to buy, sight unseen ,no questions asked. They just want to know where to send the check.

[bodyguy]

Its always obvious because they are ready to buy, sight unseen ,no questions asked. They just want to know where to send the check.


Good point and true, I never even thought about that. Most normal buyers will ask questions about your product and try to talk you down. I will keep that in mind next time

[Proud Rebel]

I hope they catch the jack*$$:mr-t:

[jacktuttle]

Good point and true, I never even thought about that. Most normal buyers will ask questions about your product and try to talk you down. I will keep that in mind next time

Try posting a room for rent! The just never stop! :D

[paragon]

dealt with something similar 5-7 years ago. Both the Secret Service and the FBI got involved because of the scheme.

They were using phone calls then and each time the calls would come from a different cell phone number that tracked back to different parts of the NE around D.C. IIRC they were saying they were dealing on behalf of someone some African country. Would say they were in Miami.

Ended up they were tracked down to London, and it was an organized scam from there with pilfered cell phone numbers and the whole deal.

The easiest of things got them though. When they sent the "check" we were able to track it then through Fedex and even though it said something different on the bill, the tracking showed it originated in London.

[Billy_Goat]

Damn it, I just got one too. I forwarded it to: abuse@craigslist.com

Here's the email I got from the scammer:

I am okay with the price of this item and the condition? of? items and we? will like to make an outright purchase of this particular item immediately because we are in need of it and we want to get as soon as possible, I anticipate that a Money Order or certified check will be sent to you via express mail or ups or Fedex as the mode of payment, concerning the pickup, i will be responsible for that, where the mover will come for the pick up at your location upon your confirmation of receiving the payment and i want you to Delete Post from the ad now.I shall be sending the payment which will include the pick up charges, in which you will make payable to the mover via money gramm/Western union immediately after you have receive the payment and you will be compensated with $10 extra for your running around to money gram/Western union outlet to avoid the delay.I would really love to come for the viewing but due to my work frame I may not be Available to come for the Viewing,So I will like you to provide the following payment? information as soon as possible
Full Name :-
Address :-
City:-
state.:-
zip code:-
Cell #:-

As soon as this is provided i will let you know when payment is mailed out and i will update you on when you will receive the payment and give you instructions on what to do....thanks and i hope we handle this in good faith.......
Thanks.....




And here's the response I got back from Craigslist:

(Sorry for the auto-reply, but trust us, the information below is useful!)

Thanks for passing this along, it's definitely related to the scams we've
seen in recent months. We generally encourage folks to ignore these
inquiries altogether, focus on local transactions and interactions, and
avoid wiring funds or handing out personal financial details.

If you are in contact with one of these "buyers" already, our best advice
is to break off all current communication and ignore any follow-up
inquiries. If you have received a fake cashier's check or money order,
it's usually best to destroy it. And we haven't received any reports of
significant trouble from people who unwittingly gave out their name,
address and phone number, so there's probably no cause for concern if
that has happened.

We're working on ways to prevent these guys from getting through to folks
who use craigslist, but it's not easy -- they're very persistent. If
you're interested in finding out more about how these scams work,
Wikipedia has some pretty good descriptions of the various types:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_fee_fraud

And more information is available on craigslist's "scams & fraud" page:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/about/scams.html


Regards,
craigslist customer service

[LowRider]

come on guys, I'm just trying to make a little money. lol