Classified ads on craigslist attract scammers from Nigeria and elsewhere.Here is a recent example when I was trying to sell something.Not that I asked for $375, and was offered more for it.Here is the first message I got:
pls can you tell me if this item is still for sale ?and the price
When I replied it was available, this was the reply:
I will have to inform you that i am okay with the price of the [item name] ($375)condition terms are also okay with me,For the Shippment from your location,i have my SHIPPER as soon as we seal this Transaction from your end. I have a CLIENT of my that is owning me some Fund in United Kingdom that will issue you the cheque of ($2000) soon as you receive the cheque and when cleared you will deduct the cost of the [item name] and the remaining balance will be send to the Shipper through western union money transfer for the pick up from your location. If this is okay by you, do e-mail me the following detail FULL NAME ON CHEQUE:CONTACTED ADDRESS:MOBILE&LANDLINE PHONE NUMBER:AND ZIP CODEI will compensate you $50 to remove the advert from the site and will wait until the cheque clear before the pick up commence.hope to read from you today.
This is a classic scam that involves you wiring them money via Western Union, and they sending you a fake cashier cheque.
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Comments
Anonymous (not verified)
Same deal, thanks for
Sat, 2010/07/17 - 18:41Same deal, thanks for posting, because I just checked on this guy to see if he was spam because his email looked very suspicious. Not selling to him!
Anonymous (not verified)
Plillpjohn101@gmail.com
Mon, 2010/07/19 - 11:15Thanks to all of your postings here,I will not be heading to any bank anytime soon to cash this guys check.The stories here are unreal!I agree with the fact that we are honest people just trying to make a living and this guy is trying to steal from us.Mine too,claiming to be an attorney in Australia at present on a summit,looking for me to send money to an orphange via western union for an operation,he can kiss my ass !
Glad I listened to my spouse and checked into this further.
Sincerely,
Almost scammed too !!!
Anonymous (not verified)
Laura Moore
Mon, 2010/07/19 - 20:18This same person is now using the name Laura Moore -- check out the below e-mail:
Hi,
I have gone through your ad once again on craigslist and i am interested in purchasing the above mentioned. I am buying the item for my step son and his wife to be. They are the ones that contacted you at first to know if you still have it. I am paying Via Money Order /cashier check and it will get to you within 1-2days. Please get back to me with your full information for payment to be sent out immediately i receive it through FedEx Next Delivery Service.
Full Name:
Address :
City :
States :
Zip/Postal Code:
Phone number :
I will like us to get this transaction done with as soon as possible. I will be offering you $50 extra to hold the item in my favour because i am sure that there will be other interested people. As per Pick Up, I will make arrangement with my shipping company to come for the pick-up after payment has been received by you.
I want you to take the posting off craigslist today and consider it sold to me. If you have any question, Please ask me Via email because i can not Call or receive calls for now due to the fact that i am out of town for a seminar and i am out of network service.
Best Regards.
Laura Moore
Have a Blessed Day!
Anonymous (not verified)
Another craiglist scam...
Fri, 2010/07/23 - 11:54First they used the name/account, christophar muellar (christophar.m01@gmail.com) and then, Mrs. Mary Johnson (maryj671@gmail.com)
"Hello again,you sound like a good person, and the main focus should be on listen,Reading and speaking I have made contacts with my son concerning the arrangement of the tutoring which he made me to know he is okay by him and that he will be making arrangement for his arrival any moment from now to commence,I will also ask him to come along with the materials he will be needing concerning the lesson.I want you to know that i am going to pay for 1 month.Concerning the payment,I have a cleint in the state that will be handling the payment on my behalf,he will be sending you my salary payment,so the rest of the fund will be used to get accommodation beside your location and any other arrangement for the lesson,So as soon as you get the payment then you will have it process and deduct your cost of tutoring for a month, and send remaining funds to my son's Nanny so that he can relocate my son accommodation to your nearest address for him to attend the lesson in the appropriate time.Hope I can trust you with the remainder of the funds since you are going to be my son tutor. I will be more than happy if you can get back to me with your Full name ,street address ,city ,state and zip code so that the payment an be mailed out to you in time.
I will be waiting to read back from you with the information requested today.
Thanks and God Bless"
The best part, "hope I can trust you" lmao
Hope this helps!
Gilgamesh23 (not verified)
The Scam continues....
Wed, 2011/12/14 - 02:34On Tue, Dec 13, 2011 at 11:05 PM, Idoya Raymond wrote:
I'm Glad you wrote back , well .....my name is Idoya Raymond ,
Hair: Black Eyes: Brown Age: 27yrs old Height: 5' 6" (167cm) Weight:
122 pounds (55.0 kg) Body: Average Activity Level: Active Smoking: No
Drinking: No,I am 27yrs old from United Kingdom, I will not be able
to come and see the place now but picture will be okay the
most important thing to me is your location it really works for me
and i need to secure this room for myself before i arrive in two
weeks time as I'll be moving in with my luggage , I could have love to
call you but i don't have international calling plan but i will try
to get an international calling card to call you later in the week but
i believe we can still exchange emails for the main time or you call
me on my Land line number which
is +447035969378 and make sure you dial as presented ,I am a chemist
by profession and I'm single .I will stay in the house for one year
and during my stay i will be working with the General hospital for
HIV/AID prevalence rate in the state which is a private research
work....It will be a great pleasure seeing you soon.
NOTE : Concerning the payment,I have a financier in the state
that will be handling the rent deposit payment on my behalf,i will
instruct him to make the payment for you as soon as you give me the go
ahead to make payment to you.Kindly get back to me with your full
name,contact address and your cell phone number so that the check can
be sent to you and you can get it on time.This will give me strong
prove that the room will be hold for me because i don't want to loose
the place in anyway....cant wait to read from you . I will be waiting
for the
details needed.
Idoya Raymond.
Anonymous (not verified)
scammer robertbratt00@googlemail.com
Sun, 2010/08/15 - 00:44"Robert Bratt" replied to my craigslist ad asking if item was still available. I replied that they were.
He replied that he would buy item and pay with cashiers check. He needed my mailing address.
I emailed address.
He then replied that his secretary sent the wrong amount, $2500.00 instead of $250.00.
and that when I recieved it I needed to cash it and send him the remainder but keep an additional $50.
I immediately figured this was a scam as I had read about this sort of thing. Well sure enough I recieved the check. Funny thing, the return address on the UPS envelope was for Eli Lilly Co in Portland Oregon. Thats a pharmaceutical company. The header on the check was from CarShop in Illinois. I contacted CarShop and they told me they hadn't sent the check and it is a total scam. I'm not sure what I will do with it next but I would love to nail his ass.
Anonymous (not verified)
this a**hole just e-mailed me
Fri, 2010/08/20 - 21:34this a**hole just e-mailed me asking, "is the above item still available?" Don't fall for this guys he is very insistant and keeps asking for your mailing address and phone number. Don't give him your information!! This just happened today and so I haven't actually received the cashier's check. When I do I'll tear it up.
Beth (not verified)
Dr Carlos Mark - another scammer <eyeroll>
Fri, 2010/09/03 - 13:40This dude is a scammer!
carlosmark20009@gmail.com
"Thanks for your quick response to my mail... Alright, am ok with the
Price. I want to purchase it for my son who is in Over seas for his job
with the construction company over there...
And i will be paying you through PayPal or money order Company... So if you
have an account with them send your PayPal address to enable me send the
Payment to you but if you do not have an account with them, just send your
full name and full contact address and i will send it through money order
Company that will deliver the payment in cash to your resident address....
Note: I will be paying you extra money to cover the shipping cost through
USPS EXPRESS MAIL....
Also i wanted you to consider this sold to me and please remove the post
from the craigslist site.....Thank you and God Bless
Dr. Carlos Mark Frm (West Valley Utah)"
Anonymous (not verified)
Replied to roomate wanted ad on Craigslist.
Thu, 2010/09/09 - 20:59I originally received and email wanting to rent a room from me. The original email was sent from williamfeli@gmail.com but signed by Mary Johnson. I then received my response to that address from email address maryj671@gmail.com as well as another inquiry written in the exact same manner from email address jjurbgds@gmail.com. I think I will ignore them all. Thank to all for your posts.
Anonymous (not verified)
I was selling a dryer last
Sat, 2010/09/11 - 03:15I was selling a dryer last year on craigslist for $50. I got a response from someone who claimed he just moved out of state but said his movers would come get the dryer. He emailed me claiming his secretary accidently mailed me a check for $2,500 instead of the $50. He wanted me to cash it & keep an extra $50 for my troubles & western union the rest to him. I felt something wrong with the whole thing so i didnt cash it. I still have it. Should i take it to the police?
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